Keith Andes

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Actor Keith Andes in Clash by Night (1952)

Keith Andes (July 12, 1920, Ocean City, New Jersey - November 11, 2005, Newhall, California) was an actor, usually the second lead, in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Andes found work on radio singing and acting throughout his high school years. He attended Oxford University and graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in education. He studied voice at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. His sons, Mark and Matt, are accomplished rock musicians.

[edit] Career

John Charles Andes (his birth name) began his Broadway career while serving in the Air Force during World War II.

His first screen role was a minor part in the film Winged Victory (1944), followed by a small role in the film The Farmer's Daughter, which starred Loretta Young, and for which she won her Best Actress Oscar. In 1947, Keith Andes received a Theater World Award for his debut performance in The Chocolate Soldier, and later starred in Kiss Me Kate.

In 1952, he appeared as Marilyn Monroe's sweetheart and Barbara Stanwyck's brother in the cult film Clash by Night (directed by Fritz Lang and co-written by Clifford Odets). He appeared with Robert Newton in Blackbeard, the Pirate.

On television, he played an amateur sleuth on the short-lived 1963 sitcom, Glynis, that starred Glynis Johns (who played his wife). He also appeared in the equally short-lived police show This Man Dawson (1959-60).

Andes starred opposite Lucille Ball in the Broadway musical Wildcat in 1960, and later appeared on her 1960s sitcom, The Lucy Show. His career spanned three decades, appearing in episodes of the science fiction television show , Cannon, Death Valley Days, Daniel Boone, The Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek (in the episode, The Apple). His work included voice acting in the animated Birdman and the Galaxy Trio (1967).

Late in life, he appeared in films such as ...And Justice for All and Tora! Tora! Tora! (about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor).

Andes was found dead at his Newhall, California home on November 11, 2005. Andes, who had been suffering from bladder cancer and other ailments, committed suicide by asphyxiation, according to a report from the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. He was 85 years old.

His two sons, Mark Andes (a musician in such bands as Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne and Heart) and Matt Andes, survive him.