Stacy Keach facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stacy Keach
Keach in 2007
Born	Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (1941-06-02) June 2, 1941 (age 84) Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Citizenship	United States Poland (since 2015)
Education	University of California, Berkeley Yale University London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–present
Spouse(s)	Kathryn Baker ​ ​ (m. 1964, divorced)​ Marilyn Aiken ​ ​ (m. 1975; div. 1979)​ Jill Donahue ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1986)​ Małgosia Tomassi ​ (m. 1986)​
Children	2
Parents	Stacy Keach Sr. (father) Mary Peckham (mother)
Relatives	James Keach (brother)

Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor. He has been active in theatre, film, and television since the 1960s. Stacy Keach first became well-known in theatre shows and is still an important figure in American theatre. He is especially known for his roles in William Shakespeare's plays.

He has won many awards for his acting, including four Drama Desk Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, and two Obie Awards. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in the 1969 play Indians.

In movies, he was praised for playing a boxer in the film Fat City (1972). He also appeared as Sergeant Stedenko in the films Up in Smoke (1978) and Nice Dreams (1981). Some of his other well-known films include Brewster McCloud (1970), Doc (1971), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Luther (1973), The Ninth Configuration (1980), The Long Riders (1980), Roadgames (1981), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1992), Escape from L.A. (1996), American History X (1998), The Bourne Legacy (2012), and Nebraska (2013).

On television, Keach is famous for playing private detective Mike Hammer in the TV series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1984–1987). For this role, he was nominated for a Golden Globe. He also played Ken Titus on the sitcom Titus (2000–2002) and is the narrator for the crime documentary series American Greed (2007–present). He had regular roles on shows like Prison Break (2005–2007), Two and a Half Men (2010), Blue Bloods (2016–2024), and The Blacklist (2019–2023). He won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for playing Ernest Hemingway in the TV miniseries Hemingway (1988).

Stacy Keach is a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019. He is the son of theatre director Stacy Keach Sr. and the older brother of actor James Keach.

Early Life and Education

Stacy Keach was born in Savannah, Georgia. His mother, Mary Cain, was an actress. His father, Stacy Keach Sr., was a theatre director, drama teacher, and actor. Stacy was born with a condition that affected his lip and mouth. He had several operations as a child to help him. As an adult, he often wears a mustache to cover the scars. He is now the honorary chairman of the Cleft Palate Foundation. He helps advocate for people to get insurance coverage for these types of surgeries.

Keach finished high school at Van Nuys High School in June 1959. He was the class president. He then earned two degrees from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963. One was in English, and the other in Dramatic Art. He later earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1966. He also studied in London as a Fulbright Scholar at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. While studying in London, Keach met Laurence Olivier, who was his acting hero.

Acting Career

Theatre Performances

Keach in 1969 (Central Park, New York City)

In 1966, Keach played the main role in MacBird!, an anti-war play in New York City. In 1967, he acted with Morgan Freeman in The Niggerlovers. Morgan Freeman has said that Keach taught him a lot about acting. Keach also starred in We Bombed in New Haven in 1967. He first appeared on Broadway in 1969 as Buffalo Bill in Indians. Early in his career, he was called Stacy Keach Jr. to tell him apart from his father.

Keach has won many awards for his theatre work. These include Obie Awards and Drama Desk Awards. In the early 1980s, he starred in the musical Barnum. In 1991 and 1996, he won Helen Hayes Awards for his roles in Richard III and Macbeth. In 1998, he was in a play called 'Art' in London.

In 2006, Keach played the main role in Shakespeare's King Lear in Chicago. In 2008, he played Merlin in the musical Camelot. In 2009, he played King Lear again and won another Helen Hayes Award. He has played the title role in two different productions of Hamlet. From 2008 to 2009, Keach played Richard M. Nixon in the play Frost/Nixon.

In 2010, Keach began performing in the play Other Desert Cities. This play later moved to Broadway in 2011. Keach is a founder of L.A. Theatre Works. He has played lead roles in many of their productions, including Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman.

In 2017, Keach was set to play Ernest Hemingway in a one-man play called Pamplona. During a preview performance, he had a mild heart attack. The show was canceled so he could recover. He returned to the role a year later in 2018.

