Post by Kaz ~;~ on Aug 17, 2010 17:08:58 GMT -5
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Date of Birth
27 July 1916, New York City, New York, USA
Date of Death
14 October 1986, Los Angeles, California, USA (pancreatic cancer)
Birth Name
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn
Height
5' 10"
Biography
The talented scion of a show business family, Keenan Wynn's father was the great burlesque and TV buffoon Ed Wynn while his maternal grandfather, Frank Keenan, earned distinction on the other side of the entertainment ladder as a Shakespearean tragedian. Mother Hilda Keenan was also a minor actress. Born in New York City on July 27, 1916, during the height of his father's Broadway popularity, Keenan grew up in the lap of luxury and was educated at St. Johns Military Academy. He initially followed in his grandfather's dramatic footsteps as opposed to his dad's clown shoes, making his professional bow in Maine with the Lakewood Players in a production of "Accent of Youth". By 1937 he was on Broadway with "Hitch Your Wagon" in two small roles. During the run of the show he met first wife, actress Eve Abbott, who became his coach, manager and advisor. At the same time he began to get steady radio work.
Through the aid and encouragement of his wife and her contacts, he eventually wrangled screen tests for both Twentieth Century-Fox and MGM Turned down by the first studio, he signed with MGM at a rather low pay scale of $300 a week. At MGM Keenan became THE utilitarian character player, adept at playing almost anything handed to him. Balding, homely but with real distinctive, imposing features, he made his unbilled debut in Somewhere I'll Find You (1942), and went on to play a grab-bag of shady brutes usually in comic relief style. He was Gene Kelly's agent in For Me and My Gal (1942); a gangster in Lost Angel (1943), a soldier buddy to Robert Walker in See Here, Private Hargrove (1944) and its sequel; a drunk in a diner in The Clock (1945), Lucille Ball's tipsy beau in the Hepburn/Tracy vehicle Without Love (1945); and a news editor paired up with Ms. Ball again in Easy to Wed (1946). Moreover, he was given "B" co-star assignments in lesser material such as The Thrill of Brazil (1946), No Leave, No Love (1946) and The Cockeyed Miracle (1946).
Two sons were born to Keenan and Eve during the war years but he and Eve soon drifted apart. In 1946 the couple filed divorce papers with a third-party involvement in the form of family close friend and MGM star Van Johnson. Eve went on to marry Johnson the day after the couple's divorce was decreed in 1947. Keenan's second marriage in 1949 to Betty Jane Butler lasted only four years.
He re-signed with MGM in the post-war years and ventured on as one of Hollywood's strongest character players. The drawback was that not many of his roles were high-quality challenges, roles that might have moved him toward the top of the MGM hierarchy. The more scene-stealing roles that came to him were his disagreeable, self-important burlesque star in the Clark Gable starrer The Hucksters (1947); his jazz reedman in Song of the Thin Man (1947); and the songwriter pal to Kirk Douglas in My Dear Secretary (1948). He was also given his quota of vulgar, blunt-talking bad guys to play, both comically and dramatically, in such films as Love That Brute (1950), Kind Lady (1951) and, in particular, his Runyonesque gangster in the musical classic Kiss Me Kate (1953). Partnered with cohort James Whitmore, their rendering of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" was one of many comedy highlights. He also doled out a number of brash soldier types such as in Fearless f*gan (1952), Battle Circus (1953), Code Two (1953) and Men of the Fighting Lady (1954).
After leaving MGM in 1954, he set his sights on TV, but the lure of films (and steady work) never stopped. In The Great Man (1956), Keenan finally appeared with father Ed Wynn who had suffered a major career slide and resultant nervous breakdown. Keenan, who at one time had gone to great lengths to extricate himself from his father's famous shadow, was now an instrument of encouragement. He suggested the elder Wynn abandon his old-styled clowning in favor of a serious character acting. His father agreed to try and appeared in a small role in the film but they had no scenes together. The risk worked. The following year both were being hailed for their superlative work together in the dramatic TV production of _Requiem for a Heavyweight (1957) (TV)_.
Disney employed both father and son in the 1960s with a mustachioed Keenan an exceptionally hissable villain in the studio's comedy feature _Absent Minded Professor, The (1961)_ and its sequel Son of Flubber (1963). His hammy antics were spurred on in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), The Great Race (1965), Viva Max (1969) and Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), along with standard, if not always stand-out, TV work. His annoying, fast-talking con men, scheming tycoons, and other unappetizing cronies never lost their demand. In 1975 he earned an Emmy nomination for his guest work on "Police Woman".
Though his later years were marred by a severe case of tinnitus, a ringing in the ear that blocks out exterior sound, he was able to continue acting until the very end. One of his last roles was as a regular on the short-lived TV series "The Last Precinct" (1986). Sons Ned Wynn ("Edmund") and Tracy Keenan Wynn became successful writers in the business. Keenan died of pancreatic cancer at age 70 in 1986 and was survived by third wife Sharley Jean Hudson, who had two daughters, Hilda and Edwynna, by him.
