Larry Keith (born Lawrence Jay Korn; March 4, 1931 – July 17, 2010) was an American television actor. He was best known for being a cast member on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' and was the first American to play the role of Henry Higgins in the

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production of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

''.

Fox, Margalit Margalit Fox (born April 25, 1961) is an American writer. After earning a master's degree in linguistics, she began her career in publishing in the 1980s. In 1994, she joined ''The New York Times'' as a copy editor for its ''Book Review'' and la ...

"Larry Keith, Television and Stage Actor, Dies at 79"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 21, 2010. Accessed July 21, 2010. He was born on March 4, 1931, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and adopted his stage name when he started acting. His early training was as a singer, and he earned a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

degree from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

. He was drafted while he was a graduate student in music at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

and spent his time in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

performing in shows for troops stationed in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. In the 1961 Broadway production of ''My Fair Lady'', Keith served as an understudy to

Michael Allinson Michael Allinson (30 December 1920 – 30 December 2010) was a British-American stage and film actor. Biography John Michael Allinson was born on 30 December 1920 in London, the son of British painter and sculptor Adrian Allinson, founding memb ...

and played the role of Higgins some 50 times. In an interview with the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' before his first stage appearance as Higgins, Keith said he doubted that he could get away with a plummy British accent in England, "but I think I can in New York". In 1992, Keith was one of the founders of TACT (The Actors Company Theatre), which has the mission of presenting "neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit", appearing in its productions of '' Eccentricities of a Nightingale'' and ''Bedroom Farce''. Keith also appeared on Broadway in ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' in 1997 in the role of

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

owner

Isidor Straus Isidor Straus (February 6, 1845 – April 15, 1912) was a Bavarian-born American businessman, politician, and co-owner of Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served for just over a year as a member of the United States House ...

who sang the song ''Still'' to his wife Ida as the boat was sinking into the ocean. In ''

Caroline, or Change ''Caroline, or Change'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics and book by Tony Kushner. The score combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music. The show ran both Off-Broadway and on Broadw ...

'' in 2004, Keith played the role of Mr. Stopnick.

Simonson, Robert Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988. Career Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...

"Larry Keith, Broadway Actor, Dies at 79"
, ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

'', July 19, 2010. Accessed July 22, 2010. He played the role of restaurateur Nick Davis on ''All My Children'', appearing regularly from its inception in 1970 until 1978 and then made guest appearances in that role in the ensuing years. He appeared in television in ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

'' and several times on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. A resident of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, Keith died there on July 17, 2010, due to complications from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. He was survived by his ex-wife, the former Mina Wagman, as well as by a daughter and a grandchild.

Television roles

*1967–1969: '' Another World'' *1970–1978, 1983–1984, 1988, 1991–1994, 1997, 2005: ''

'' *1979–1980: ''

The Baxters ''The Baxters'' is a sitcom that aired in broadcast syndication from September 1979 to August 1981. The original American incarnation of the series aired locally from 1977 to 1979 on the Boston, Massachusetts, Boston station WCVB-TV; in 1979, N ...

'' *1981: '' The Wave'' *1983: ''

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

'' *1986: ''

Stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

'' *1990, 1992, 1996, 2008: ''

'' *2010: ''

References

External links

* *
Larry Keith
at Internet Off-Broadway Database
''Actor Larry Keith Dies At Age 79''
Obituary at ''BroadwayWorld.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Larry 1931 births 2010 deaths American male soap opera actors American male stage actors Brooklyn College alumni Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Indiana University Bloomington alumni United States Army soldiers