54-573: Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his career, particularly as a noted Shakespearean . He is the recipient of several theatrical accolades: four Drama Desk Awards , two Helen Hayes Awards and two Obie Awards for Distinguished Performance by an Actor . He
108-443: A Golden Globe , as Ken Titus on the sitcom Titus (2000–2002) and as the narrator of the crime documentary series American Greed (2007–present). He also had recurring roles on series such as Prison Break (2005–2007), Two and a Half Men (2010) and Blue Bloods (2016–). He won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for playing Ernest Hemingway on the television miniseries Hemingway (1988). He
162-494: A seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres , but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer than 100. An "off-Broadway production" is a production of a play , musical , or revue that appears in such a venue and adheres to related trade union and other contracts. Some shows that premiere off-Broadway are subsequently produced on Broadway. The term originally referred to any venue, and its productions, on
216-552: A Couple Play ", and " Waiting for Duffman ", portraying Duff Brewery President Howard K. Duff VIII, and the Batman Beyond episode "Lost Soul" as Robert Vance, a deceased businessman resurrected as an artificial intelligence . He also guest starred in a 2005 episode of the sitcom Will & Grace , and had a recurring role as Warden Henry Pope in the Fox drama Prison Break . Keach was in an episode of Perry Mason. In 2006, he acted in
270-402: A Polish citizen. His brother James is an actor and television director. Keach is a Roman Catholic . In 1984, Customs & Excise officers arrested Keach at Heathrow Airport for importation of cocaine. Keach pleaded guilty, and served six months at Reading Prison . Keach stated that his time in prison, which he described as the lowest point of his life, and the friendship he formed with
324-665: A priest during that time led to his conversion to Catholicism. Subsequently, he and his wife met Pope John Paul II . His wife, Małgorzata Tomassi, had attended the same school in Warsaw as the pope. In 2015, Keach was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame . In 2019, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with
378-705: A role of explorer and scientist in Slave of the Cannibal God , co-starring former Bond girl Ursula Andress . The film became a cult favorite as a " video nasty ". Another one of his screen performances was as Frank James (elder brother of Jesse ) in The Long Riders (1980). His brother James played Jesse James. Keach starred in the 1981 Australian thriller Roadgames alongside Jamie Lee Curtis . In 1982, Keach starred in Butterfly with Pia Zadora and Orson Welles . In
432-540: A sadistic prison warden who runs an underground fight club where prisoners compete for their lives. He had also starred in the movie Planes as Skipper Riley, main character Dusty Crophopper's flight instructor. He reprised the role in Planes: Fire & Rescue . In 2012, Keach had a supporting role in The Bourne Legacy , and in the 2013 Alexander Payne film Nebraska . In the 2017 film Gotti , Keach played
486-417: A similar format to the popular Unsolved Mysteries at the time. From 1992 to 1995, he became the voice-over narrator for the paranormal series Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories . Beginning in 1999, he served as the narrator for the home video clip show World's Most Amazing Videos , which is now seen on Spike TV . He currently hosts The Twilight Zone radio series. Keach can also be heard narrating
540-693: A song, "Easy Times", on the Judy Collins live album Living . He provided music for the film Imbued, directed by Rob Nilssen. He has also completed composing the music for the Mike Hammer audio radio series, "Encore For Murder", written by Max Collins, directed by Carl Amari, and produced by Blackstone Audio. Keach has been married four times: to Kathryn Baker in 1964, to Marilyn Aiken in 1975, to Jill Donahue in 1981, and to Małgorzata Tomassi in 1986. He has two children by adoption with Małgorzata: son Shannon Keach and daughter Karolina Keach. In 2015, Keach became
594-591: A street intersecting Broadway in Midtown Manhattan 's Theater District , the hub of the American theatre industry. It later became defined by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers as a professional venue in Manhattan with a seating capacity of at least 100, but not more than 499, or a production that appears in such a venue and adheres to related trade union and other contracts. Previously, regardless of
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#1732858694635648-571: Is an inductee of the Theatre Hall of Fame and was honored with 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 . Keach was born in Savannah, Georgia , to Mary Cain ( née Peckham ), an actress, and Stacy Keach Sr. , a theatre director, drama teacher, and actor with dozens of television and theatrical film credits billed as "Stacy Keach." The younger Keach
