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

Early years

Born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school production at age 16.

Career

Keith was a veteran character actor of the stage, and appeared in a variety of colorful roles in silent features of the 1920s. In 1919, as Keith Ross, he acted with the Copley Repertory Theatre in Boston. On Broadway, as Ian Keith, he performed in ''The Andersonville Trial'' (1959), ''Edwin Booth'' (1958), ''Saint Joan'' (1956), ''Touchstone'' (1953), ''The Leading Lady'' (1948), ''A Woman's a Fool - to Be Clever'' (1938), ''Robin Landing'' (1937), ''King Richard II'' (1937), ''Best Sellers'' (1933), ''Hangman's Whip'' (1933), ''Firebird'' (1932), ''Queen Bee'' (1929), ''The Command Performance'' (1928), ''The Master of the Inn'' (1925), ''Laugh, Clown, Laugh!'' (1923), ''As You Like It'' (1923), ''The Czarina'' (1922), and ''The Silver Fox'' (1921). He played

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

's first sound film, ''

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

''. Keith had a major role as a gambler in director

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He wa ...

's 1930

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

The Big Trail ''The Big Trail'' is a 1930 American epic pre-Code Western early widescreen film shot on location across the American West starring 23-year-old John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh. It is the final completed film ...

'' starring

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

. In 1932,

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

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 Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

) in

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

—in major and minor screen fare for the next three decades. He became one of DeMille's favorites, appearing in many of the producer's epic films. He portrayed Count de Rochefort in both the 1935 version and the 1948 remake of ''The Three Musketeers''. 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 Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

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 ''Dick Tracy vs. Cueball'' is a 1946 American action film based on the 1930s comic strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. The film stars Morgan Conway as Dick Tracy in the second installment of the ''Dick Tracy'' film s ...

'' was so amusing that he repeated the role in two more films. He played tough-guy military roles, such as Admiral Burns in Robert Gordon's sci-fi epic, ''

It Came From Beneath the Sea ''It Came from Beneath the Sea'' is a 1955 American science fiction monster horror film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Sam Katzman and Charles Schneer, directed by Robert Gordon, that stars Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, and Donald Cur ...

'' (1955). He also appeared on many television episodes in the 1950s, including starring in the premiere episode of ''

The Nash Airflyte Theater ''The Nash Airflyte Theater'' is an American dramatic anthology television series that was broadcast from September 21, 1950, through March 15, 1951, on CBS on Thursday evenings. It originated from WCBS-TV in New York City at 10:30 p.m. ...

'' in 1950. In 1955, he was seen on screen in his only

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

role, when he made a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as the Ghost opposite

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in a sequence from the

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...

biopic ''

Prince of Players ''Prince of Players'' is a 1955 20th Century Fox biographical film about the 19th century American actor Edwin Booth. The film was directed and produced by Philip Dunne from a screenplay by Moss Hart, based on the book by Eleanor Ruggles. The ...

''. Cecil B. DeMille brought him back to the big screen for '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956); Keith played

Ramses I Menpehtyre Ramesses I (or Ramses) was the founding pharaoh of ancient Egypt's 19th Dynasty. The dates for his short reign are not completely known but the timeline of late 1292–1290 BC is frequently cited as well as 1295–1294 BC. While Ra ...

. Keith played Emmett Dayton in the radio soap opera '' Girl Alone''. Keith died in Medical Arts Hospital in New York on March 26, 1960, and was cremated in Hartsdale, New York.

Marriages

Blanche Yurka Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka; June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway deb ...

(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 (1936 - 1960)

Partial filmography

* '' Manhandled'' (1924) as Robert Brandt (film debut) * '' Her Love Story'' (1924) as Captain Kavor * '' Christine of the Hungry Heart'' (1924) as Ivan Vianney * ''

Love's Wilderness ''Love's Wilderness'' is a 1924 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Helen Klumph and Eve Unsell. The film stars Corinne Griffith, Holmes Herbert, Ian Keith, Maurice de Canonge, Emily Fitzr ...

'' (1924) as Paul L'Estrange * ''

Enticement ''Enticement'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Mary Astor, Clive Brook, and Ian Keith. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Leonore Bewlay (Astor), recently grown into womanhood, wh ...

'' (1925) as Richard Valyran * ''

My Son My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Marke ...

'' (1925) as Felipe Vargas * '' The Talker'' (1925) as Ned Hollister * '' The Tower of Lies'' (1925) as Lars * ''

The Greater Glory ''The Greater Glory'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Curt Rehfeld. The film starred Conway Tearle and Boris Karloff. ''The Greater Glory'' is sometimes listed as ''The Viennese Medley'', the title of Edith O'Shaughnessy's n ...

