Howard Keel, born Harry Clifford Leek (April 13, 1919 – November 7, 2004) was an American actor who starred in many of the classic film musicals of the 1950s. April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... People whose surname is or was Gillespie include: Aaron Gillespie, American rock singer & drummer Alastair Gillespie (born 1922), Canadian politician Bobby Gillespie (born 1964), Scottish rock and roll musician Dana Gillespie (born 1949), British actress & singer Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993), American jazz musician Earl Gillespie, American sportscaster Ed Gillespie (born... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Palm Desert is a city located in Riverside County, California, in the Palm Springs area, approximately eleven miles east of Palm Springs. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ... // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ...

Early years

Born in Gillespie, Illinois, to Navyman-turned-coalminer Homer Leek and his wife, Grace Osterkamp Leek, young Harry spent his childhood in poverty. After his father's death in 1930, he and his mother moved to California, where he graduated from high school at the age of 17 and took various odd-jobs until finally settling at Douglas Aircraft Company, where he became a traveling representative. Gillespie is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. ... The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. ...

Career and personal Life

At the age of twenty, he was overheard singing by his landlady, Mom Rider, and was encouraged to take vocal lessons. One of his musical heroes was the great baritone Lawrence Tibbett and Howard would later say that finding out that his own voice was a basso cantante was one of the greatest disappointments of his life. Nevertheless, his first public performance came in the summer of 1941 when he played the role of Samuel the Prophet in Handel's oratorio Saul and David (singing a duet with bass-baritone George London). Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 - July 15, 1960) was an American actor and singer. ... HANDEL was the code-name for the UKs National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. ... George London could refer to two different people: George London: American operatic baritone George London: Landscape architect. ...

Just a couple years after this, in 1943, Harold met and married his first wife, actress Rosemary Cooper. In 1945 Harold briefly understudied for John Raitt in the Broadway hit Carousel, before being assigned to Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was during this time, he accomplished a feat that has never been duplicated. He performed the leads in both shows on the same day. John Emmett Raitt (January 19, 1917, Santa Ana, California, USA - February 20, 2005, Pacific Palisades, California) was a star of the musical theater stage. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Carousel is a 1945 stage musical by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics) that was adapted from Ferenc Molnars play Liliom. ... Oklahoma! (1943) was the first musical play written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II (see Rodgers and Hammerstein). ... For more on his work with his two partners, see Rodgers and Hart and Rodgers and Hammerstein. ... For work done with Richard Rodgers, see Rodgers and Hammerstein Oscar Hammerstein II (July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was a New-York born writer, producer, and (usually uncredited) director of musicals for almost forty years. ...

In 1947, Oklahoma! became the first American musical to travel to London, England, and Harold went with it. Opening night at the Drury Lane Theatre, the capacity audience (which included the Queen) demanded fourteen encores. Harold Keel was hailed as the next great star and was the toast of the West End. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The present-day Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, sketched when it was new, in 1813. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ...

During the London run, the marriage of Harold and Rosemary ended in divorce, and Harold fell in love with a young member of the show's chorus, dancer Helen Anderson. They married in January 1949 and, a year later, Harold - now called Howard - became a father for the first time to daughter Kaija.

His theater career took him to The Muny in St. Louis, MO as General Waverly in White Christmas (2000); Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1996); Emile de Becque in South Pacific (1992); Adam in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1978). The Muny is the largest and oldest outdoor theatre in the United States. ... The Gateway Arch, shown here behind the Old Courthouse, is the most recognizable part of the St. ...

MGM years

From London's West End, Howard ended up at MGM making his film musical debut as Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun. Annie Get Your Gun is a stage musical loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. ...

Howard's MGM career was to be a frustrating business. MGM never seemed to know quite what to do with him and, outside of plum roles in the films Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, he was forced into a stream of worthless musicals and B-films. There were two more children born to Howard and Helen, daughter Kirstine in 1952 and son Gunnar in 1955. Soon after, Howard was released from his contract and returned to his first love, the stage. Show Boat the name of a musical film based on the stage musical of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was adapted from the novel by Edna Ferber. ... Kiss Me, Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. ... Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a musical film released in 1954. ...

1960s and early 1970s

Sadly, as America's taste in entertainment changed, finding jobs became harder and harder for Howard. The 1960s held little chance for career advancement with a round of nightclub work, b-Westerns and summer stock. Under the strain, Howard began to drink heavily and his marriage to Helen crumbled. They divorced in 1970.

But 1970 proved to be fortuitous for Howard after all. He was set up on a blind date with airline stewardess Judy Magamoll who was twenty-five years his junior and had never even heard of him. Years later Howard would say it was love at first sight, but the age difference bothered him tremendously. For Judy, however, it wasn't a problem and, with the aid of Robert Frost's poem "What Fifty Said", she convinced him to try the relationship. They were married in December 1970 and his drinking problem soon ceased. He resumed his routine of nightclub, cabaret and summer stock jobs with his new wife at his side, and, in 1972, appeared briefly on Broadway in the flop show Ambassador. Robert Frost (1941) Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ...

Then, in 1974 at the age of fifty-five, Howard became a father for the fourth time to daughter Leslie Grace.

"The Love Boat", "Dallas", and his revived career

Howard continued to tour, his wife and daughter in tow, but by 1980 he had had enough of struggling to find work and he moved his family to Oklahoma, intending to join an oil company. They had barely settled there when Howard was called back to California to appear with Jane Powell on an episode of The Love Boat. While he was there, he was told that the producers of the smash hit television series Dallas wanted to talk to him. After several cameo appearances, Howard joined the show permanently as the dignified, if hot tempered, oil baron Clayton Farlow and his career reached heights it had never seen before. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Jane Powell (born April 1, 1929) is an American singer, entertainer and actor. ... The Love Boat was a TV series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from 1977 until 1986. ... The Southfork Ranch, home of the Ewing family The original cast of Dallas. ... Howard Keel as Clayton Farlow in the main title caption from the TV Series Dallas. ...

