Keith Andes

Keith Andes
Andes in Split Second (1953)
Born	John Carles Andes July 12, 1920(1920-07-12) Ocean City, New Jersey, United States
Died	November 11, 2005 (aged 85) Newhall, Santa Clarita, California, United States
Occupation	Film, television, voice actor
Spouse(s)	Jean Alice Cotton (1948-1961) (divorced) Shelah Hackett (1961-?) (divorced)

Keith Andes (July 12, 1920 – November 11, 2005), born John Charles Andes, was an American actor, usually the second lead, in films in the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Early life

He was born in Ocean City, New Jersey as John Charles Andes on July 12, 1920. By the age of 12, he was featured on the radio.^[1]

Andes found work on radio singing and acting throughout his years at Upper Darby High School. 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.^[2] He began his Broadway career while serving in the Air Force during World War II.

Career

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, taking over Alfred Drake's role of Fred Graham after first playing it on the show's national tour.

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. In 1958, Andes starred as crusading former Louisiana State Police Superintendent Francis Grevemberg in the film Damn Citizen. His co-stars were Margaret Hayes as Dorothy Maguire Grevemberg and Gene Evans as police Major Al Arthur.

On television, he appeared in the short-lived police show This Man Dawson (1959-1960). He played an amateur sleuth on the 1963 Desilu sitcom on CBS, Glynis, starring Glynis Johns as his wife. The next year, he guest-starred in Mickey Rooney's short-lived Mickey sitcom on ABC.

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 Cannon, Death Valley Days, Daniel Boone, I Spy, 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). He also appeared as Prime Minister Darius in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Buck's Duel to the Death".

Death

Andes was found dead at the age of eighty-five at his Newhall, Santa Clarita, California, home. 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.

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

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Keith Andes

• Keith Andes at the Internet Movie Database
• Keith Andes at Allmovie
• Keith Andes at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)