702-636: Is based on the capacity given for the respective theatre at the Internet Off-Broadway Database . London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art ( LAMDA ) is a drama school located in Hammersmith , London . It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools . The institution
756-743: Is in partnership with the Fulbright Program . Each year one U.S. applicant is awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the US/ UK Fulbright Commission to study for a Master of Arts in classical acting at the school. LAMDA Examinations in the fields of speech, drama, communication, and performance are taken by external students and are recognised by Ofqual , the regulator in England, and its counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland . LAMDA-accredited examinations at Level 3 or above are recognised within
810-467: Is ranked 1st in the UK in the " Drama and Dance " category by The Guardian University Guide rankings for 2025 with a perfect score of 100. It is also ranked 6th in the world by The Hollywood Reporter 's annual list of the 25 top drama schools and is currently rated as the top UK drama school for student satisfaction according to the 2024 National Student Survey . The academy's graduates work regularly at
864-513: The CNBC series American Greed , from its 2007 inception to the 2022-23 season. For the PBS series American Experience , he narrated The Kennedys , among others. In 2008, Keach once again reprised his famous role as Mike Hammer in a series of full-cast radio dramatizations for Blackstone Audio . (He also arranged and performed the music for the audio dramas. His wife, Malgosia Tomassi , also starred in
918-607: The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama , having joined in 2004, and received funding through the Conservatoire from the Office for Students . It left the Conservatoire on 31 July 2019 to become an independent institution, and now receives funding directly from the Office for Students and Research England . LAMDA is a member of Conservatoires UK - an elite group of drama and music schools in
972-596: The Goodman Theatre in Chicago from May 30 to June 25, 2017. Keach appeared in previews of Pamplona , May 19 through May 28, and was well received by audiences. On opening night, he suffered a mild heart attack on stage and the next day, Keach had bypass surgery. On June 2, the Goodman Theatre announced that the entire run would be canceled after Keach's doctors advised a period of rest and recuperation. Keach returned to
1026-646: The Goodman Theatre in Chicago. In 2008, he played Merlin in Lerner and Loewe 's Camelot , done with the New York Philharmonic . In the summer of 2009, Shakespeare Theatre Company remounted the production of King Lear at Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, D.C., for which Keach won another Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actor . He has played the title role in two separate productions of Hamlet . In 2008 and 2009, Keach portrayed Richard M. Nixon in
1080-530: The Lucille Lortel Award (created in 1985 by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers), and the Drama League Award . Although off-Broadway shows are not eligible for Tony Awards , an exception was made in 1956 (before the rules were changed), when Lotte Lenya won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the off-Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera . Capacity
1134-991: The Royal National Theatre , the Royal Shakespeare Company , Shakespeare's Globe , and the theatres of London's West End and Hollywood , as well as on the BBC , HBO , and Broadway . It is registered as a company under the name LAMDA Ltd and as a charity under its trading name London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. There is an associate organisation in America under the name of American Friends of LAMDA (AFLAMDA). A very high proportion of LAMDA's stage management and technical theatre graduates find work in their chosen field within weeks of graduation. LAMDA alumni have received 5 Academy Awards (out of 13 Oscar nominations ), 10 SAG Awards , 13 Tonys , 15 Emmys , 19 Golden Globes , 21 BAFTAs , and 39 Olivier Awards . LAMDA
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#17328586946351188-515: The UCAS Tariff system. LAMDA's Principal is Professor Mark O'Thomas, who succeeded Director Sarah Frankcom in 2022. Benedict Cumberbatch succeeded Timothy West as President of LAMDA's board of trustees in 2018. The London Academy of Music was established by Henry Wylde in 1861 in St. James's Hall ; there were separate sections for men and women. Teaching began on 15 November 1861, at which time