Recording career

With his renewed fame, Howard began his first solo recording career at age sixty-four, as well as a wildly successful concert career in the UK. He released an album in 1984 called "With Love", that sold poorly, thus indicating that though the American public were happy to see him as a supporting actor on hit TV show, they were not prepared for a full resumption of his previous stardom.

Even after Dallas he continued to sing, and kept his voice in remarkable shape. In 1994, he and Judy moved to Palm Desert, CA. The Keels were always active in charity events, helping their community and were well loved amongst the residents. In particular, Howard and Judy attended the annual Howard Keel Golf Classic at Mere Golf Club in Cheshire, England, which raised money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). He attended for many years, up until the year of his death. The NSPCC, correctly known as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is the UKs leading charity [1] specialising in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children. ...

Death

Howard died at his home in Palm Desert on November 7, 2004, six weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He is survived by Judy, his wife of thirty-four years, his four children, ten grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at various favorite places including Mere Golf Club, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and in Tuscany, Italy. November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Diagram of the stomach, colon, and rectum Colorectal cancer includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. ... Liverpool John Lennon Airport (IATA: LPL, ICAO: EGGP) is an airport serving the English city of Liverpool. ... Tuscany (Italian: ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. ...

Family

Howard Keel is the father of production director Leslie Keel and the grandfather of actors Mico Olmos and Bodie Olmos. Leslie Keel born Leslie Grace Keel (September 1, 1974) has worked as production designer on numerous independent films such as May, Aprils Showers and Dead Birds, and in the art department of many others The Rat Pack and My Fathers House. ... Mico Olmos (July 18, 1972-) is the son of Edward James Olmos and grandson of Howard Keel. ... Bodie Olmos (born August 27, 1975) is the son of Edward James Olmos and grandson of Howard Keel. ...

Selected filmography

• The Small Voice (1948) (with Valerie Hobson)
• Annie Get Your Gun (1950) (with Betty Hutton)
• Pagan Love Song (1950) (with Esther Williams)
• Show Boat (1951) (with Kathryn Grayson)
• Across the Wide Missouri (1951)
• Texas Carnival (1951) (with Esther Williams)
• Lovely to Look At (1952) (with Kathryn Grayson)
• Calamity Jane (1953) (with Doris Day)
• Ride Vaquero! (1953)
• Kiss Me, Kate (1953) (with Kathryn Grayson)
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
• Rose Marie (1954) (with Ann Blyth)
• Kismet (1955)(with Ann Blyth)
• Jupiter's Darling (1955) (with Esther Williams)
• The Big Fisherman (1959)
• The Day of the Triffids (1962)
• The War Wagon (1967)
• Dallas (TV)
• My Father's House (2000)

Valerie Hobson (1917-1998) was a British actress, who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. ... Annie Get Your Gun is a stage musical loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. ... Betty Hutton Betty Hutton, (born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 26, 1921 in Battle Creek, Michigan) is a former American actor and singer. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Esther Jane Williams (born August 8, 1921[1] or 1922[2]) was a United States competitive swimmer and movie star, famous for her musical films that featured elaborate performances with swimming and diving. ... Show Boat the name of a musical film based on the stage musical of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was adapted from the novel by Edna Ferber. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Kathryn Grayson (born February 9, 1922) is an American actress and singer who was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... Across the Wide Missouri is the title of a 1947 historical work by Bernard De Voto. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Esther Jane Williams (born August 8, 1921[1] or 1922[2]) was a United States competitive swimmer and movie star, famous for her musical films that featured elaborate performances with swimming and diving. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Kathryn Grayson (born February 9, 1922) is an American actress and singer who was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... Calamity Jane is a Wild West-themed film that explores a romance between Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok in the American Old West. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff, known as Doris Day (born April 3, 1924), is an American singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate. ... Ride, Vaquero! ia a 1953 western film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Kiss Me, Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Kathryn Grayson (born February 9, 1922) is an American actress and singer who was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a musical film released in 1954. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rose Marie (born August 15, 1923) is an actress who had a career as a child star under the name Baby Rose Marie but is best known for her adult role as Sally Rogers in the The Dick Van Dyke Show. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ann Blyth Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928 in Mount Kisco, New York) is an American actress and singer, most often cast in Hollywood musicals, but who also succeeded in the dramatic roles she was given. ... Look up kismet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ann Blyth Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928 in Mount Kisco, New York) is an American actress and singer, most often cast in Hollywood musicals, but who also succeeded in the dramatic roles she was given. ... Jupiters Darling is the latest album released by the band Heart. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Esther Jane Williams (born August 8, 1921[1] or 1922[2]) was a United States competitive swimmer and movie star, famous for her musical films that featured elaborate performances with swimming and diving. ... The Big Fisherman is a 1959 film about the life of St. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Day of the Triffids is a 1962 British film adaptation of the science fiction novel of the same name by John Wyndham. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... The War Wagon is a 1967 western film directed by Burt Kennedy and adapted by Clair Huffaker from her own novel. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... The Southfork Ranch, home of the Ewing family The original cast of Dallas. ...

External links

• Howard Keel at the Internet Movie Database
• CNN obituary