Howard Keel
| Howard Keel | |
|---|---|
from the trailer for Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
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| Born |
Harry Clifford Keel April 13, 1919 Gillespie, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 7, 2004 (aged 85) Palm Desert, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor/Singer |
| Years active | 1943–2002 |
| Notable work | Show Boat, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Dallas |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 4 |
Harry Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919 – November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s. He is best known to modern audiences for his starring role in the CBS television series Dallas from 1981 to 1991, as Clayton Farlow, opposite Barbara Bel Geddes's character. But to an earlier generation, with his rich bass-baritone singing voice, he was known as the star of some of the most famous MGM film musicals ever made.
Harry Clifford Keel was born in Gillespie, Illinois, to Navyman-turned-coalminer Homer Keel and his wife, Grace Osterkamp Keel. (It is often erroneously stated—by the MGM publicity department of the 1950s—that Keel's birth name was Harold Leek). Young Harry spent his childhood in poverty. One of his teachers, Miss Rosa Burke, noticed one day that he had no lunch. From that day forward, Miss Burke would pack two lunches – one for herself and one for Harry. When he became famous and would perform near Gillespie, Burke always received tickets to attend his performances. 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.
At the age of 20, Keel was overheard singing by his landlady, Mom Rider, and was encouraged to take vocal lessons. One of his music heroes was the great baritone Lawrence Tibbett. Keel later remarked that learning that his own voice was a basso cantante was one of the greatest disappointments of his life. Nevertheless, his first public performance occurred in the summer of 1941, when he played the role of Samuel the Prophet in Handel's oratorio Saul (singing a duet with bass-baritone George London).
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