1242-793: The University of California, Berkeley (1963): one in English, the other in Dramatic Art. He earned a Master of Fine Arts at the Yale School of Drama in 1966 and was a Fulbright Scholar at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . While studying in London, Keach met Laurence Olivier , his acting hero. Keach played the title role in MacBird! , an Off-Broadway anti-war satire by Barbara Garson staged at
1296-908: The Village Gate in 1966. In 1967, he was cast, again Off-Broadway, in George Tabori 's The Niggerlovers with Morgan Freeman in his acting debut. To this day, Freeman credits Keach with teaching him the most about acting. In 1967, Keach also starred in We Bombed in New Haven , a play by Joseph Heller that premiered in New Haven at the Yale Repertory Theatre and later was produced on Broadway. Keach first appeared on Broadway in 1969 as Buffalo Bill in Indians by Arthur Kopit . Early in his career, he
1350-537: The 1993 movie, Body Bags he played a man who is obsessed with hair. He portrayed a white supremacist in American History X , alongside Edward Norton and Edward Furlong . In Oliver Stone 's 2008 biographical film W. , Keach portrays a Texas preacher whose spiritual guidance begins with George W. Bush 's AA experience, but extends long thereafter. Keach also starred in the TV film Ring of Death playing
1404-401: The Cannibal God (1979), The Ninth Configuration (1980), The Long Riders (1980), Escape from L.A. (1996), American History X (1998), The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Nebraska (2013). Keach is known to television audiences for his portrayal of private detective Mike Hammer on the television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1984–1987), for which he was nominated for
1458-546: The Encore Mystery premium cable network in the late 1990s and 2000s. In 2000, he played Ken Titus, the sarcastic, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced functional alcoholic father of the title character in Fox 's sitcom Titus . Cast members of Titus have commented they enjoyed working with Keach because he would find a way to make even the driest line funny. Keach lent his voice to The Simpsons episodes " Hungry, Hungry Homer ", " Old Yeller-Belly ", " Marge and Homer Turn
1512-552: The Gray . He later portrayed and is best known as Mike Hammer in the CBS television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and The New Mike Hammer from 1984 to 1987. He returned to the role of Hammer in Mike Hammer, Private Eye , a new syndicated series that aired from 1997 to 1998. In 1988, he starred as Ernest Hemingway in the made-for-TV movie Hemingway . He also hosted segments for
1566-484: The Hampstead Academy was also amalgamated. The name was changed to the current name in 1935, under the direction of Wilfrid Foulis. In 1939, it was moved from London due to the war; when it reopened in 1945, it no longer provided musical training. However, singing has remained integral to LAMDA's actor training and in 2023 it introduced a new MFA Musical Theatre programme. LAMDA was previously an associate member of
1620-541: The New King James Version. On January 6, 2014, Keach became the official voice of The Opie and Anthony Channel on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Sirius Channel 206, XM Channel 103). Keach is the voice of CNBC's American Greed , now on their thirteenth season. Keach is an accomplished pianist and composer. He sang backing vocals on the Judy Collins hit song " Amazing Grace ". He is also credited with co-writing
1674-1120: The Park with George , Rent , Grey Gardens , Urinetown , Avenue Q , The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee , Rock of Ages , In the Heights , Spring Awakening , Next to Normal , Hedwig and the Angry Inch , Fun Home , Hamilton , Dear Evan Hansen , Hadestown , and Kimberly Akimbo . In particular, two that became Broadway hits, Grease and A Chorus Line , encouraged other producers to premiere their shows off-Broadway. Plays that have moved from off-Broadway houses to Broadway include Doubt , I Am My Own Wife , Bridge & Tunnel , The Normal Heart , and Coastal Disturbances . Other productions, such as Stomp , Blue Man Group , Altar Boyz , Perfect Crime , Forbidden Broadway , Nunsense , Naked Boys Singing , Bat Boy: The Musical , and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change have had runs of many years off-Broadway, never moving to Broadway. The Fantasticks ,
Stacy Keach - Misplaced Pages Continue
1728-460: The U.S. touring company of the play Frost/Nixon . On December 16, 2010, Keach began performances as patriarch Lyman Wyeth in the off-Broadway premiere of Jon Robin Baitz' acclaimed new play Other Desert Cities . The production transferred to Broadway's Booth Theatre , where it opened November 3, 2011. Keach is a founding member of L.A. Theatre Works . He has performed leads in many productions with
