TRIVIA:

He made his adult film debut in 1953 in the Western ``Arrowhead″ with Charlton Heston.| Had four biological children (Michael, Mimi, Robert and Daisy) and three adopted children (Barbara, Betty and Rory). His first son, Michael, died in childhood in 1963. His 27-year old daughter, Daisy Keith, committed suicide 10 weeks before her father followed suit while battling terminal cancer. His son, Robert, was named for his father and grandfather. | He served in the United States Marine Corps in World War II, and received an Air Medal. He was the rear-facing gunner on an SBD Dauntless, a scout/dive bomber, used extensively by the Marine Corps and Navy, that saw a great deal of action in the Pacific during WWII. His weapons were twin-mounted .30 caliber Browning machine guns. | Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly was said to have been a huge fan of Keith, while growing up. His favorite movies in which Keith starred were The Rare Breed (1966) and Nevada Smith (1966). The two men remained friends during and after Hardcastle and McCormick (1983). Years later, he would land a co-starring role opposite Keith in Hardcastle and McCormick (1983), and stayed on the show until its cancellation in 1986. | Actors Kathy Garver and Johnny Whitaker were said to be huge fans of his when they were both growing up. They both co-starred alongside him on Family Affair (1966), and stayed with the show until its cancellation in 1971. | Although Keith had been acting since age three, he didn't appear in his first film until age 31. Before making his mark on screen, he acted in stock theater productions and on radio. | Was offered the role of Deke Thornton in The Wild Bunch (1969), which he turned down, because he was under contract working on Family Affair (1966). | Keith was the stepson of two actresses, first, Peg Entwistle, who committed suicide, jumping from the "H" of the famous Hollywood Sign in 1932. His second stepmother, Dorothy Tierney, remained wed to his father until the latter's death. | Had boasted of telling CBS executives 'to go fly a kite' when they suggested toning down the content of his series The Westerner (1960) to make this more appealing to children. | Met actor Michael Landon on an episode of Crusader (1955). The two became good friends from 1956 until Landon's death on July 1, 1991. | Was a commercial spokesperson for Camel Cigarettes in the 1950s.

VIDEO TRIBUTE:

Brian Keith

Brian Donlevy
Active - 1924 - 1997  |   Born - Nov 14, 1921 in Philadelphia, PA  |   Died - Jun 24, 1997   |   Genres - Drama, Western, Comedy, Adventure, Action | Height: 6’ 0½”
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The son of actor Robert Keith (1896-1966), Brian Keith made his first film appearance in 1924's Pied Piper Malone, when he was well-below the age of consent. 

During the war years, Keith served in the Marines, winning a Navy Air Medal; after cessation of hostilities, he began his acting career in earnest. At first billing himself as Robert Keith Jr., he made his 1946 Broadway debut in Heyday, then enjoyed a longer run as Mannion in Mister Roberts (1948), which featured his father as "Doc." His film career proper began in 1952; for the rest of the decade, Keith played good guys, irascible sidekicks and cold-blooded heavies with equal aplomb. 

Beginning with Ten Who Dared (1959), Keith became an unofficial "regular" in Disney Films, his performances alternately subtle (The Parent Trap) and bombastic. Of his 1970s film efforts, Keith was seen to best advantage as Teddy Roosevelt in The Wind and the Lion (1975). In television since the medium was born, Keith has starred in several weekly series, including The Crusader (1955-56), The Little People (aka The Brian Keith Show, 1972-74) and Lew Archer (1975). His longest-running and perhaps best-known TV endeavors were Family Affair (1966-71), in which he played the uncharacteristically subdued "Uncle Bill" and the detective series Hardcastle & McCormick (1983-86). 

His most fascinating TV project was the 13-week The Westerner (1960), created by Sam Peckinpah, in which he played an illiterate cowpoke with an itchy trigger finger. Keith's personal favorite of all his roles is not to be found in his film or TV output; it is the title character in Hugh Leonard's stage play Da. Plagued by emphysema and lung cancer while apparently still reeling emotionally from the suicide of his daughter Daisy, 75-year-old Brian Keith was found dead of a gunshot wound by family members in his Malibu home. Police ruled the death a suicide. Just prior to his death, Keith had completed a supporting role in the TNT miniseries Rough Riders.

-Biography by Hal Erickson​​

"I never made a career move in my life,″ Keith said in a 1991 interview.  "I just took what came along. I never looked for stepping stones to becoming a star. ... I never gave a hoot.″

- Brian Keith
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