Frederic Serrano Keating (March 27, 1901 – June 29, 1961), best known as Fred Keating, was an American
magician,
stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
and
film actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...
.
Biography
Keating was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the son of Frederick Keating (Senior), a lawyer, and Camille Serrano, a singer. He was of Irish-Spanish heritage. His parents divorced when he was young. He became interested in magic from an early age. He became well known for performing a
disappearing canary cage trick. Keating also performed a trick where he swallowed
needles and pulled them threaded, out of his mouth.
[Slide, p. 55]
Selected filmography
* ''
The Captain Hates the Sea
''The Captain Hates the Sea'' is a 1934 comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone and released by Columbia Pictures. The film, which involves a ''Grand Hotel''-style series of intertwining stories involving the passengers on a cruise ship, is notab ...
'' (1934)
* ''
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
'' (1935)
* ''
I Live My Life
''I Live My Life'' is a 1935 American comedy-drama film starring Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, and Frank Morgan, and is based on the story "Claustrophobia" by A. Carter Goodloe.
Plot summary
Kay Bentley (Joan Crawford), a bored socialite seeks ...
'' (1935)
* ''
To Beat the Band
''To Beat the Band'' is a 1935 American romantic comedy directed by Benjamin Stoloff using a screenplay by Rian James based on a story by George Marion, Jr. The film stars Hugh Herbert, Helen Broderick, Roger Pryor, and Fred Keating, and featu ...
'' (1935)
* ''
The Nitwits
''The Nitwits'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by George Stevens from a screenplay written by Fred Guiol and Al Boasberg, based on a story by Stuart Palmer. Released by RKO on June 7, 1935, the film stars the comedy duo of Wheeler & Woo ...
'' (1935)
* ''
The Casino Murder Case
''The Casino Murder Case'' is a 1934 novel written by S. S. Van Dine in the series about fictional detective Philo Vance. In this outing, a murder investigation is connected with a private casino on New York's Upper West Side, and the wealthy a ...
'' (1935)
* ''
The Devil on Horseback'' (1936)
* ''
When's Your Birthday?'' (1937)
* ''
Melody for Two
''Melody for Two'' is a 1937 American musical film directed by Louis King and starring James Melton, Patricia Ellis and Marie Wilson.
The film is notable for introducing the song "September in the Rain", which subsequently became a pop standard ...
'' (1937)
* ''
Prison Train
''Prison Train'' is a 1938 American Crime film, crime drama film directed by Gordon Wiles. Released by Equity Pictures Corporation, the film stars Fred Keating and Dorothy Comingore (billed as Linda Winters). Burlesque dancer Faith Bacon also ap ...
'' (1938)
* ''
Eternally Yours'' (1939)
* ''
Society Smugglers
''Society Smugglers'' is a 1939 American crime film directed by Joe May and starring Preston Foster, Irene Hervey and Walter Woolf King.Monaco p.364 It was made and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film sets were designed by the art direct ...
'' (1939)
* ''
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
'' (1940)
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Curry, Paul. (1965). ''Magician's Magic''. Dover Publications.
* Pitts, Michael R. (2015). ''RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929-1956''. McFarland.
* Price, David. (1985). ''Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater''. Cornwall Books.
* Slide, Anthony. (1981). ''The Vaudevillians: A Dictionary of Vaudeville Performers''. Arlington House.
External links
*
*
*
What Magicians Do When Magical Tricks Go Wrong(May, 1932)
1901 births
1961 deaths
American magicians
American male film actors
Age controversies
20th-century American male actors
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