Howard Keel Biography
Born: April 13, 1919
Died: November 07, 2004
Born in Illinois, Howard Keel was raised in California by his widowed mother. Here he supported himself with odd jobs after high-school graduation, vaguely holding out hopes of becoming a professional singer. His first gig was as a singing busboy at a Los Angeles cafe for the princely wage of 15 per week. Temporarily discouraged, Keel took a job at Douglas Aircraft; the executive staff, impressed by Keel's movie-star looks and pleasant baritone, sent the young man out on a tour of Douglas' other plants, where as a "manufacturing representative" he entertained the workers while they hastened to meet their wartime quotas. After winning several singing contests, Keel was hired by Rodgers and Hammerstein; he replaced John_Raitt in the Broadway production of Carousel and played Curley in the London staging of Oklahoma. It was while in England that Keel, billed as Harold Keel, made his film debut in a villainous role in The_Small_Voice (1949). He was brought back to Hollywood to play Frank Butler in MGM's filmization of Irving_Berlin's Annie_Get_Your_Gun. This led to leading roles in such subsequent big-budget MGM musicals as Showboat (1951), Lovely to Look At (1952), Kiss_Me_Kate (1953), Rose_Marie (1954), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Kismet (1955) and Jupiter's_Darling (1955). Ever on the lookout for a straight, nonsinging role, Keel was occasionally satisfied with such films as Callaway_Went_Thataway (1951) (in which he essayed a dual role), Desperate_Search (1953) and The_Big_Fisherman (1959). After parting company with MGM, Keel appeared in nightclub and touring companies, often in the company of his frequent MGM co-star Kathryn_Grayson, and also starred in several medium-budget westerns; he also was cast in the British sci-fi classic Day of the Triffids (1963). Howard Keel's most recent on-camera credit was the sizeable supporting role of Clayton Farrow on the TV series Dallas. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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