Philip McKeon

Philip Anthony McKeon was an American actor, producer, director, and radio personality born on November 11, 1964, in Westbury, New York, to Barbara and Donald McKeon, a travel agent. His younger sister is actress Nancy McKeon, known for her role on The Facts of Life. McKeon died in Texas on December 10, 2019, following a long illness, at the age of 55.

McKeon's professional life began at age four as a print model, after his parents brought him and his two-year-old sister Nancy to a nearby modeling audition. He went on to appear in magazines, newspapers, and television commercials, and over the following years accumulated stage and film work alongside his modeling engagements.

His Broadway appearance came in 1974, when he performed in Medea and Jason. That performance proved consequential: actress Linda Lavin saw McKeon in the production and recommended him for the role of Tommy Hyatt, the son of the title character in the television sitcom Alice. The series, which ran from 1976 to 1985, was adapted from the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell, which featured an Academy Award-winning performance by Ellen Burstyn. McKeon replaced Alfred Lutter, the child actor who had played Tommy in both the Scorsese film and the series pilot.

Following the conclusion of Alice in 1985, McKeon continued to act periodically, with credits including Sandman (1993) and Ghoulies IV (1994). He also moved into production and direction, working on Where the Day Takes You (1992), Teresa's Tattoo (1994), Murder in the First (1995), and The Young Unknowns (2000). Both Where the Day Takes You and Teresa's Tattoo featured his sister Nancy in the cast.

After 2000, McKeon transitioned to radio, working first in the news department at KFWB AM 980 in Los Angeles and later as co-host of the morning program The Breakfast Taco on KWVH-LP 94.1FM in Wimberley, Texas.