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


Biography

Keach was born in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, 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. Keach appeared in a 1955 episode of ''
The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...
''. Keach also appeared as Sheriff Ben Mason in the 1957 episode "Last Chance" of the ABC/
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
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 ...
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'' Colt .45''. 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 The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
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 James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...
. Keach is probably best known for his role as Carlson in the NBC sitcom ''
Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...
''. 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 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
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." 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''. In 1974 he appeared in an episode of the
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
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 The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
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 Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
. Keach died of
congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...
at the age of 88 in
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, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.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.


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keach, Stacy Sr. 1914 births 2003 deaths Male actors from Chicago American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Keach family