1782-629: The United Kingdom. In August 2021 it was announced that Sarah Frankcom would step down as Director, and that LAMDA was conducting a search for a successor. In August 2022, LAMDA announced that Professor Mark O'Thomas had been unanimously appointed by the board of trustees as principal and chief executive, with Dr. Philippa Standberg-Long appointed as head of actor training. In 2003, LAMDA decided to move its teaching school and theatre to its current location in Hammersmith in West London. It acquired
1836-652: The United Kingdom. In 1904, the school was amalgamated with two other London music institutions that had sprung up since the academy was founded, namely the London Music School (founded 1865) and the Forest Gate School of Music (founded 1885) renamed in 1906 the Metropolitan Academy of Music. (The Metropolitan Academy of Music severed its links with the London Academy of Music in 1907. ) In due course
1890-681: The company, including 'Willy Loman' in Death of a Salesman and 'John Proctor' in The Crucible . He was scheduled to return to Broadway in December 2014 in the revival of Love Letters at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre alongside Diana Rigg , but the production closed before Keach and Rigg began their runs. Keach was scheduled to play Ernest Hemingway in Jim McGrath's one-man play Pamplona at
1944-426: The cost per annum was 15 guineas , or £15 15s 0d. Students of all ages "with a decided talent, or showing an aptitude for learning" were admitted. Full scholarships were available. The first philharmonic concert was held on 29 April 1863, following a public rehearsal on 25 April. It was a performance of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 . Providing training for, and examinations in, various musical disciplines
1998-675: The dramas, playing Maya Ricci, a yoga instructor.) Keach has also read many of Mickey Spillane 's original Mike Hammer novels as Audiobooks. Keach played the role of John in The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible , a 22-hour audio version of the RSV-CE translation of the New Testament . He also voiced both Job and Paul the Apostle in The Word of Promise , a 2007 dramatic audio presentation based on
2052-608: The episode "Old School". In February 2015, Keach started guest appearing in NCIS: New Orleans as Cassius Pride, father of NCIS Agent Dwayne Pride. He played the elderly father Bob on the 2016 sitcom Crowded . Beginning in 2016, Keach occasionally appears on CBS's drama Blue Bloods as Archbishop Kevin Kearns. In 2017, Keach started guest appearing in Man with a Plan as Joe Burns, father of Adam Burns (played by co-star Matt LeBlanc ) and
2106-646: The longest-running musical in theatre history, spent its original 42-year run off-Broadway and had another off-Broadway run from 2006 to 2017. Off-Broadway shows, performers, and creative staff are eligible for the following awards: the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award , the Outer Critics Circle Award , the Drama Desk Award , the Obie Award (presented since 1956 by The Village Voice ),
2160-411: The mini-series Blackbeard , made for the Hallmark Channel. It was directed by Kevin Connor , and starred Angus Macfadyen , with Richard Chamberlain , David Winters , and Jessica Chastain . In 2011, Keach co-starred as "Pops", the father of the main character in the short lived boxing drama series Lights Out . In November 2013, Keach appeared on the Fox comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine , in
2214-439: The national touring company of the musical Barnum , composed by Cy Coleman . In 1991 and 1996 he won Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Actor for his work in Richard III and Macbeth with the Shakespeare Theatre Company . In 1998, he was one of the three characters in a London West End production of 'Art' with David Dukes and George Wendt . In 2006, Keach performed the lead role in Shakespeare 's King Lear at
Stacy Keach - Misplaced Pages Continue
2268-453: The old premises of the Royal Ballet School on Talgarth Road . The move to the Talgarth Road enabled LAMDA to develop a campus with new training facilities designed by Niall McLaughlin Architects . The site was previously home to the Royal Ballet School, which moved to new, purpose-built facilities adjacent to the Royal Opera House . The LAMDA complex has three theatres and various rehearsal spaces and meeting rooms. The three theatres are
2322-405: The part of Neil Dellacroce , the underboss of the Gambino crime family . Keach's first-ever experience as a series regular on a television program was playing the lead role of Lieutenant Ben Logan in Caribe in 1975. He played Barabbas in 1977's Jesus of Nazareth , and portrayed Jonas Steele, a psychic and Scout of the United States Army in the 1982 CBS miniseries , The Blue and
2376-451: The role at The Goodman one year later, July 10 through August 18, 2018. Keach said it would fulfill an obligation "to the play, to the city and to myself". Keach played a rookie policeman in The New Centurions (1972), opposite George C. Scott . That year he also starred in Fat City , a boxing film directed by John Huston . He was the first choice for the role of Damien Karras in the 1973 movie The Exorcist , but he did not accept