'' (1926) as Pauli Birbach * ''The Lily'' (1926) as George Arnaud * ''

Prince of Tempters ''Prince of Tempters'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent romance film directed by Lothar Mendes and starring Lois Moran, Ben Lyon, and Lya De Putti. It is based on the 1924 novel ''The Ex-Duke'' by the British writer E. Phillips Oppenheim. ...

'' (1926) as Mario Ambrosio, later Baron Humberto Giordano * '' The Truthful Sex'' (1926) as Tom Barnes * '' The Love of Sunya'' (1927) as Louis Anthony * '' What Every Girl Should Know'' (1927) as Arthur Graham * ''

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

'' (1927) as Smith * ''

Two Arabian Knights ''Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) is an American silent comedy film, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring William Boyd, Mary Astor, and Louis Wolheim. The film was produced by Howard Hughes and was distributed by United Artists. The screenwr ...

'' (1927) as Shevket * '' A Man's Past'' (1927) as Dr. Fontaine * '' The Street of Illusion'' (1928) as Edwin Booth Benton * '' The Lookout Girl'' (1928) as Dean Richardson * ''

The Divine Lady ''The Divine Lady'' is a 1928 American pre-Code synchronized sound historical drama film. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. It ...

'' (1929) as Honorable Charles Greville * '' Prisoners'' (1929) as Nicholas Cathy * ''

Light Fingers Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Background The lightly built chestnut was by the highly succes ...

'' (1929) as Light Fingers * '' The Great Divide'' (1929) as Steven Ghent * '' Prince of Diamonds'' (1930) as Rupert Endon * ''

'' (1930) as

* ''

'' (1930) as Bill Thorpe * '' The Boudoir Diplomat'' (1930) as Baron Belmar * '' A Tailor Made Man'' (1931) as Dr. Von Sonntag * '' The Sin Ship'' (1931) as Smiley Marsden * '' The Phantom of Paris'' (1931) as Marquis Du Touchais * '' Susan Lenox'' (1931) as Robert Lane * '' The Deceiver'' (1931) as Reginald Thorpe * '' The Sign of the Cross'' (1932) as

Tigellinus Ofonius Tigellinus'' Oxford Classical Dictionary'',Ofonius Tigellinus ( – 69) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 62 until 68, during the reign of emperor Nero. Tigellinus gained ...

* '' Queen Christina'' (1933) as

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

* ''

Dangerous Corner ''Dangerous Corner'' is a 1932 British play by the English writer J. B. Priestley, the first of his " Time Plays". It was premiered in May 1932 by Tyrone Guthrie at the Lyric Theatre, London, and filmed in 1934 by Phil Rosen. Priestley had rec ...

'' (1934) as Martin Chatfield * ''

'' (1934) as

Octavian Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

* ''

The Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

'' (1935) as

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

- Sultan of Islam * ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (1935) as de Rochefort * '' Don't Gamble with Love'' (1936) as John Crane * '' The Preview Murder Mystery'' (1936) as E. Gordon Smith * '' Mary of Scotland'' (1936) as James Stuart - Earl of Moray * '' White Legion'' (1936) as Dr. Julian Murray * '' The Buccaneer'' (1938) as Senator Crawford * '' Comet Over Broadway'' (1938) as Wilton Banks * '' The Sea Hawk'' (1940) as Peralta * ''

All This, and Heaven Too ''All This, and Heaven Too'' is a 1940 American drama film released by Warner Bros.- First National Pictures, produced and directed by Anatole Litvak with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay was adapted by Casey Robinson from ...

'' (1940) as DeLangle * '' Remember Pearl Harbor'' (1942) as Capt. Hudson * ''

Fall In ''Fall In'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Eugene Conrad and Edward E. Seabrook. The film stars William Tracy, Joe Sawyer, Robert Barrat, Jean Porter and Arthur Hunnicutt. The film was released on Novembe ...

'' (1942) as Army Doctor (uncredited) * '' The Payoff'' (1942) as Inspector Thomas * '' The Sundown Kid'' (1942) as J. Richard Spencer * ''

Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

'' (1943) as Capt. Morris * '' Wild Horse Stampede'' (1943) as Carson * ''

I Escaped from the Gestapo ''I Escaped from the Gestapo'' is a 1943 film from King Brothers Productions, directed by Harold Young (director), Harold Young about a forger forced to work for Nazi spies. It stars Dean Jagger, Mary Brian and John Carradine. The film was also ...