Spouse
Sharley Hudson (8 January 1954 - 14 October 1986) (his death) 3 children
Betty Jane Butler (11 January 1949 - 3 March 1953) (divorced)
Evie Wynn Johnson (30 September 1938 - 25 January 1947) (divorced) 2 children
Trade Mark
Disney movie villains
--------------------------------------
Trivia
Keenan helped push his father Ed Wynn to become an actor.
Grandson of Frank Keenan
Father of Ned Wynn with first wife Eve Lynn Abbott. Ned is the author of the funny but tragic autobiography, "We Will Always Live In Beverly Hills", which chronicled the wild life of a boy growing up with famous, divorced parents. It offers a fascinating and revealing look into Eve Lynn Abbot's eventual marriage to Van Johnson.
Father of screenwriter Tracy Keenan Wynn.
Son of Ed Wynn
Interred along with his father Ed Wynn at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA., in the Great Mausoleum, Holly entrance, Daffodil Corridor.
Suffered from tinnitus (a chronic ringing in the ears) during the last years of his life, forcing him to wear hearing aids. Appeared with them in a photo accompanying a 1983 "National Enquirer" article, where he personally warned young people to protect their hearing.
Was originally to play Perry White in Superman (1978), but had to drop out upon arriving in London for filming due to heart problems.
He was uncle to the Hudson Brothers by his marriage to Sharley (they are her nephews). Daughter Hilda is married to actor/singer Paul Williams, daughter Emily died in her early 20s from cancer.
Keenan's wife Eve ("Evie") Abbott was a young actress who toured with Katharine Cornell but gave up her career when she married Wynn.
Part of the reason for his eventual loss of hearing was due to the fact that he raced just about anything on land or water and most the vehicles were loud and un-muffled. He was a regular feature in and around the Detroit Michigan area racing boats, cars and motorcycles, sometimes racing boats on the Detroit River (the border between the U.S. and Ontario Canada).
Introduced Steve McQueen and Lee Marvin to the power of Triumph motorcycles on a hill climb.
Two sons with wife Eve Lynn Abbott: Ned Wynn ("Edmund") and Tracy Keenan Wynn.
His daughter Hilda was married to singer Paul Williams from April 1993-2004.
--------------------------------------
Personal Quotes
Wynn was once quoted: "My billing has always been; 'and', or 'with', or 'including'. That's all right; let the stars take the blame."
"I do not consider myself a star. I'm a craftsman and I know my craft."
------------------------------
Date of Birth
27 July 1916, New York City, New York, USA
Date of Death
14 October 1986, Los Angeles, California, USA (pancreatic cancer)
Birth Name
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn
Height
5' 10"
Biography
The talented scion of a show business family, Keenan Wynn's father was the great burlesque and TV buffoon Ed Wynn while his maternal grandfather, Frank Keenan, earned distinction on the other side of the entertainment ladder as a Shakespearean tragedian. Mother Hilda Keenan was also a minor actress. Born in New York City on July 27, 1916, during the height of his father's Broadway popularity, Keenan grew up in the lap of luxury and was educated at St. Johns Military Academy. He initially followed in his grandfather's dramatic footsteps as opposed to his dad's clown shoes, making his professional bow in Maine with the Lakewood Players in a production of "Accent of Youth". By 1937 he was on Broadway with "Hitch Your Wagon" in two small roles. During the run of the show he met first wife, actress Eve Abbott, who became his coach, manager and advisor. At the same time he began to get steady radio work.
Through the aid and encouragement of his wife and her contacts, he eventually wrangled screen tests for both Twentieth Century-Fox and MGM Turned down by the first studio, he signed with MGM at a rather low pay scale of $300 a week. At MGM Keenan became THE utilitarian character player, adept at playing almost anything handed to him. Balding, homely but with real distinctive, imposing features, he made his unbilled debut in Somewhere I'll Find You (1942), and went on to play a grab-bag of shady brutes usually in comic relief style. He was Gene Kelly's agent in For Me and My Gal (1942); a gangster in Lost Angel (1943), a soldier buddy to Robert Walker in See Here, Private Hargrove (1944) and its sequel; a drunk in a diner in The Clock (1945), Lucille Ball's tipsy beau in the Hepburn/Tracy vehicle Without Love (1945); and a news editor paired up with Ms. Ball again in Easy to Wed (1946). Moreover, he was given "B" co-star assignments in lesser material such as The Thrill of Brazil (1946), No Leave, No Love (1946) and The Cockeyed Miracle (1946).
Two sons were born to Keenan and Eve during the war years but he and Eve soon drifted apart. In 1946 the couple filed divorce papers with a third-party involvement in the form of family close friend and MGM star Van Johnson. Eve went on to marry Johnson the day after the couple's divorce was decreed in 1947. Keenan's second marriage in 1949 to Betty Jane Butler lasted only four years.
