text: Howard Keel - WikiMili, The Free Encyclopedia
  Rosemary Cooper(m. 1943–1948)
  Helen Anderson(m. 1949–1970)
  Judy Keel(m. 1970)
  Harry Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919 –November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer with a rich bass-baritone singing voice. [1] He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS television series Dallas from 1981–1991.
  Keel was born in Gillespie, Illinois, United States, [1] to Navyman-turned-coalminer Homer Keel (1885-1930), and his wife, Grace Margaret (née Osterkamp) Keel (1887-1971). It was falsely stated—by the MGM publicity department of the 1950s—that Keel's birth name was Harold Leek. Harry had an elder brother, Frederick William Keel (1913-1982); they were so poor that a teacher would often provide Keel with lunch. After his father's death in 1930, Keel and his mother moved to California, where he graduated from Fallbrook High School at age 17. He worked various odd jobs until settling at Douglas Aircraft Company as a traveling representative.
  In 1945, he briefly understudied for John Raitt in the Broadway hit Carousel before being assigned to Oklahoma! , both written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. [1] While performing in Oklahoma, Keel accomplished a feat that has never been duplicated on Broadway; he once performed the leads in both shows on the same day. In 1947, Oklahoma! became the first American postwar musical to travel to London, England, and Keel joined the production. [1] On April 30, 1947, at the Drury Lane Theatre, the capacity audience (which included the future Queen Elizabeth II) demanded fourteen encores.
  John Emmet Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater.
  Keel made his film debut as Harold Keel at the British Lion studio in Elstree, in The Small Voice (1948), released in the United States as The Hideout. [1] He played an escaped convict holding a playwright and his wife hostage in their English country cottage. [2] Additional Broadway credits include Saratoga , No Strings , and Ambassador . He appeared at The Muny in St. Louis as Adam in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1978); Emile de Becque in South Pacific (1992); Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1996); and as General Waverly in White Christmas (2000).
  The Small Voice is a 1948 British thriller film directed by Fergus McDonell and starring Valerie Hobson, James Donald and Howard Keel. It is about an escaped convict who takes a married couple hostage. The film is part of a group of British film noir produced around this time.
  From London's West End, Keel went to Hollywood in 1949 where he was engaged by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio. He made his musical film debut as Frank Butler in the film version of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun (1950), co-starring with Betty Hutton. [1] The film was a big hit and established Keel as a star. [3]
  MGM put him opposite Esther Williams in Pagan Love Song (1950) which was successful, although not as profitable as most Esther William films because it went over budget. [3] Keel had a third hit in a row with the comedy Three Guys Named Mike (1951), supporting Van Johnson and Jane Wyman.
  Even more popular was Show Boat (1951), where Keel played the male lead opposite Kathryn Grayson and Ava Gardner. [1] Keel was reunited with Williams in Texas Carnival (1952). He had his first flop at MGM with the comedy Callaway Went Thataway (1952) co-starring Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire. [3] A reunion with Grayson, Lovely to Look At (1952), based on the stage musical Roberta was popular but lost money. [3]
  Warner Bros borrowed Keel to play Wild Bill Hickock opposite Doris Day in Calamity Jane (1953), another hit. Back at MGM he and Grayson made a third musical together, Kiss Me Kate (1953), which again was liked by the public but unprofitable. The same went for Rose Marie (1954) which Keel made with Ann Blyth. However Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) with Jane Powell was a huge success and made MGM over $3 million in profit. [3]
  He returned to his first love, the stage. In 1957, he was in a short-lived revival of Carousel. [4] Keel's next film was made in Britain, the thriller Floods of Fear (1959). He returned to Hollywood to play Simon-Peter in a Biblical epic, The Big Fisherman (1960). In 1959-60 he was in a short-lived Broadway musical Saratoga. [5] Keel went to Europe to make a low budget war film, Armored Command (1961). In England, he starred in The Day of the Triffids (1962). As America's taste in entertainment changed, finding jobs became more difficult for Keel. The 1960s held limited prospects for career advancement and consisted primarily of nightclub work, B-Westerns and summer stock. He did Carousel in 1962 and 1966. He replaced Richard Kiley on Broadway in No Strings (1962). Keel starred in Westerns for A. C. Lyles, Waco (1966), Red Tomahawk (1966) and Arizona Bushwhackers (1968). He had a supporting part in a John Wayne Western, The War Wagon (1967).
  Keel continued to tour with his wife and daughter in tow, but by 1980 had decided to make his life change. He moved his family to Oklahoma with the intention of joining an oil company. The family had barely settled down when Keel was called back to California to appear with Jane Powell on an episode of The Love Boat . While there, he was told that the producers of the television series Dallas wanted to speak with him. In 1981, after several guest appearances, Keel joined the show permanently as the dignified but hot-tempered oil baron Clayton Farlow. [1] Starting with an appearance on the fourth season, the character had been meant as a semi-replacement patriarch for the series' Jock Ewing played by Jim Davis, who had recently died. However, Clayton was such a hit among viewers that he was made a series regular and stayed on until its end in 1991. Not only did Dallas revive his acting career, it breathed new life to his recording endeavors. [1]
  With renewed fame, Keel commenced his first solo recording career, at age 64, as well as a successful concert career in the UK. He released an album in 1984, With Love, which sold poorly. However, his album And I Love You So reached #6 in the UK Albums Chart in 1984. [6] The follow up album, Reminiscing – The Howard Keel Collection peaked at #20 in the UK Albums Chart, spending twelve weeks in that listing in 1985 and 1986. [6]
  In 1988, the album Just for You reached #51 in the UK Albums Chart. [6] In 1994, Keel and Judy moved to Palm Desert, California. The Keels were active in community charity events, and attended the annual Howard Keel Golf Classic at Mere Golf Club in Cheshire, England, which raised money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Keel attended the event for many years until 2004.
  A Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him in 1996. [7]
  "They Say It's Wonderful" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1946), where it was introduced by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton. A film version in 1950 again featured the song when it was performed by Howard Keel and Betty Hutton.
  I Love Melvin is a 1953 American Technicolor MGM musical and dancing comedy film directed by Don Weis starring Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds. According to MGM records the film earned $1,316,000 in the US and Canada and $654,000 overseas, resulting in a loss of $290,000.
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 699/700. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  ↑ "Annie's Handsome Man". The Sunday Herald . Sydney. 18 June 1950. p. 4 Supplement: Features. Retrieved 17 July 2012– via National Library of Australia.