Film Roles

Keach played a new policeman in The New Centurions (1972). That same year, he starred in Fat City, a boxing movie. He was considered for a role in the 1973 movie The Exorcist. He later played Kane in The Ninth Configuration (1980).

He was the narrator for a 1973 racing documentary. He played Sgt. Stedenko, a police officer, in Up in Smoke and Nice Dreams. He also appeared as Barabbas in Jesus of Nazareth. In 1978, he played an explorer in Slave of the Cannibal God. This film became a "cult favorite." He also played Frank James in The Long Riders (1980), with his brother James playing Jesse James. Keach starred in the 1981 Australian thriller Roadgames with Jamie Lee Curtis. In the 1993 movie Body Bags, he played a man who was obsessed with hair.

He played a character in American History X (1998). In Oliver Stone's 2008 film W., Keach played a Texas preacher.

Keach also starred in the TV film Ring of Death. He played Skipper Riley, a flight instructor, in the animated movie Planes. He returned for the sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue. In 2012, Keach had a supporting role in The Bourne Legacy. In 2013, he was in the film Nebraska. In the 2017 film Gotti, Keach played Neil Dellacroce.

Television Appearances

Keach as Mike Hammer and Tanya Roberts as Velda in Murder Me, Murder You in 1983

Keach's first regular TV role was Lieutenant Ben Logan in Caribe in 1975. He played Barabbas in Jesus of Nazareth in 1977. He also played Jonas Steele in the 1982 miniseries The Blue and the Gray. He is best known for playing Mike Hammer in the TV series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer from 1984 to 1987. He played Hammer again in a new series from 1997 to 1998. In 1988, he starred as Ernest Hemingway in the TV movie Hemingway.

From 2000 to 2002, he played Ken Titus on the sitcom Titus. The cast members enjoyed working with Keach because he could make any line funny.

Keach has lent his voice to several episodes of The Simpsons. He also voiced Robert Vance in the Batman Beyond episode "Lost Soul." He appeared in an episode of Will & Grace in 2005. He had a recurring role as Warden Henry Pope in the drama Prison Break.

In 2006, he acted in the mini-series Blackbeard. In 2011, Keach co-starred as "Pops" in the boxing drama series Lights Out.

In 2013, Keach appeared on the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In 2015, he began guest starring in NCIS: New Orleans as Cassius Pride, the father of Agent Dwayne Pride. He played Bob, the elderly father, on the 2016 sitcom Crowded. Since 2016, Keach has appeared on Blue Bloods as Archbishop Kevin Kearns. From 2017 to 2020, he played Joe Burns on Man with a Plan. He played Robert Vesco on the TV series The Blacklist from 2019 to 2023.

Narrator Roles

Keach has narrated many episodes of shows like Nova and National Geographic. From 1989 to 1992, he hosted Missing Reward, a show about unsolved cases. From 1992 to 1995, he was the voice-over narrator for Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories.

Since 1999, he has narrated World's Most Amazing Videos. He also hosts The Twilight Zone radio series. Keach is the voice of CNBC's American Greed, which has been on the air since 2007. For the PBS series American Experience, he narrated The Kennedys.

In 2008, Keach played Mike Hammer again in radio dramas. He also created and performed the music for these dramas. His wife, Malgosia Tomassi, also acted in them. Keach has also read many of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer novels as audiobooks.

Keach voiced John in The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible. He also voiced Job and Paul the Apostle in The Word of Promise, an audio presentation of the New King James Version. In 2014, Keach became the official voice of The Opie and Anthony Channel on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

Music

Keach is a talented pianist and composer. He sang backing vocals on the Judy Collins song "Amazing Grace". He also helped write a song called "Easy Times" for Judy Collins' album Living. He has composed music for films and for the Mike Hammer audio radio series.

Personal Life

Keach's star at the Orpheum Theatre, 2010

Stacy Keach has been married four times. He married Kathryn Baker in 1964, Marilyn Aiken in 1975, and Jill Donahue in 1981. He married Małgorzata Tomassi in 1986. He and Małgorzata have two adopted children, a son named Shannon and a daughter named Karolina. In 2015, Keach became a Polish citizen.

His brother James is also an actor and television director. Keach is a Roman Catholic.

Honors and Awards

In 2015, Keach was welcomed into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 2019, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Awards and Nominations

Critics Awards

Film Festivals

See also

In Spanish: Stacy Keach para niños