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Ian Keith

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Full Name
  
Keith Ross

Resting place
  
Cremation

Role
  
Actor

Name
  
Ian Keith

Years active
  
1924-1959


Ian Keith wwwnndbcompeople459000278622iankeith1size

Born
  
February 27, 1899 (
1899-02-27
)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

Died
  
March 26, 1960, New York City, New York, United States

Spouse
  
Fern Andra (m. 1934), Ethel Clayton (m. 1928–1931)

Movies
  
Queen Christina, The Crusades, The Sign of the Cross, It Came from Beneath t, Cleopatra

Similar People
  
Ethel Clayton, Cecil B DeMille, Fern Andra, Rouben Mamoulian, Blanche Yurka

The mckenzie break 1970 captain connor arrives clip 3 brian keith ian hendry helmut griem


Ian Keith (February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor.

Contents

Ian Keith httpss3uswest2amazonawscomfindagravepr

Life and career

Ian Keith Ian Keith film actor 1930s 5x7 18991960

Born Keith Ross in Boston, Massachusetts, Ian Keith was a veteran character actor of the legitimate theater, and appeared in a variety of colorful roles in silent features of the 1920s. His stage training made him a natural choice for the new "talking pictures"; he played John Wilkes Booth in D. W. Griffith's first talkie, Abraham Lincoln. Keith had a major role as a gambler in director Raoul Walsh's 1930 widescreen western The Big Trail starring John Wayne. In 1932, Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Sign of the Cross. This established him as a dependable supporting player, and he went on to play dozens of roles—including Octavian (Augustus) in Cleopatra—in major and minor screen fare for the next three decades.

Ian Keith's tall frame (6' 2"), dark, handsome features (usually clean-shaven), and his resonant voice served him well. He became one of DeMille's favorites, appearing in many of the producer's epic films. He handled costume roles and modern-day professional types with equal aplomb. He portrayed Count de Rochefort in both the 1935 version and the 1948 remake. In the 1940s he became even busier, working primarily in "B" features and westerns and alternating between playing good guys (a chief of detectives in The Payoff, a friendly hypnotist in Mr. Hex, a blowhard politician in She Gets Her Man) and bad guys (a murder suspect in The Chinese Cat, a crooked lawyer in Bowery Champs, a swindler in Singing on the Trail). He appeared in a supporting role to Tyrone Power in Nightmare Alley (1947) as a former vaudevillian turned carny who has succumbed to alcoholism. He also had a definite flair for comedy, and his florid portrayal of the comic-strip ham actor "Vitamin Flintheart" in Dick Tracy vs. Cueball was so amusing that he repeated the role in two more films.

His authoritative stature also lent himself to tough-guy military roles, such as Admiral Burns in Robert Gordon's sci-fi epic, It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955).

He also appeared on many television episodes in the 1950s. In 1955, he was seen on screen in his only Shakespeare role, when he made a cameo appearance as the Ghost opposite Richard Burton's Hamlet in a sequence from the Edwin Booth biopic Prince of Players. Cecil B. DeMille brought him back to the big screen for The Ten Commandments (1956); Keith played Ramses I.

Keith played Emmett Dayton in the radio soap opera Girl Alone.

Keith died on March 26, 1960, and was cremated in New York City.

Marriages

  • Blanche Yurka (1922 - 1926)
  • Ethel Clayton (1928 - 1931)
  • Fern Andra (m. in 1932 and again in 1934, when the legality of the first ceremony was questioned; divorced; in 1938 Andra married again)
  • Hildegarde Pabst (? - 1960)
  • Filmography

    Actor
    2024
    Gumshoe Jon and the Mystery of the Saucermen (TV Mini Series) (filming) as
    John Wilkes Booth
    1959
    Dragnet (TV Series)
    - The Big Accident (1959)
    1955
    Studio 57 (TV Series) as
    Dr. Fenton
    - The Starmaker (1958)
    - The Haver Technique (1955) - Dr. Fenton
    1956
    The Ten Commandments as
    Rameses I
    1956
    I Spy (TV Series) as
    Richelieu
    - Lion of France (1956) - Richelieu
    1956
    The Star and the Story (TV Series) as
    Archbishop
    - The Senora (1956) - Archbishop
    1955
    Duel on the Mississippi as
    Jacques Scarlet
    1955
    The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (TV Series) as
    Roland Tarleton
    - Rin Tin Tin Meets Shakespeare (1955) - Roland Tarleton
    1955
    It Came from Beneath the Sea as
    Adm. Burns
    1955
    Edgar Allan Poe at West Point (TV Movie) as
    John Allan
    1955
    The Promise (TV Movie) as
    Dionysius
    1955
    The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (TV Series) as
    Brother
    - The House Where Time Stopped (1955) - Brother
    1954
    Schlitz Playhouse (TV Series) as
    Fabius Maximus
    - Fedar (1955)
    - The Roman and the Renegade (1954) - Fabius Maximus
    1955
    The Ray Milland Show (TV Series)
    - Jury Duty (1955)
    1955
    The Talking Wire (TV Movie) as
    Gardiner Greene Hubbard
    1955
    New York Confidential as
    Waluska
    1955
    Soldiers of Fortune (TV Series) as
    The Rajah
    - The Lady of Rajmahal (1955) - The Rajah
    1955
    Prince of Players as
    Ghost of Hamlet's Father in 'Hamlet'
    1954
    Adventures of the Falcon (TV Series) as
    Frank Romer
    - The Big Break (1954) - Frank Romer
    1954
    Captain Midnight (TV Series) as
    Professor Bergland
    - The Electrified Man (1954) - Professor Bergland
    1954
    Deadlock (TV Movie)
    1954
    The Lineup (TV Series) as
    Joseph Finley
    - The Finley Case (1954) - Joseph Finley
    1954
    Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (TV Series) as
    Nizam of Regalio
    - Out of This World: Chapter I (1954) - Nizam of Regalio
    1954
    The Black Shield of Falworth as
    King Henry IV
    1954
    Waterfront (TV Series) as
    Captain Rameau
    - The Search - Captain Rameau
    1954
    Inner Sanctum (TV Series) as
    Judge Carleton Summers
    - Port of Regrets (1954) - Judge Carleton Summers
    1953
    Ponds Theater (TV Series)
    - The White Carnation (1953)
    1953
    Broadway Television Theatre (TV Series) as
    Dr. Frederick Steele / Father Chevillon / Judge Martin Prentice / ...
    - Dark Victory (1953) - Dr. Frederick Steele
    - Seventh Heaven (1953) - Father Chevillon
    - The Witching Hour (1953) - Judge Martin Prentice
    - Candlelight (1953) - Josef
    1953
    The Doctor (TV Series)
    - The Rocking Chair (1953)
    1953
    Mister Peepers (TV Series) as
    Roger Van Arsdale
    - Romeo and Juliet (1953) - Roger Van Arsdale
    1952
    Hallmark Hall of Fame (TV Series)
    - Salvage (1952)
    1952
    Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) as
    Dr. Landor
    - Operation Weekend (1952) - Dr. Landor
    1952
    The Web (TV Series)
    - Rx Death (1952)
    1952
    Suspense (TV Series)
    - Death Drum (1952)
    1950
    Nash Airflyte Theatre (TV Series) as
    Mister Unique
    - The Case of the Missing Lady (1950)
    - A Double-Dyed Deceiver (1950) - Mister Unique
    1950
    The Clock (TV Series)
    - Ninth Life (1950)
    - The Joke (1950)
    1950
    The Ford Theatre Hour (TV Series) as
    Inspector Hannen / Sir Peter Teazle / Lord Rintoul
    - Subway Express (1950) - Inspector Hannen
    - The School for Scandal (1950) - Sir Peter Teazle
    - The Little Minister (1950) - Lord Rintoul
    1949
    Colgate Theatre (TV Series)
    - Blessed Are They (1949)
    1949
    NBC Presents (TV Series)
    - A Husband's Rights (1949)
    1948
    The Three Musketeers as
    Rochefort
    1947
    Forever Amber as
    Tybalt (uncredited)
    1947
    Nightmare Alley as
    Pete Krumbein
    1947
    Dick Tracy's Dilemma as
    Vitamin Flintheart
    1947
    Border Feud as
    Doc Peters
    1946
    Dick Tracy vs. Cueball as
    Vitamin Flintheart
    1946
    Mr. Hex as
    Mr. Raymond
    1946
    The Strange Woman as
    Lincoln Pittridge (uncredited)
    1946
    Singing on the Trail as
    Jerry Easton
    1946
    Valley of the Zombies as
    Ormand Murks
    1945
    Northwest Trail as
    Inspector McGrath
    1945
    Song of Old Wyoming as
    Lee Landow
    1945
    The Spanish Main as
    Captain Lussan
    1945