2430-515: The role. He went on to play Kane in the 1980 movie The Ninth Configuration , written and directed by Exorcist author William Peter Blatty ; this role was itself intended for Nicol Williamson . Keach was narrator of the 1973 Formula One racing documentary Champions Forever, The Quick and the Dead by Claude du Boc. He played Cheech & Chong 's police department nemesis Sgt. Stedenko in Up in Smoke and Nice Dreams . He also appeared as Barabbas in Jesus of Nazareth . In 1978, he played
2484-479: The salary requirements of the union for Broadway theatres. The adoption of the 499-seat criterion occurred after a one-day strike in January 1974. Examples of off-Broadway theatres within the Broadway Box are the Laura Pels Theatre and The Theater Center . The off-Broadway movement started in the 1950s as a reaction to the perceived commercialism of Broadway and provided less expensive venues for shows that have employed many future Broadway artists. An early success
2538-506: The size of the venue, a theatre was considered a Broadway (rather than off-Broadway) house if it was within the "Broadway Box", extending from 40th Street north to 54th Street and from Sixth Avenue west to Eighth Avenue , including Times Square and West 42nd Street . This change to the contractual definition of "off-Broadway" benefited theatres satisfying the 499-seat criterion because of the lower minimum required salary for Actors' Equity performers at Off-Broadway theatres as compared with
2592-457: The time, however, that "Broadway is just as eclectic – and just as footless – as 'Off-Broadway'." Theatre Row , on West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in Manhattan, is a concentration of off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theatres. It was developed in the mid-1970s and modernized in 2002. Many off-Broadway shows have had subsequent runs on Broadway, including such musicals as Hair , Godspell , Little Shop of Horrors , Sunday in
2646-460: Was Circle in the Square Theatre 's 1952 production of Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams . According to theatre historians Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik, off-Broadway offered a new outlet for "poets, playwrights, actors, songwriters, and designers. ... The first great Off-Broadway musical was the 1954 revival" of The Threepenny Opera , which proved that off-Broadway productions could be financially successful. Critic John Gassner argued at
2700-428: Was born with a cleft lip and a partial cleft of the hard palate, and he underwent numerous operations as a child. Throughout his adult life he has usually worn a mustache to hide the scars. He is now the honorary chairman of the Cleft Palate Foundation and advocates for insurance coverage for surgeries. He graduated from Van Nuys High School in June 1959, where he was class president, then earned two BA degrees at
2754-408: Was credited as Stacy Keach Jr. to distinguish himself from his father. He played the lead actor in The Nude Paper Sermon , an avant-garde musical theatre piece for media presentation, commissioned by Nonesuch Records by composer Eric Salzman . Keach has won numerous awards, including Obie Awards , Drama Desk Awards and Vernon Rice Awards . In the early 1980s, he starred in the title role of
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#17328586946352808-412: Was later promoted to series regular status for season three. He played the role of Robert Vesco , Raymond Reddington's former mentor and criminal muse, on the TV series The Blacklist . Keach narrated several episodes of Nova , National Geographic , and various other informational series. From 1989 to 1992, he was host of the syndicated informational reenactment show, Missing Reward , which had
2862-534: Was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Arthur Kopit 's 1969 production of Indians . In film, he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of a washed-up boxer in the John Huston film Fat City (1972) and appeared as Sergeant Stedenko in Cheech & Chong 's films Up in Smoke (1978) and Nice Dreams (1981). His other notable film credits include Brewster McCloud (1970), Doc (1971), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Luther (1973), Slave of
2916-416: Was originally the dominant purpose of the institution. However, providing instruction in spoken English quickly became a core area of the academy's work. In the 1880s, LAMDA began offering speech examinations to the public. Since then, these examinations have been refined and developed into a comprehensive system of performance evaluation. LAMDA Examinations has emerged as the largest Speech and Drama Board in
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