Howard Keel

Birthday: 13 April 1919, Gillespie, Illinois, USA

Birth Name: Harold Clifford Keel

Height: 193 cm

He was the Errol Flynn and Clark Gable of "golden age" movie musicals back in the 1950s. With a barrel-chested swagger and cocky, confident air, not to mention his lusty handsomeness and obvious athleticism, 6'4" brawny baritone Howard Keel had MGM's loveliest songbirds swooning helplessly for over a decade in what were some of the finest musical films ever produced.Born Harold Clifford Keel in Gillespie, IL, in 1919, his childhood was admittedly unhappy, his father being a hard-drinking coal miner and his mother a stern, repressed Methodist homemaker. When Keel was 11 his father died, and the family moved to California. He later earned his living as a car mechanic, then found work during WWII at Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles. His naturally untrained voice was discovered by the staff of his aircraft company and soon he was performing at various entertainments for the company's clients. He was inspired to sing professionally one day while attending a Hollywood Bowl concert, and quickly advanced through the musical ranks from singing waiter to music festival contest winner to guest recitalist.Oscar Hammerstein II "discovered" Keel in 1946 during John Raitt's understudy auditions for the role of Billy Bigelow in Broadway's popular musical "Carousel." He was cast on sight and the die was cast. Keel managed to understudy Alfred Drake as Curly in "Oklahoma!" as well, and in 1947 took over the rustic lead in the London production, earning great success. British audiences took to the charismatic singer and he remained there as a concertist while making a non-singing film debut in the British crime drama The Small Voice (1948) (aka "Hideout").MGM was looking for an answer to Warner Bros.' Gordon MacRae when they came upon Keel in England. They made a great pitch for him and he returned to the US, changing his stage moniker to Howard Keel. He became a star with his very first role, playing sharpshooter Frank Butler opposite brassy Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in the film version of the Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950). From then on Keel would be showcased in several of MGM's biggest and most classic extravaganzas, with Show Boat (1951), Calamity Jane (1953), Kiss Me Kate (1953) and (his favorite) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) at the top of the list. Kismet (1955) opposite Ann Blyth would be his last, as the passion for movie musicals ran its course.The robust musical star also managed to move effortlessly into rugged (if routine) action fare, appearing in such 1960s films as Armored Command (1961), Waco (1966), Red Tomahawk (1967) and The War Wagon (1967), the last one starring John Wayne and featuring Keel as a wisecracking Indian, of all things. In the 1970s Keel kept his singing voice alive by returning full force to his musical roots. Some of his summer stock and touring productions, which included "Camelot," "South Pacific," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Man of La Mancha," and "Show Boat," often reunited him with his former MGM leading ladies, including Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell. He also worked up a Las Vegas nightclub act Ms. with Grayson in the 1970s.Keel became an unexpected TV household name when he replaced Jim Davis as the upstanding family patriarch of the nighttime soap drama Dallas (1978) after Davis' untimely death. As Clayton Farlow, Miss Ellie's second husband, he enjoyed a decade of steady work. In later years he continued to appear in concerts. As a result of this renewed fame on TV, Keel landed his first solo recording contract with "And I Love You So" in 1983. Married three times, he died in 2004 of colon cancer, survived by his third wife, three daughters and one son. Hide

If I had my ups and downs, that's tough. If everything in life always went smoothly, it would be a b Show more If I had my ups and downs, that's tough. If everything in life always went smoothly, it would be a bloody bore. You know, people say, "Wait and go to heaven". Well, if heaven's like they claim it is, I don't want to go. I'd get bored. Besides, I think heaven's right here, in your mind. You make your own heaven and hell, I think. All this nonsense about heaven: "Be good so you can go up there." I say be good because you should be good, because you don't want to hurt people. Hide

You should never envy anyone. One day you might be in that person's position and it might not be so Show more You should never envy anyone. One day you might be in that person's position and it might not be so nice. Hide

I had a terrible, rotten childhood. My father made away with himself when I was 11. I had no guidanc Show more I had a terrible, rotten childhood. My father made away with himself when I was 11. I had no guidance, my mom was six feet tall, bucktoothed and very tough. I was mean and rebellious and had a terrible temper. I got a job as an auto mechanic, and I would have stayed in that narrow kind of life if I hadn't discovered art. Music changed me completely. Hide

[on Kathryn Grayson] She's a beautiful woman. A good friend. Fun to be around. [on Kathryn Grayson] She's a beautiful woman. A good friend. Fun to be around.

You get your ups and downs but you just don't fall apart. You take another shot at it. You get your ups and downs but you just don't fall apart. You take another shot at it.

