Michael O'Keefe

Michael Raymond O'Keefe (born April 24, 1955) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and television actor.

Early life

O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family.^[1] His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as also teaching at St. Thomas of Villanova College.^[2] O'Keefe attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and New York University, and made his acting debut in a 1970 Colgate television commercial.

Career

O'Keefe's best known film role is Danny Noonan in the comedy film Caddyshack. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as the oldest son of a Marine aviator in The Great Santini, starring Robert Duvall, also nominated for an Academy Award for the film. He played a Marine in 1980 in the miniseries A Rumor of War as the friend of Brad Davis' character, Philip Caputo. He has also appeared in the independent film The Glass House, as well as starring alsongside Tommy Lee Jones in the 1983 pirate adventure Nate and Hayes (also known as Savage Islands). More recently O'Keefe appeared opposite George Clooney in Michael Clayton. He's appeared twice opposite Jack Nicholson, as his son in Ironweed and as the father of a murdered girl in The Pledge. His film Frozen River was in the competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. He also plays the powerful District Attorney Calvin Beckett in the upcoming film American Violet.

O'Keefe's Broadway theatre credits include Side Man, Mass Appeal, Fifth of July, and Reckless with Mary Louise Parker.

O'Keefe's highest profile television role to date has been his portrayal of Fred, the husband of Roseanne's sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) on the ABC series Roseanne. O'Keefe appeared on the show from 1993 to 1995. After leaving the series, O'Keefe played the husband in the series Life's Work, which aired after Roseanne in its final season. Additional television credits include the lead role of Simon MacHeath in the short lived Boston-based series Against the Law and guest appearances on Saving Grace, The West Wing, Criminal Minds, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, House MD, M*A*S*H and Ghost Whisperer

Personal life

O'Keefe was married to famed rock/blues singer Bonnie Raitt from April 27, 1991 to November 9, 1999. He is now a practicing Zen Buddhist and became a Zen priest in 1996.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Academy Award

• 1981: Nominated, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" - The Great Santini

CableACE Award

• 1987: Nominated, "Best Actor in a Dramatic Series" - The Hitchhiker

Golden Globe Award

• 1981: Nominated, "New Male Star of the Year in a Motion Picture" - The Great Santini

References

External links

• Official website
• Michael O'Keefe at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael O'Keefe at the Internet Broadway Database
• Michael O'Keefe at the Internet off-Broadway Database