Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vance Flanagan; March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor.

Early years

O'Keefe was born in Fort Madison, Iowa, as Edward Vance Flanagan, the son of Edward J. Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan ( Ravenscroft), both vaudevillians of Irish descent. He was raised a Roman Catholic. As a small child, O'Keefe joined his parents' act and later wrote skits for the stage. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

but left midway through his sophomore year after his father died.

Career

O'Keefe continued his father's vaudeville act for several years after the father's death. He started in films as an extra in 1931 and appeared in numerous films under the name Bud Flanagan. After his role in '' Saratoga'' (1937),

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

recommended O'Keefe to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, which signed him to a contract in 1937 and renamed him Dennis O'Keefe. His film roles were bigger after that, starting with '' The Bad Man of Brimstone'' (1938) opposite Wallace Beery, and the lead role in '' Burn 'Em Up O'Connor'' (1939). He left MGM around 1940 but continued to work in mostly low-budget productions. He often played the tough guy in action and crime dramas, but was known as a comic actor as well as a dramatic lead. He gained great attention with a showy role in '' The Story of Dr Wassell'' and became a comedy star. He expressed interest in expanding into direction. In the mid-1940s, he was under a five-year contract to Edward Small. O'Keefe starred in film-noir classics such as '' T-Men'' and '' Raw Deal'', both directed by

Anthony Mann Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. He came to prominence as a skilled director of ''Film noirs, film noir'' and Western film, Westerns, and for his Epic film ...

. In a 1946 newsreel following

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

' calamitous plane wreck into a neighbor's Beverly Hills house, O'Keefe can be seen walking through the home inspecting the damage. In 1950, O'Keefe starred in the radio program ''T-Man'' on CBS. Also in the 1950s, he did some directing and wrote mystery stories. During the 1950s, O'Keefe made guest appearances as himself, or in acting roles, on episodes of a number of television series, such as ''

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

'', '' The Ford Show'', '' Studio 57'', and '' Climax!''. In 1957, he was to be the permanent host of '' Suspicion'', an anthology TV series in which 10 episodes were produced by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

. After two episodes, he left the series and was not replaced. From 1959 to 1960, he was the star of '' The Dennis O'Keefe Show''. His Broadway credits include ''Never Live Over a Pretzel Factory'' (1964) and ''Never Too Late''. O'Keefe wrote screenplays under the pen name Jonathan Rix in the late 1940s and 1950s, and then as Al Everett Dennis in the 1960s. His ''Don't Pull Your Punches'' was produced by Warner Bros. In 1947, he was working on plans to co-produce and act in ''Drawn Sabers'', another of his stories. He also wrote and directed '' Angela''.

Personal life

O'Keefe married actress Louise Stanley in 1937; the couple divorced in 1938. In 1940, he married actress and dancer Steffi Duna. They had two children, Juliena and James. A registered Democrat, O'Keefe supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election.''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers A heavy cigarette smoker, O'Keefe died of lung cancer in 1968 at the age of 60 at St. John's Hospital in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. He was buried at Wee Kirk O'the Heather at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Selected filmography

*'' Hold That Kiss'' (1938) as Tommy Bradford *'' The Chaser'' (1938) as Thomas Z. 'Tom' Brandon *'' Vacation from Love'' (1938) as W.D. 'Bill' Blair *'' Burn 'Em Up O'Connor'' (1939) as Jerry O'Connor *'' The Kid from Texas'' (1939) as William Quincy *'' Unexpected Father'' (1939) as Jimmy Hanley *'' That's Right—You're Wrong'' (1939) as Chuck Deems, the Band Manager *'' Alias the Deacon'' (1940) as Johnny Sloan *'' La Conga Nights'' (1940) as Steve Collins *'' Pop Always Pays'' (1940) as Jeff Thompson *'' Girl from Havana'' (1940) as Woody Davis *'' Arise, My Love'' (1940) as Shep *'' I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now'' (1940) as Tod Lowell *'' You'll Find Out'' (1940) as Chuck Deems *'' Bowery Boy'' (1940) as Dr. Tom O'Hara *'' Topper Returns'' (1941) as Bob *'' Mr. District Attorney'' (1941) as P. Cadwallader Jones *'' Broadway Limited'' (1941) as Dr. Harvey North *'' Lady Scarface'' (1941) as Lt. Bill Mason *'' Weekend for Three'' (1941) as Jim Craig *'' The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine'' (1942) as Mike Jason *'' Moonlight Masquerade'' (1942) as John Bennett Jr. *'' Hangmen Also Die!'' (1943) as Jan Horak *'' Tahiti Honey'' (1943) as Mickey Monroe *'' Good Morning, Judge'' (1943) as David Barton *'' The Leopard Man'' (1943) as Jerry Manning *'' Hi Diddle Diddle'' (1943) as Sonny Phyffe *'' The Fighting Seabees'' (1944) as Lt. Cmdr. Robert Yarrow *'' Up in Mabel's Room'' (1944) as Gary Ainsworth *'' The Story of Dr. Wassell'' (1944) as Benjamin 'Hoppy' Hopkins *'' Sensations of 1945'' (1944) as Junior Crane *'' Abroad with Two Yanks'' (1944) as Jeff Reardon *'' The Affairs of Susan'' (1945) as Bill Anthony *'' Earl Carroll Vanities'' (1945) as Danny Baldwin *''

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'' (1945) as Montague L. 'Monty' Brewster *'' Getting Gertie's Garter'' (1945) as Dr. Kenneth B. Ford *'' Doll Face'' (1945) as Michael Francis 'Mike' Hannegan *'' Her Adventurous Night'' (1946) as Bill Fry *'' Mr. District Attorney'' (1947) as Steve Bennett *'' Dishonored Lady'' (1947) as Dr. David S. Cousins *'' T-Men'' (1947) as Dennis O'Brien - aka Vannie Harrigan *'' Raw Deal'' (1948) as Joe Sullivan *'' Walk a Crooked Mile'' (1948) as Daniel F. O'Hara *'' Siren of Atlantis'' (1949) as Capt. Jean Morhange *'' Cover Up'' (1949) as Sam Donovan *'' The Great Dan Patch'' (1949) as David Palmer *'' Abandoned'' (1949) as Mark Sitko *'' The Eagle and the Hawk'' (1950) as Whitney Randolph *'' Woman on the Run'' (1950) as Dan Legget *'' The Company She Keeps'' (1951) as Larry Collins *'' Follow the Sun'' (1951) as Chuck Williams *'' Passage West'' (1951) as Jacob Karns *'' One Big Affair'' (1952) as Jimmy Donovan *'' Everything I Have Is Yours'' (1952) as Alec Tacksbury *'' The Lady Wants Mink'' (1953) as Jim Connors *'' The Fake'' (1953) as Paul Mitchell *'' Drums of Tahiti'' (1954) as Mike Macklin *'' The Diamond'' (1954, aka ''The Diamond Wizard'') as Joe Dennison *'' Angela'' (1954) as Steve Catlett *'' Las Vegas Shakedown'' (1955) as Joe Barnes *'' Chicago Syndicate'' (1955) as Barry Amsterdam *'' Inside Detroit'' (1956) as Blair Vickers *'' Dragoon Wells Massacre'' (1957) as Capt. Matt Riordan *'' Lady of Vengeance'' (1957) as William T. Marshall *'' Sail Into Danger'' (1957) as Steve Ryman *'' All Hands on Deck'' (1961) as Lt. Cmdr. Brian

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Dennis 1908 births 1968 deaths Male actors from Iowa Deaths from lung cancer in California American people of Irish descent American vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) California Democrats Iowa Democrats