God has been kind. I haven't got any great talent but everyone has a certain amount and it's what yo Show more God has been kind. I haven't got any great talent but everyone has a certain amount and it's what you do with it that counts. I was blessed with a voice and I used it. Hide

It was a fine cast and lots of fun to make, but they did the damn thing on the cheap. The backdrops Show more It was a fine cast and lots of fun to make, but they did the damn thing on the cheap. The backdrops had holes in them and it was shot on the worst film stock. - On Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Hide

I'm not a religious man. As a matter of fact, I think religion is one of the biggest evils in this w Show more I'm not a religious man. As a matter of fact, I think religion is one of the biggest evils in this world. Think of the world's wars, almost all of them have started because of religion. I have my own attitude to this life. Hell, you can't look up at the sky and not think there's some superhuman force at work. But I don't know what it is. Hide

The only way to enjoy golf is to be a masochist. Go out and beat yourself to death. The only way to enjoy golf is to be a masochist. Go out and beat yourself to death.

Once somebody said to me, "How can you stand to work in a tent?" Well, people are people wherever yo Show more Once somebody said to me, "How can you stand to work in a tent?" Well, people are people wherever you go, and a performance is a performance. It's your job and it's not fair to let an audience down. I will not relax the standards of what I feel should be done. Hide

[about his job on Dallas (1978)] When I was offered the role of Farlow, I was thrilled. It meant I c Show more [about his job on Dallas (1978)] When I was offered the role of Farlow, I was thrilled. It meant I could be home every night with my family. Hide

Success can be harder to take than failure in a lot of ways. It brings with it a responsibility. You Show more Success can be harder to take than failure in a lot of ways. It brings with it a responsibility. You have to learn that all the highs don't last forever. For every high, there's a corresponding low. It's why young kids often go to pieces. When they get so popular they can't go out of their hotel rooms, that's when they turn to drugs. Success can be very dangerous, very heady. Hide

[about his heart surgery] One person who has really been an inspiration for me in this is my good fr Show more [about his heart surgery] One person who has really been an inspiration for me in this is my good friend Barbara Bel Geddes, who underwent coronary bypass surgery herself about three years ago. I've learned some things from Barbara. One thing I learned is that you don't accomplish anything by sitting around the house after something like this - except to get yourself good and bored. I was one of those that encouraged her to come back to the show, and I've never seen Barbara looking happier or more healthy looking than since she returned to Dallas (1978). Seeing her return has been a real inspiration. It shows how you can come back from heart surgery. Hide

When I found out that I could carry a tune, well, I came to realize that I had a gift, that it was a Show more When I found out that I could carry a tune, well, I came to realize that I had a gift, that it was a kind of a blessing. And I think if you're given something special, you ought to try and give that something back. If you don't, it's a sin. No question. Hide

[about his choice to go ahead with open heart surgery in January, 1986, despite the risk of losing h Show more [about his choice to go ahead with open heart surgery in January, 1986, despite the risk of losing his job on Dallas (1978)] There is always another part. But there is only one life! Hide

[about his work on Dallas (1978)][ I started out a long time ago, and now the younger generation kno Show more [about his work on Dallas (1978)][ I started out a long time ago, and now the younger generation knows who I am. My daughter is a part of that younger generation, and I owe it to her not to act like an old man. Hide

[about retirement] I'm just having too much fun. As long as I can sing well, I'll keep at it. The mi Show more [about retirement] I'm just having too much fun. As long as I can sing well, I'll keep at it. The minute I feel that the voice is getting down, the minute I feel that I can't cut the mustard, I'll quit. Hide

Any time you get in an area that takes a great deal of skill, you'll find that the tendrils are much Show more Any time you get in an area that takes a great deal of skill, you'll find that the tendrils are much more sensitive. People talk about actors being temperamental, but that sort of thing is everywhere. Hide

[about filming dinner scenes on Dallas (1978)] The continuity girl goes crazy. The poor dear, my gos Show more [about filming dinner scenes on Dallas (1978)] The continuity girl goes crazy. The poor dear, my gosh! Because you take a bite, you gotta remember when you took the bite, what words, that sort of thing. If you sit down with Patrick Duffy, who plays Bobby, and [Larry Hagman] at a meal like that, it's like sitting down with two of the worst brats in the neighborhood! They pull more shtick at that table. They send the scripts up. It is pandemonium! It's a minor miracle that anything gets done. Hide

Howard Keel's FILMOGRAPHY

as Actor (82)

Murder, She Wrote - Season 9

Fantasy Island - Season 1 (1978)

Dallas - Season 10

Murder, She Wrote - Season 8

Across the Wide Missouri

Deep in My Heart

Tales of Wells Fargo - Season 4

Ride Vaquero

Walker, Texas Ranger - Season 5

Walker, Texas Ranger - Season 6