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Stacy Keach Sr.

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Stacy Keach Sr.
Born
Walter Stacy Keach

(1914-05-29)May 29, 1914
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedFebruary 13, 2003(2003-02-13) (aged 88)
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park
OccupationActor
Years active1942–1997
Spouse
Mary Cain Peckham
(m. 1937)
ChildrenStacy Keach Jr.
James Keach

Walter Stacy Keach Sr. (May 29, 1914 – February 13, 2003) was an American actor whose screen career spanned more than five decades.

Biography

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Keach was born in Chicago, Illinois. His career ranged from 1942 to 1997, with more than seventy movie and television appearances. He and his wife, the former Mary Cain Peckham, were members of the Peninsula Players summer theater program during the 1930s.[1]

Keach appeared in a 1955 episode of The Lone Ranger. Keach also appeared as Sheriff Ben Mason in the 1957 episode "Last Chance" of the ABC/Warner Brothers Western television series, Colt .45.[2] That same year, he was cast as Jed Hammer in the episode "Trail's End" of the ABC/WB Western series, Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins. Keach was cast in 1957 and 1958 in five episodes of the NBC Western series, The Californians as Bill Coleman. He also appeared in several episodes of the series Maverick as various lawmen, including the episode "Ghost Rider" with James Garner.

Keach is probably best known for his role as Carlson in the NBC sitcom, Get Smart. Carlson, a CONTROL scientist, was the inventor of such gadgets as an umbrella rifle (with a high-speed camera in the handle) and edible buttons—a parody of Q, who holds a similar position in the James Bond movies. By the time Keach took the role, however, he was the head of an industrial film company (a position he had held since 1948). Keach eventually gave up the role of Carlson when one too many clients were unable to reach him, and he had to respond, "I've been working in the CONTROL labs."[3]

In 1964 he appeared on Perry Mason in the role of Lt. Gibson in "The Case of the Frightened Fisherman" and in 1965 he again appeared on Perry Mason in the role of the trial court judge in "The Case of the Cheating Chancellor." In 1961, he appeared as Dr. Walter in the very first episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show.[4] In 1974 he appeared in an episode of the James Stewart legal drama Hawkins.

Keach's son, Stacy Keach Jr. (usually billed as "Stacy Keach", exactly like his father), enjoyed an acting career with far greater name recognition than his father's. The younger Keach is perhaps best known for starring in the title role of the Mike Hammer television series in the 1980s and 1990s. Another son, James Keach, an actor, director, and producer, was married to the actress Jane Seymour.

Keach died of congestive heart failure at the age of 88 in Burbank, California,[5] and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.[6]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1942 Secret Enemies Agent on Train with Cigarettes Uncredited
1943 The Hard Way First Theatrical Agent in Montage Uncredited
1943 Truck Busters Reporter Uncredited
1950 The Du Pont Story Pierre S. du Pont

\1955// The Lone Ranger Trigger Finger as the editor

1957 The Big Land Rebel in Livery Stable Uncredited
1958 Joy Ride Wechsler
1959 The FBI Story Machine Gun Kelly Uncredited
1963 Island of Love Doctor Uncredited
1964 Hamlet Marcellus / Player #1
1971 McMillan & Wife Dr. Hinton Episode: "Once Upon a Dead Man” (pilot)
1973 Detroit 9000
1974 The Parallax View Commission Spokesman #1
1976 High Velocity Carter
1978 Big Wednesday Old Man
1981 Saturday the 14th Attorney
1982 Superstition Rev. Maier
1983 Lies Uncle Charles
1985 The Twilight Zone Episode: Wong's Lost And Found Emporium
1986 Armed and Dangerous Judge
1990 Pretty Woman Senator Adams
1990 False Identity Irving Campbell
1994 Cobb Jimmie Foxx

References

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  1. ^ Peninsula Players 65th Anniversary Program, 1999.
  2. ^ "Colt .45". TVGuide.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  3. ^ McCrochan, Donna, The Life and Times of Maxwell Smart, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1988; p. 76.
  4. ^ "The Dick Van Dyke Show". TVGuide.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "Stacy Keach Sr., 88; Actor Appeared in Hundreds of TV Shows, Commercials". Los Angeles Times. February 14, 2003.
  6. ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 24801-24808). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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