J. Keith van Straaten
Encyclopedia
J. Keith van Straaten is an American
actor
, host, and writer. He was born in Chicago, Illinois
.
On TV, he hosted the first season of the game show
Beat the Geeks
in 2001. In 2006, he began appearing as a panelist on VH1's Best Week Ever
. He frequently appears as a commentator on E!
Entertainment Television on shows such as 25 Most Memorable Swimsuit Moments and Wildest Spring Break
Moments.
Van Straaten has worked with Yahoo!
on a number of projects. During the 2007 and 2008 Academy Award season, he authored a blog
on Yahoo! Movies
covering events and information up to and including the awards show. He also wrote their 2007 Summer and Holiday Movie Guides. The 28 short Yahoo! Answers
On The Street segments were also hosted by van Straaten.
He briefly hosted a weekend internet radio
show in 2007, the Game Show Radio Game Show.
Van Straaten has appeared in several television commercials, including those for McDonald's
, Nike
, and Cheez-It
. He hosted the pilot
for the US edition of Balls of Steel
.
He produced and hosted a live-on-stage revival of What's My Line?
at the Barrow Street Theatre
in New York City
, following its run at ACME Comedy Theatre
in Los Angeles
, California
.
Currently he produces and hosts "The Fix-Up Show," a live-on-stage matchmaking show at the Triad Theater
in New York City.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, host, and writer. He was born in Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
On TV, he hosted the first season of the game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Beat the Geeks
Beat the Geeks
Beat the Geeks is an American comedy game show that aired on Comedy Central from 2001 to 2002. The show was rerun on The Comedy Network in Canada and reruns currently air on G4techTV Canada and Prime in New Zealand....
in 2001. In 2006, he began appearing as a panelist on VH1's Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...
. He frequently appears as a commentator on E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
Entertainment Television on shows such as 25 Most Memorable Swimsuit Moments and Wildest Spring Break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
Moments.
Van Straaten has worked with Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
on a number of projects. During the 2007 and 2008 Academy Award season, he authored a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies , provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also includes red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production...
covering events and information up to and including the awards show. He also wrote their 2007 Summer and Holiday Movie Guides. The 28 short Yahoo! Answers
Yahoo! Answers
Yahoo! Answers is a community-driven question-and-answer site or a knowledge market launched by Yahoo! on June 28, 2005 that allows users to both submit questions to be answered and answer questions asked by other users...
On The Street segments were also hosted by van Straaten.
He briefly hosted a weekend internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show in 2007, the Game Show Radio Game Show.
Van Straaten has appeared in several television commercials, including those for McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, and Cheez-It
Cheez-It
Cheez-It is an American snack food cracker manufactured by the Kellogg Company through the Sunshine Biscuits division. They are roughly 26 by 24 mm rectangular crackers made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, sharp yellow cheese, salt, and spices...
. He hosted the pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for the US edition of Balls of Steel
Balls of Steel (TV series)
Balls of Steel is a Channel 4 comedy series developed by Objective Productions and hosted by Mark Dolan, his special guests would perform stunts and hold their nerve during hidden camera set-ups in the presence of celebrities or the British public....
.
He produced and hosted a live-on-stage revival of What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
at the Barrow Street Theatre
Barrow Street Theatre
Barrow Street Theatre is an Off Broadway theatre venue located in New York City's historic Greenwich House. Previously home to Drama Dept. the space was leased to Barrow Street Theatre in 2003 and has been home to long-running Off-Broadway hits, Bug by Tracy Letts and Orson's Shadow by Austin...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, following its run at ACME Comedy Theatre
ACME Comedy Theatre
The ACME Comedy Theatre is a sketch comedy and improvisational theater located near Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on La Brea near Wilshire's "Miracle Mile" in the U.S. ACME was started by M.D. Sweeney as "The Two Roads Theater" in Studio City in 1989, with the players known as the Two Roads...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Currently he produces and hosts "The Fix-Up Show," a live-on-stage matchmaking show at the Triad Theater
Triad Theater
The Triad Theatre, formerly known as Palsson's Supper Club and Steve McGraw's, is located on West 72nd Street on New York's Upper West Side...
in New York City.