'' (1943) as Gerard * ''

Five Graves to Cairo ''Five Graves to Cairo'' is a 1943 war film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Franchot Tone and Anne Baxter. Set in World War II, it is one of a number of films based on Lajos Bíró's 1917 play ''Hotel Imperial: Színmű négy felvonásba ...

'' (1943) as Capt. St. Bride (uncredited) * ''

That Nazty Nuisance ''That Nazty Nuisance'' is a 1943 American featurette that was one of Hal Roach's Streamliners and directed by Glenn Tryon. The film is also known as ''Double Crossed Fool'' (international TV title) and ''The Last Three''. It is a sequel to ''The ...

'' (1943) as Chief Paj Mab * ''

The Man from Thunder River ''The Man from Thunder River'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by John English and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Wild Bill Elliott, George "Gabby" Hayes, Anne Jeffreys, Ian Keith, John James and Georgie Cooper. The fil ...

'' (1943) as Henry Stevens * '' Bordertown Gun Fighters'' (1943) as Cameo Shelby * '' Adventures of the Flying Cadets'' (1943, Serial) as Col. Lee hs. 9-13* '' Here Comes Kelly'' (1943) as L. Herbert Oakley - Attorney * '' Casanova in Burlesque'' (1944) as J. Boggs-Robinson * '' Arizona Whirlwind'' (1944) as Polini * '' The Chinese Cat'' (1944) as Dr. Paul Recknik * '' Cowboy from Lonesome River'' (1944) as Matt Conway * '' Bowery Champs'' (1944) as Ken Duncan * '' Under Western Skies'' (1945) as Prof. Moffat * '' Fog Island'' (1945) as Dr. Lake * '' Identity Unknown'' (1945) as Major Williams * '' Phantom of the Plains'' (1945) as Talbot Wilberforce Champneys aka Fancy Charlie * '' Song of Old Wyoming'' (1945) as Lee Landow * ''

The Spanish Main ''The Spanish Main'' is a 1945 American adventure film starring Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak and Binnie Barnes, and directed by Frank Borzage. It was RKO's first all-Technicolor film since '' Becky Sharp'' ten years before. ...

'' (1945) as Captain Lussan * '' Northwest Trail'' (1945) as Inspector McGrath * '' Valley of the Zombies'' (1946) as Ormand Murks * '' Singing on the Trail'' (1946) as Jerry Easton * ''

The Strange Woman ''The Strange Woman'' is a 1946 American historical melodrama film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders and Louis Hayward. It is based on the 1941 novel of the same title by Ben Ames Williams. The screenplay was w ...

'' (1946) as Lincoln Pittridge (uncredited) * '' Mr. Hex'' (1946) as Mr. Raymond, the Hypnotist * ''

'' (1946) as Vitamin Flintheart * '' Border Feud'' (1947) as Doc Peters * ''

Dick Tracy's Dilemma ''Dick Tracy's Dilemma'', released in the United Kingdom as ''Mark of the Claw'', is a 1947 American action film based on the Dick Tracy, 1930s comic-strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. Ralph Byrd stars as Dick Tracy, rep ...

'' (1947) as Vitamin Flintheart * '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947) as Pete Krumbein * '' Forever Amber'' (1947) as Tybalt (uncredited) * ''

'' (1948) as Rochefort * ''

The Black Shield of Falworth ''The Black Shield of Falworth'' is a 1954 American Technicolor historical adventure film from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur (film producer), Robert Arthur and Melville Tucker and directed by Rudolph Maté. It stars Tony Cur ...

'' (1954) as King Henry IV * ''

'' (1955) as Ghost of Hamlet's Father in 'Hamlet' * '' New York Confidential'' (1955) as Waluska * ''

It Came from Beneath the Sea ''It Came from Beneath the Sea'' is a 1955 American science fiction monster horror film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Sam Katzman and Charles Schneer, directed by Robert Gordon, that stars Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, and Donald Cur ...

'' (1955) as Adm. Burns * ''

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin ''The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin'' is an American children's Western television series that aired 164 episodes from October 1954 to May 1959 on the ABC television network. The show starred Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian rai ...

'' (1955, TV) as Roland Tarleton * '' Duel on the Mississippi'' (1955) as Jacques Scarlet * '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956) as Rameses I (final film)

References

External links

* *
Ian Keith
photo gallery at New York City Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Ian 1899 births 1960 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors American male stage actors Male actors from Boston Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors Male Western (genre) film actors Francis W. Parker School (Chicago) alumni