Career Highlights: An Officer and a Gentleman, Firestarter, The Lords of Discipline
First Major Screen Credit: Brubaker (1980)
Biography
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, David Keith made his first significant theatrical appearance in Chicago. Keith was to star in the 1979 sitcom Co-Ed Fever, but it was pulled from the CBS lineup after one episode. Luckily, his more enduring movie career also began in 1979 with a small role in The Rose. Keith quickly became a specialist in portraying all-American boy roles who were cursed with a fatal character flaw or two, as witnessed in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). Keith's performance as a suicidal officer-in-training earned him two Golden Globe nominations. Retaining his military buzz-cut from Officer, Keith had his first above-the-title starring role in 1983's The Lords of Discipline. And with an uncharacteristic full head of hair, Keith played Elvis in the 1990 fantasy Heartbreak Hotel, performing the King's songs himself. An able director, Keith has thus far helmed two films: The Curse (1985) and Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck (1987). One of Keith's more unorthodox recent screen appearances was as a foot-tall toy figure who comes to life in 1995's The Indian in the Cupboard. Keith occasionally appears in made-for-television movies such as Guts & Glory: The Oliver Story in which he played the title role, and in miniseries like James Michener's Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Keith was present during the sentencing phase for John Couey, who was convicted by a jury of his peers for kidnapping, raping, and murdering Jessica Lunsford. Keith said that he was planning on going to Washington D.C. with Mark Lunsford after the sentencing, to lobby congress for more support of child sexual predator laws. Keith gave an interview with Tampa BayABC affiliate WFTS-TV and was quoted saying this:
One of the great things I said about Mark (Lunsford) is he wants justice and he wants closure in this, he wants justice for his daughter. But what he really wants is to protect children and if we can get child molesters in jail, that's the way you protect children![citation needed]
Keith was a National Advisory Board member and spokesperson for PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children.