Larry Keith
Encyclopedia
Larry Keith was an American
actor
who was a longtime cast member on the ABC
soap opera
All My Children
and was the first American to play the role of Henry Higgins in the Broadway
production of My Fair Lady
.
He was born on March 4, 1931, in Brooklyn
as Lawrence Jay Korn and adopted his stage name when he started acting. His early training was as a singer, and he earned a Bachelor of Music
degree from Brooklyn College
. He was drafted while he was a graduate student at Indiana University
and spent his time in the United States Army
performing in shows for troops stationed in South Korea
.
In the 1961 Broadway production of My Fair Lady, Keith served as an understudy to Michael Allinson
and played the role of Higgins some 50 times. In an interview with the New York Herald Tribune
before his first stage appearance as Higgins, Keith said he doubted that he could get away with a plummy British accent in England, "but I think I can in New York". In 1992, Keith was one of the founders of TACT (The Actors Company Theatre)
, which has the mission of presenting "neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit", appearing in its productions of Eccentricities of a Nightingale and Bedroom Farce. Keith also appeared on Broadway in Titanic
in 1997 in the role of Macy's
owner Isidor Straus
who sang the song Still to his wife Ida as the boat was sinking into the ocean. In Caroline, or Change
in 2004, Keith played the role of Mr. Stopnick the head of the family that Caroline works for.
He played the role of restaurateur Nick Davis on All My Children, appearing regularly from its inception in 1970 until 1978 and then made guest appearances in that role in the ensuing years. He appeared in television in Damages
and several times on Law & Order
.
A resident of Manhattan
, Keith died there at age 79 on July 18, 2010, due to cancer
. He was survived by his wife, the former Mina Wagman, as well as by a daughter and a grandchild.
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...
who was a longtime cast member on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
and was the first American to play the role of Henry Higgins in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
.
He was born on March 4, 1931, in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
as Lawrence Jay Korn and adopted his stage name when he started acting. His early training was as a singer, and he earned a Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
degree from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
. He was drafted while he was a graduate student at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
and spent his time in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
performing in shows for troops stationed in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
In the 1961 Broadway production of My Fair Lady, Keith served as an understudy to Michael Allinson
Michael Allinson
Michael Allinson was an English stage and film actor.-Biography:...
and played the role of Higgins some 50 times. In an interview with the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
before his first stage appearance as Higgins, Keith said he doubted that he could get away with a plummy British accent in England, "but I think I can in New York". In 1992, Keith was one of the founders of TACT (The Actors Company Theatre)
TACT (The Actors Company Theatre)
The Actors Company Theatre is an Off-Broadway theatre company. It was founded in 1992 by a group of New York stage veterans. For their first several years, TACT produced a number of concert performances, a cross between a staged reading and a full production. In 2006, TACT began a residency at the...
, which has the mission of presenting "neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit", appearing in its productions of Eccentricities of a Nightingale and Bedroom Farce. Keith also appeared on Broadway in Titanic
Titanic (play)
Titanic, is a bizarre one-act play written by Christopher Durang. The play, which takes place on the RMS Titanic, was first staged at the Yale School of Drama in May, 1974.In February 1976, the play premiered at the Direct Theatre in New York City...
in 1997 in the role of Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
owner Isidor Straus
Isidor Straus
Isidor Straus —a German Jewish American—was co-owner of the Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served briefly as a member of the United States House of Representatives...
who sang the song Still to his wife Ida as the boat was sinking into the ocean. In Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change is a through-composed musical with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and score by Jeanine Tesori that combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music....
in 2004, Keith played the role of Mr. Stopnick the head of the family that Caroline works for.
He played the role of restaurateur Nick Davis on All My Children, appearing regularly from its inception in 1970 until 1978 and then made guest appearances in that role in the ensuing years. He appeared in television in Damages
Damages (TV series)
Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler . It is broadcast in the United States on the DirecTV channel Audience Network after originally airing on FX and is produced by the creators' own...
and several times on Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
.
A resident of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Keith died there at age 79 on July 18, 2010, due to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. He was survived by his wife, the former Mina Wagman, as well as by a daughter and a grandchild.
Television roles
- 1967–1968; 1969: Another WorldAnother World (TV series)Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
- 1970–1978, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2005: All My ChildrenAll My ChildrenAll My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
- 1979–1980: The BaxtersThe BaxtersThe Baxters is an American situation comedy television series produced by Norman Lear. The series premiered in broadcast syndication in 1979 and lasted two seasons, ending in 1981. The series was the first "interactive" sitcom depicting a middle-class St...
- 1981: The WaveThe Wave (TV special)The Wave, is a short made-for-TV movie directed by Alexander Grasshoff, based on Ron Jones' The Third Wave experiment. Though more prominently featured as an episode of the ABC Afterschool Special series, this show debuted October 4, 1981, almost two years before being featured in the Afterschool...
- 1983: KennedyKennedy (TV Miniseries)Kennedy is a five-hour miniseries written by Reg Gadney and directed by Jim Goddard. The miniseries was produced by Central Independent Television and originally aired in the United States starting on 20 November 1983 around the time of the twentieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.The...
- 1986: StingrayStingray (NBC TV series)Stingray is an NBC television series produced by Stephen J. Cannell that ran from 1985 to 1987. It stars Nick Mancuso, who plays the mysterious character known only as Ray, whose trademark is a black 1965 Corvette Sting Ray.-Plot:...
- 1990; 1992; 1996; 2008: Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
- 2010: DamagesDamages (TV series)Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler . It is broadcast in the United States on the DirecTV channel Audience Network after originally airing on FX and is produced by the creators' own...
External links
- Larry Keith in the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
- Actor Larry Keith Dies At Age 79 Obituary at BroadwayWorld.com