Full Name George Duryea Name Tom Keene Cause of death Cancer Role Actor | Occupation Actor Education Columbia University Years active 1923–1959 | |
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Born December 30, 1896 ( 1896-12-30 ) Rochester, New York, U.S. Other names Dick Powers
Richard Powers
Tom Keen Died August 4, 1963, Woodland Hills, California, United States Spouse Grace Stafford (m. 1919–1940) Movies Plan 9 from Outer Space, Our Daily Bread, Western Mail, Tide of Empire, Scarlet River Similar People Ryan Eggold, Lesley Selander, King Vidor, Ed Wood, Robert N Bradbury | ||
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park | ||
Tom Keene (December 30, 1896 – August 4, 1963) was an American actor known mostly for his roles in B Westerns.
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Early life and career
Born as George Duryea (no relation to fellow actor Dan Duryea) in Rochester, New York, Keene studied at Columbia University and Carnegie Tech before embarking on an acting career. He made his film debut in the 1923 short film The Just a Little Late Club. Keene followed with roles in The Godless Girl (1929) directed by Cecil B. DeMille, Tide of Empire (1929) with Renée Adorée, Thunder with Lon Chaney, Sr., Tol'able David (1930), Sundown Trail (1931). In 1934 King Vidor cast him in the socially conscious Depression oriented classic Our Daily Bread with Karen Morley.
During the 1940s, Keene appeared in the film serial The Great Alaskan Mystery and two Dick Tracy films Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947). In the 1950s, he moved on to television with guest roles on The Range Rider, Buffalo Bill, Jr., Fury, Judge Roy Bean, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Keene's last film role was in the Ed Wood-directed cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959). He retired soon after this and focused on real estate and the insurance business.
Death
Keene died of cancer on August 4, 1963, aged 66. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Selected filmography
Later in his career, Keene was often credited as Richard Powers, and once as Dick Powers.