Years active 1966–present Name Keith Skinner | Role Actor | |
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Occupation Former actor, currently historian and author Movies and TV shows Romeo and Juliet, Mademoiselle, Jesus of Nazareth Books Jack the Ripper: Letters fro, Ripper Diary: The Inside Sto, The Complete Jack the, The Crime Museum Caseboo, The Complete Jack The | ||
Keith Skinner retires: BBC TV News
Keith Skinner (born 1949) is a British actor and crime historian and author.
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Acting career
He worked as an actor in cinema and television. His career began when he starred as Bruno in the 1966 film Mademoiselle. In 1968, he was cast in Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet as Balthasar, Romeo's manservant and trusted friend. He appears at various stages in the film including galloping on horseback to tell Romeo (played by Leonard Whiting) of Juliet's "death" and accompanies Romeo back to Verona again on horseback towards the end of the film.
Skinner starred in one episode of The Jazz Age in 1968. He played Harry Lampton in five episodes of the early seventies' TV series Man at the Top and appeared in three episodes of Z-Cars from 1969 to 1972. He went on to appear in an episode of Play for Today, one episode of Out of the Unknown in 1971, two episodes of So it Goes in 1973, and two episodes of Beryl's Lot (1973-1976). In 1976 he appeared in the British musical The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella. In 1977, Skinner played the possessed boy in the TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth. In 1980, he starred in Frank Loesser's musical Guys and Dolls. In 1985, Skinner appeared in an episode of Doctor Who.
Current career
From an early age, Skinner developed an interest in the history of Jack the Ripper. As an adult, he started researching his own family history and undertook more thorough research on the Ripper as well. From there, he moved on to the history of the Metropolitan Police, and he is now an established crime historian and author.
In 2001, he worked on the film From Hell as an historical consultant. He also worked as a historical researcher and consultant for the documentaries The Hunt (2001) and Hunt For Jack the Ripper (2001).
He has also co-authored a number of historical books, namely: