Brian Keith
Birthday: 14 November 1921, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA
Birth Name: Robert Keith Richey Jr.
Height: 184 cm
Son of character actor Robert Keith and stage actress Helena Shipman. He grew up on the road with his parents while they toured in plays. First appeared at age 3 in film Pied Piper Malone (1924) with ...Show More
I never gave a hoot, I just took what came along.
I never gave a hoot, I just took what came along.
[In 1969]: I hope to get some time off this spring for a vacation.
[In 1969]: I hope to get some time off this spring for a vacation.
[Who became very antsy about the car that was needed in every script]: I don't pay any attention. Th Show more
[Who became very antsy about the car that was needed in every script]: I don't pay any attention. The stunt people take care of all that. All I do is get in and out of the Coyote [the car Skid drove, which required anyone riding in it to enter and exit through the window], which is no mean trick. You can't get into the S.O.B. without bending yourself into a pretzel. Me, I'd rather drive a pickup. Hide
[Of his last days]: Forgive me, but I don't want to live anymore. The pain is too bad. There's no po Show more
[Of his last days]: Forgive me, but I don't want to live anymore. The pain is too bad. There's no point in trying to prolong this agony. Hide
[In 1977]: Russians put different emphasis in their sentences. When we may stress the last word in a Show more
[In 1977]: Russians put different emphasis in their sentences. When we may stress the last word in a sentence, they may emphasize a word in the middle of it. Hide
[In 1966]: I like the kids. Aren't you going to ask about them? Yours or the ones in the show?
[In 1966]: I like the kids. Aren't you going to ask about them? Yours or the ones in the show?
In other words...you can't be a misogynist and expect women to appreciate you.
In other words...you can't be a misogynist and expect women to appreciate you.
[on the cancelation of Family Affair (1966)]: We were getting bored, five years is a longtime. I did Show more
[on the cancelation of Family Affair (1966)]: We were getting bored, five years is a longtime. I didn't want to do it in the first place. My agent argued with me. He said, 'Do the pilot, it'll never sell. Grab the money and run.' Ten days later, it was sold. Hide
[When told he was to speak only Russian during filming]: Terrific, they gave me six whole days to le Show more
[When told he was to speak only Russian during filming]: Terrific, they gave me six whole days to learn the Russian language. Hide
[on accepting the role as Hardcastle]: You learn to read a pilot script. A pilot isn't designed to b Show more
[on accepting the role as Hardcastle]: You learn to read a pilot script. A pilot isn't designed to be good, but only to spell out to the network what it is that's going to make people tune in. Everything has to be either stark drama or screamingly funny with everybody dropping their pants all the time. You read most pilots and tell yourself, 'no, no, no, that's not life!' So you go with the character and ignore the hardware. Hide
[on beating out 3 others actors for the role of Hardcastle]: I never heard of these guys. Of course, Show more
[on beating out 3 others actors for the role of Hardcastle]: I never heard of these guys. Of course, I can be talking to 40 Academy Award winners and never know the difference. People in Muncie, Indiana, probably know more about them than I do. But I figure what the hell, if they're smart enough to hire me, they must have something." Hide
[In 1991]: A car is a car, it won't make you handsome or prettier or younger. And if it improves you Show more
[In 1991]: A car is a car, it won't make you handsome or prettier or younger. And if it improves your standing with the neighbors, then you live among snobs. Hide
[Who at one point was cast as a general]: They originally talked to me about that, and I came to Hol Show more
[Who at one point was cast as a general]: They originally talked to me about that, and I came to Hollywood to do a TV special. We were just about finishing that when they called me about this thing, so I went up to talk with the director. Ronald Neame. We sat around and told stories I went back to finish the special, and he called me and asked if I wanted to play the Russian. I said, 'What for?' Well, he decided while we were telling the stories that I had an ear for it, so I said, 'Sure, when?' He said, 'Monday,' It was now Friday! Hide
[on his popularity, while playing the forty-five something "Uncle Bill Davis" on Family Affair (1966 Show more
[on his popularity, while playing the forty-five something "Uncle Bill Davis" on Family Affair (1966)]: This is the type of show I love, because it reminds me of what happiness I have with my wife and our children. Hide
The main thing is to live, if possible, where you feel comfortable.
The main thing is to live, if possible, where you feel comfortable.
[While starring in the movie Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)]: I don't want to play the same guy Show more
[While starring in the movie Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)]: I don't want to play the same guy all the time. I've got three or four scripts at home in which I play somebody's father or uncle, but it's the same old junk. I like to play characters. Hide
The only attraction is the time. I work just 70 days a year on the show. I can still make two, three Show more
The only attraction is the time. I work just 70 days a year on the show. I can still make two, three movies a year if I want to. If it were Bonanza (1959), walking around the Ponderosa, tied up nearly all year, no-o-o chance. That's a fate worse than death. Hide
[In 1997]: I was willing to deal with the emphysema, but now I don't think there's much point trying Show more
[In 1997]: I was willing to deal with the emphysema, but now I don't think there's much point trying to live on. Hide
[Who said about starring in his own movies]: I've made I don't know how many pictures. Forty, I gues Show more
[Who said about starring in his own movies]: I've made I don't know how many pictures. Forty, I guess. I've seen only about a half dozen of them. We made Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) in Rome, last spring. I really enjoyed working with Liz (Elizabeth Taylor) and Brando (Marlon Brando) and that great director, John Huston. But the kind of picture I enjoy seeing is something like The Parent Trap (1961). That was a charming thing, with Hayley Mills playing my twin daughters. I saw that four times. I even took my wife's parents to see it. I like it so much, I forgot I was in it, as a matter of fact. Hide
[on his handsomeness]: What for? I don't go to the Daisy or any of that. We don't give parties under Show more
[on his handsomeness]: What for? I don't go to the Daisy or any of that. We don't give parties under a striped awning out over the lawn for two hundred people, four of whom we like. Hide
New Year's Eve though it's a custom. We invite over friends who, like ourselves don't drink at all, Show more
New Year's Eve though it's a custom. We invite over friends who, like ourselves don't drink at all, or else very lightly. Hide
[In 1979, about Meteor (1979)]: Well, I can walk 20 miles and it won't bother me, but to stand still Show more
[In 1979, about Meteor (1979)]: Well, I can walk 20 miles and it won't bother me, but to stand still for 15 minutes is absolute torment! I remember that one day we were standing there and I was griping and Natalie Wood leaned over and said, 'There'll come a day when we'll look back to the good old days when we were just standing here looking at the screen' . . . and that came pretty soon, because we had an explosion. In the picture, pieces of the meteor fly off and one of them hits New York and devastates the city. Hide
[About leaving Family Affair (1966) to spend time in Hawaii, before casting as Hardcastle]: I get ti Show more
[About leaving Family Affair (1966) to spend time in Hawaii, before casting as Hardcastle]: I get tired of sitting home and doing nothing. If I'm doing something eight months of the year, I don't mind loafing the other four. But, lately, I've been finding fewer and fewer movies I'd like to do. And when that happens, I get hard to live with. Then this thing came along. I read it. I liked it. This character Hardcastle: I figured I could live with him for five years if I had to. There was something going on there. You don't get a helluva lot of character in series TV. They're more likely to star the car. Hide
[on trying to live a long life]: If I live to be a hundred -- and I hope I do -- I won't have time t Show more
[on trying to live a long life]: If I live to be a hundred -- and I hope I do -- I won't have time to read all the books I want to read, or talk to the people I want to know. Not party talk. That's a waste of time. Real talk. Hide
[When he used to work in carnivals]: Gypsies believe you have to go out and meet life; take what com Show more
[When he used to work in carnivals]: Gypsies believe you have to go out and meet life; take what comes. You aren't supposed to know what lies ahead, and those who want to know are cheating. They're called marks, the suckers, and you tell them anything. Hide
I played a real nothing named Wally.
I played a real nothing named Wally.
[As he was describing what Family Affair (1966) was about]: It's the same setup as The Parent Trap ( Show more
[As he was describing what Family Affair (1966) was about]: It's the same setup as The Parent Trap (1961), that I did for Disney. The clothes, the apartment, servants, all that jazz. Hide
[In 1971]: If I were producing the picture, I would have hired somebody like Gig Young. You know, th Show more
[In 1971]: If I were producing the picture, I would have hired somebody like Gig Young. You know, the millionaire type with the clothes and a membership in the country club. There was no similarity between this clean-cut character and the guy with the tobacco hanging out of his mouth that I played in Ten Who Dared (1960). I guess Walt Disney figured I could do more than one thing, and I like that. It's tough playing the same guy over and over. Since then, everything I've done at Disney has been different. Hide
[In 1968]: You have the responsibility to conduct yourself in the best way you know how to do.
[In 1968]: You have the responsibility to conduct yourself in the best way you know how to do.
[on revisiting The Westerner (1960) for the first time in 1975]: It was fifteen years since I had se Show more
[on revisiting The Westerner (1960) for the first time in 1975]: It was fifteen years since I had seen it. I watched every one. We always remember things as being better than they were, and only four or five of these were really good. But those four or five were as good as anything anybody has ever done. Hide
Brian Keith's FILMOGRAPHY
All
as Actor (168)
Brian Keith'S roles
Theodore Roosevelt
Mullibok
Buckshot Roberts
Ben Parker