He re-signed with MGM in the post-war years and ventured on as one of Hollywood's strongest character players. The drawback was that not many of his roles were high-quality challenges, roles that might have moved him toward the top of the MGM hierarchy. The more scene-stealing roles that came to him were his disagreeable, self-important burlesque star in the Clark Gable starrer The Hucksters (1947); his jazz reedman in Song of the Thin Man (1947); and the songwriter pal to Kirk Douglas in My Dear Secretary (1948). He was also given his quota of vulgar, blunt-talking bad guys to play, both comically and dramatically, in such films as Love That Brute (1950), Kind Lady (1951) and, in particular, his Runyonesque gangster in the musical classic Kiss Me Kate (1953). Partnered with cohort James Whitmore, their rendering of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" was one of many comedy highlights. He also doled out a number of brash soldier types such as in Fearless f*gan (1952), Battle Circus (1953), Code Two (1953) and Men of the Fighting Lady (1954).
After leaving MGM in 1954, he set his sights on TV, but the lure of films (and steady work) never stopped. In The Great Man (1956), Keenan finally appeared with father Ed Wynn who had suffered a major career slide and resultant nervous breakdown. Keenan, who at one time had gone to great lengths to extricate himself from his father's famous shadow, was now an instrument of encouragement. He suggested the elder Wynn abandon his old-styled clowning in favor of a serious character acting. His father agreed to try and appeared in a small role in the film but they had no scenes together. The risk worked. The following year both were being hailed for their superlative work together in the dramatic TV production of _Requiem for a Heavyweight (1957) (TV)_.
Disney employed both father and son in the 1960s with a mustachioed Keenan an exceptionally hissable villain in the studio's comedy feature _Absent Minded Professor, The (1961)_ and its sequel Son of Flubber (1963). His hammy antics were spurred on in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), The Great Race (1965), Viva Max (1969) and Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), along with standard, if not always stand-out, TV work. His annoying, fast-talking con men, scheming tycoons, and other unappetizing cronies never lost their demand. In 1975 he earned an Emmy nomination for his guest work on "Police Woman".
Though his later years were marred by a severe case of tinnitus, a ringing in the ear that blocks out exterior sound, he was able to continue acting until the very end. One of his last roles was as a regular on the short-lived TV series "The Last Precinct" (1986). Sons Ned Wynn ("Edmund") and Tracy Keenan Wynn became successful writers in the business. Keenan died of pancreatic cancer at age 70 in 1986 and was survived by third wife Sharley Jean Hudson, who had two daughters, Hilda and Edwynna, by him.
Spouse
Sharley Hudson (8 January 1954 - 14 October 1986) (his death) 3 children
Betty Jane Butler (11 January 1949 - 3 March 1953) (divorced)
Evie Wynn Johnson (30 September 1938 - 25 January 1947) (divorced) 2 children
Trade Mark
Disney movie villains
--------------------------------------
Trivia
Keenan helped push his father Ed Wynn to become an actor.
Grandson of Frank Keenan
Father of Ned Wynn with first wife Eve Lynn Abbott. Ned is the author of the funny but tragic autobiography, "We Will Always Live In Beverly Hills", which chronicled the wild life of a boy growing up with famous, divorced parents. It offers a fascinating and revealing look into Eve Lynn Abbot's eventual marriage to Van Johnson.
Father of screenwriter Tracy Keenan Wynn.
Son of Ed Wynn
Interred along with his father Ed Wynn at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA., in the Great Mausoleum, Holly entrance, Daffodil Corridor.
Suffered from tinnitus (a chronic ringing in the ears) during the last years of his life, forcing him to wear hearing aids. Appeared with them in a photo accompanying a 1983 "National Enquirer" article, where he personally warned young people to protect their hearing.
Was originally to play Perry White in Superman (1978), but had to drop out upon arriving in London for filming due to heart problems.
He was uncle to the Hudson Brothers by his marriage to Sharley (they are her nephews). Daughter Hilda is married to actor/singer Paul Williams, daughter Emily died in her early 20s from cancer.
Keenan's wife Eve ("Evie") Abbott was a young actress who toured with Katharine Cornell but gave up her career when she married Wynn.
Part of the reason for his eventual loss of hearing was due to the fact that he raced just about anything on land or water and most the vehicles were loud and un-muffled. He was a regular feature in and around the Detroit Michigan area racing boats, cars and motorcycles, sometimes racing boats on the Detroit River (the border between the U.S. and Ontario Canada).
Introduced Steve McQueen and Lee Marvin to the power of Triumph motorcycles on a hill climb.
Two sons with wife Eve Lynn Abbott: Ned Wynn ("Edmund") and Tracy Keenan Wynn.
His daughter Hilda was married to singer Paul Williams from April 1993-2004.
--------------------------------------
Personal Quotes
Wynn was once quoted: "My billing has always been; 'and', or 'with', or 'including'. That's all right; let the stars take the blame."
"I do not consider myself a star. I'm a craftsman and I know my craft."