| Robert Keith | |
|---|---|
from Small Town Girl (1953) |
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| Born | Rolland Keith Richey February 10, 1898 Fowler, Indiana |
| Died | December 22, 1966 (aged 68) Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1924–64 |
| Spouse | Laura Corinne Jackson (1917-?) Helena Shipman (?-1926) Peg Entwistle (1927-29) Dorothy Tierney (1930-66) |
Robert Keith (February 10, 1898 – December 22, 1966) was an American stage and film actor who appeared in several dozen films, mostly in the 1950s as a character actor.
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Keith was born Rolland Keith Richey in Fowler, Indiana, the son of Mary Della (née Snyder) and James Haughey Richey.[1] His first wife was Laura Anne Corinne Jackson, the daughter of a prominent Cedar Rapids, Iowa family. He is noted for his performance as the weak-willed father in Fourteen Hours (1951), as a tough cop in Guys and Dolls (1955), and his performance in the 1953 film The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando, in which he played the ineffectual sheriff and father of Brando's love interest.
Keith also had a starring role in Douglas Sirk's Written on the Wind. He had roles on television, including a role as Richard Kimble's father in The Fugitive and lead roles on episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("Ten O'Clock Tiger") and The Twilight Zone ("The Masks").
Keith's second wife was stage actress Helena Shipman, with whom he had a son in 1921, actor Brian Keith who starred in many Disney films and in the TV show Family Affair. On April 18, 1927 Keith married Peg Entwistle. They were divorced in 1929. He remained married to his fourth wife, Dorothy Tierney, until his death on December 22, 1966.