Steven Keats
Encyclopedia
Steven Keats was an American actor
who appeared in such films as Silent Rage
, Death Wish
, Black Sunday
, The Friends of Eddie Coyle
, and the TV-movie version of the Norman Mailer
book The Executioner's Song starring Tommy Lee Jones
.
, Keats was a popular and prolific actor of the 1970s. He grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York
, graduated from the New York School for the Performing Arts (now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
). After serving a tour of duty in Vietnam
with the Air Force
from 1965–1966, Keats attended the prestigious Yale School of Drama
in 1969 and 1970. He was the father of photographer and actor Thatcher Keats
.
Keats debuted on Broadway
in the second cast of Oh! Calcutta!
and appeared in over 80 films and TV shows. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1977 for his role as the ruthless, Great Depression
-era entrepreneur Jay Blackman, who clawed his way to the top of the "rag trade,' or clothing business, in the formidable mini-series Seventh Avenue. He also portrayed Thomas Edison
on the brink of inventing the electric light
bulb in the science fiction TV series, Voyagers!
.
Another notable role was Keats' memorable performance in the celebrated movie Hester Street (adapted from author Abraham Cahan
's original Yiddish story "Yekl.") Set on New York City
's Lower East Side
of the 1890s, Keats played Jake Putkovsky (late of Russia
), an assimilated "Amerikaner," complete with derby hat
and an impressive handlebar moustache. Jake is less than favorably disposed toward his recently-emigrated wife, the meekly-submissive Gitl (who still clings to the old ways), because she is a constant reminder of his own "greenhorn" (or newcomer) status which he is trying desperately to forget.
At the end of his career, Keats was playing the part of Ed McClain on the soap opera
Another World
. On May 8, 1994, he was found dead in his apartment in Manhattan
; his death was ruled a suicide
.
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 appeared in such films as Silent Rage
Silent Rage
Silent Rage is a 1982 romantic/action/science fiction/horror movie starring Chuck Norris and directed by Michael Miller.-Plot:In a small Texas town, the mentally ill John Kirby goes insane and kills two people of a family he was staying with...
, Death Wish
Death Wish
Death Wish is a 1972 novel by Brian Garfield.-Plot:Paul Benjamin is a CPA in New York and lifelong liberal. However, his staid life is overturned when his daughter, Carol, and spouse, Esther, are attacked by muggers. His wife does not survive the attack, and his traumatized daughter is left in a...
, Black Sunday
Black Sunday
Black Sunday is a 1975 novel by Thomas Harris.It was the first novel by Harris, and achieved only moderate success, until it was sold to Hollywood, for the production of a film based on the novel. The novel is a thriller about a plot by terrorists to commit mass murder during the Super Bowl in New...
, The Friends of Eddie Coyle
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
This is an article about the movie. For information about George V. Higgins' 1970 novel, go to The Friends of Eddie Coyle .The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a 1973 crime film starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle. Directed by Peter Yates, the screenplay was adapted from the novel by George V. Higgins...
, and the TV-movie version of the Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
book The Executioner's Song starring Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
.
Biography
The son of Jewish emigrants from DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Keats was a popular and prolific actor of the 1970s. He grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York
Canarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18....
, graduated from the New York School for the Performing Arts (now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...
). After serving a tour of duty in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
with the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
from 1965–1966, Keats attended the prestigious Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
in 1969 and 1970. He was the father of photographer and actor Thatcher Keats
Thatcher Keats
Thatcher Keats is an American photographer, born August 8, 1965 in Hackensack, New Jersey. Keats attended the private, progressive Gill St. Bernard's School "an independent, nonsectarian, college preparatory day school". He began his career assisting photographers Larry Clark, Arthur Tress and...
.
Keats debuted on 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...
in the second cast of Oh! Calcutta!
Oh! Calcutta!
Oh! Calcutta! is an avant-garde theatrical revue, created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in London in 1970. It ran in London for over 3,900 performances, and in New York initially for 1,314...
and appeared in over 80 films and TV shows. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1977 for his role as the ruthless, Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era entrepreneur Jay Blackman, who clawed his way to the top of the "rag trade,' or clothing business, in the formidable mini-series Seventh Avenue. He also portrayed Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
on the brink of inventing the electric light
Electric light
Electric lights are a convenient and economic form of artificial lighting which provide increased comfort, safety and efficiency. Most electric lighting is powered by centrally-generated electric power, but lighting may also be powered by mobile or standby electric generators or battery systems...
bulb in the science fiction TV series, Voyagers!
Voyagers!
Voyagers! is an American science fiction time travel-based television series that aired on NBC during the 1982–1983 season. The series stars Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce.-Plot:...
.
Another notable role was Keats' memorable performance in the celebrated movie Hester Street (adapted from author Abraham Cahan
Abraham Cahan
Abraham "Abe" Cahan was a Lithuanian-born American socialist newspaper editor, novelist, and politician.-Early years:...
's original Yiddish story "Yekl.") Set on 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...
's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of the 1890s, Keats played Jake Putkovsky (late of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), an assimilated "Amerikaner," complete with derby hat
Bowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
and an impressive handlebar moustache. Jake is less than favorably disposed toward his recently-emigrated wife, the meekly-submissive Gitl (who still clings to the old ways), because she is a constant reminder of his own "greenhorn" (or newcomer) status which he is trying desperately to forget.
At the end of his career, Keats was playing the part of Ed McClain on the 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,...
Another World
Another 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...
. On May 8, 1994, he was found dead in his apartment in 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...
; his death was ruled a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.