Keith Andes

Keith Andes, born John Charles Andes on July 12, 1920, in Ocean City, New Jersey, was an American actor whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television across four decades. He died on November 11, 2005, at his home in Santa Clarita, California, at the age of 85, from suicide by asphyxiation, as determined by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. He had been suffering from bladder cancer and other ailments related to a history of smoking.

Andes grew up in Ocean City and was appearing on radio by the age of twelve. He attended St. Edward's School in Oxford, England, before enrolling at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in education. At Temple he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity and worked as a disc jockey at several Philadelphia-area radio stations, including KYW, WFIL, and WIP, rather than participating in the university's theater program. His parents were William Gardner Andes and Elsie S. Andes, née Metzger.

His acting career began during his service in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, during which he performed in United Service Organization shows. That work led to his being cast in the stage production Winged Victory, and 20th Century Fox subsequently cast him in the 1944 film adaptation. His first leading role in a feature film came with the low-budget independent production Project X in 1949. In 1947, he appeared in The Farmer's Daughter, the film that earned Loretta Young the Academy Award for Best Actress; Andes, Lex Barker, and James Arness played the title character's brothers.

Andes made his Broadway debut in 1947 in a revival of the operetta The Chocolate Soldier, a performance for which he received the Theatre World Award that same year. His Broadway career, which ran from 1943 to 1965, also included productions of Maggie, Kiss Me Kate, and Wildcat. In June 1950, he joined the Broadway cast of Kiss Me, Kate, taking over the lead role from Alfred Drake and continuing in the production for over a year in New York and on tour. In 1953, he starred in the short-lived Broadway musical Maggie. From 1960 to 1961, he starred opposite Lucille Ball in the musical Wildcat, which ran for 175 performances.

His film work brought him to RKO, where he appeared in Clash by Night in 1952, directed by Fritz Lang and co-written by Clifford Odets, playing Marilyn Monroe's sweetheart and Barbara Stanwyck's brother. Also for RKO, he played Lieutenant Maynard in Blackbeard, the Pirate in 1952 and had a supporting role in Split Second in 1953. He signed a new contract with RKO in 1954, remaining under contract to that studio for three years, though the arrangement kept him idle for a period and caused him to miss a part in The High and the Mighty. He co-starred with Angela Lansbury in the film noir A Life at Stake in 1954 and appeared in The Second Greatest Sex in 1955 at Universal, where he subsequently signed a long-term contract. At Universal he made two films with Jeff Chandler, Away All Boats and Pillars of the Sky, both in 1956, and starred in Damn Citizen in 1958, playing former Louisiana State Police Superintendent Francis Grevemberg. He also appeared in Interlude in 1957 and The Girl Most Likely in 1958, the final film produced by RKO. Additional film credits included the low-budget features Model for Murder, shot in England in 1959, and Surrender — Hell! filmed in the Philippines in 1960, as well as a role as General George C. Marshall in Tora! Tora! Tora! and an appearance in Hell's Bloody Devils, both in 1970. His later film work included ...And Justice for All in 1979 and The Ultimate Impostor in 1979.

Television occupied a significant portion of his career. He starred as Frank Dawson in the police drama This Man Dawson from 1959 to 1960, playing a former United States Marine Corps colonel hired to combat police corruption. In 1963, he was cast in the sitcom Glynis, starring Glynis Johns, in the regular role of her lawyer-husband. He voiced the title character in the animated series Birdman and the Galaxy Trio in 1967, and that same year made a notable guest appearance in Star Trek as Akuta in the episode "The Apple." He also starred as the manager of a radio station in the daytime serial Paradise Bay, which debuted on September 27, 1965. His extensive guest-starring credits included Sea Hunt, Have Gun — Will Travel, Perry Mason, The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco, The Andy Griffith Show, I Spy, and Daniel Boone, among many others. He also appeared in television adaptations of The Great Waltz, in which he played Johann Strauss Jr., Bloomer Girl, and Holiday, all in 1956. His final screen appearance was in the television film Blinded by the Light in 1980, after which he retired. Following his retirement, he lived on a boat and operated charter trips to Catalina Island and Mexico.

In his personal life, Andes married nurse Jean A. Cotton on November 30, 1946, in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. The couple had two sons, Mark and Matt, both musicians. Mark was a member of the bands Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, and Heart, while Matt was also a member of Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne. Andes and Cotton divorced in 1961, and he married Sheila Hackett that same year during a break in the run of Wildcat.