    Phantom of the Plains as
    Talbot Wilberforce Champneys - aka Fancy Charlie
    1945
    Identity Unknown as
    Major Williams
    1945
    Fog Island as
    Dr. Lake
    1945
    Under Western Skies as
    Prof. Moffett
    1945
    She Gets Her Man as
    Oliver McQuestion
    1944
    Bowery Champs as
    Ken Duncan
    1944
    Cowboy from Lonesome River as
    Matt Conway
    1944
    Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat as
    Dr. Paul Recknik
    1944
    Arizona Whirlwind as
    Polini
    1944
    Casanova in Burlesque as
    J. Boggs-Robinson
    1943
    Here Comes Kelly as
    L. Herbert Oakley - Attorney
    1943
    Adventures of the Flying Cadets as
    Col. Lee [Chs. 9-13]
    1943
    Bordertown Gun Fighters as
    Cameo Shelby
    1943
    The Man from Thunder River as
    Henry Stevens
    1943
    Nazty Nuisance as
    Chief Paj Mab
    1943
    Five Graves to Cairo as
    Capt. St. Bride (uncredited)
    1943
    I Escaped from the Gestapo as
    Gerard
    1943
    Wild Horse Stampede as
    Carson
    1943
    Corregidor as
    Capt. Morris
    1942
    The Sundown Kid as
    J. Richard Spencer
    1942
    Keep 'Em Sailing (Short) as
    FBI Director Sinclair
    1942
    The Pay Off as
    Inspector Thomas
    1942
    Fall In as
    Army Doctor (uncredited)
    1942
    Remember Pearl Harbor as
    Capt. Hudson
    1940
    The Sea Hawk as
    Peralta
    1940
    All This, and Heaven Too as
    DeLangle
    1938
    Comet Over Broadway as
    Wilton Banks
    1938
    The Buccaneer as
    Sen. Crawford
    1936
    White Legion as
    Dr. Julian Murray
    1936
    Mary of Scotland as
    James Stuart - Earl of Moray
    1936
    Don't Gamble with Love as
    John Crane
    1936
    The Preview Murder Mystery as
    E. Gordon Smith
    1935
    The Three Musketeers as
    de Rochefort
    1935
    Hollywood Extra Girl (Documentary short) as
    Crusades Actor (uncredited)
    1935
    The Crusades as
    Saladin - Sultan of Islam
    1934
    Cleopatra as
    Octavian
    1934
    Dangerous Corner as
    Martin Chatfield
    1933
    Queen Christina as
    Magnus
    1932
    The Sign of the Cross as
    Tigellinus
    1931
    The Deceiver as
    Reginald Thorpe
    1931
    Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) as
    Robert Lane
    1931
    The Phantom of Paris as
    Marquis Du Touchais
    1931
    The Sin Ship as
    Smiley Marsden
    1931
    A Tailor Made Man as
    Dr. Von Sonntag
    1930
    The Boudoir Diplomat as
    Baron Belmar
    1930
    The Big Trail as
    Bill Thorpe
    1930
    Abraham Lincoln as
    John Wilkes Booth
    1930
    Prince of Diamonds as
    Rupert Endon
    1929
    The Great Divide as
    Steven Ghent
    1929
    Light Fingers as
    Light Fingers
    1929
    Prisoners as
    Nicholas Cathy
    1928
    The Divine Lady as
    Honorable Charles Greville
    1928
    The Look Out Girl as
    Dean Richardson
    1928
    The Street of Illusion as
    Edwin Booth Benton
    1927
    A Man's Past as
    Dr. Fontaine
    1927
    Two Arabian Knights as
    Shevket
    1927
    Convoy as
    Smith
    1927
    What Every Girl Should Know as
    Arthur Graham
    1927
    The Love of Sunya as
    Louis Anthony
    1926
    The Truthful Sex as
    Tom Barnes
    1926
    The Prince of Tempters as
    Mario Ambrosio, later Baron Humberto Giordano
    1926
    The Lily as
    George Arnaud
    1926
    The Greater Glory as
    Pauli Birbach
    1925
    The Tower of Lies as
    Lars
    1925
    The Talker as
    Ned Hollister
    1925
    My Son as
    Felipe Vargas
    1925
    Enticement as
    Richard Valyran
    1924
    Love's Wilderness as
    Paul L'Estrange
    1924
    Christine of the Hungry Heart as
    Ivan Vianney
    1924
    Her Love Story as
    Captain Kavor
    1924
    Manhandled as
    Robert Brandt
    Soundtrack
    1929
    The Great Divide (performer: "The End Of The Lonesome Trail" - uncredited)
    Self
    1934
    The Hollywood You Never See (Documentary short) as
    Self / Octavian
    Archive Footage
    2024
    Gumshoe Jon and the Mystery of the Saucermen (TV Mini Series) (filming) as
    John Wilkes Booth
    - Incident (2024) - John Wilkes Booth
    2020
    Cineficción Radio (Podcast Series)
    - Zombies (2020)
    2010
    Dick Tracy Special (TV Movie) as
    Vitamin Flintheart (uncredited)
    1956
    The Robot of Regalio (TV Movie) as
    The Nizam of Regalio
    1939
    Land of Liberty as
    Senator Crawford (edited from 'The Buccaneer')

    References

    Ian Keith Wikipedia


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