Keith and Kevin Schultz (born September 16, 1953) are American identical twin photographers and former actors. Reportedly making their screen debut as infants, the Schultz brothers are perhaps best known for their roles as brothers Jefferson and Fennimore on the
ABC western frontier series ''
The Monroes'', as well as for Kevin's role as Tom Sawyer on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
live-action/animated series ''
The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''. After careers as child actors in front of the camera, the Schultz brothers transitioned to a career working together as professional photographers, best known for their celebrity "head shots" of notable Hollywood child stars.
Early life
The Schultz brothers were born Keith Sean Schultz and Kevin Edward Schultz on September 16, 1953 in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...
to Earl and Evelyn Schultz.
The brothers grew up in Hollywood with an older sister, Barbara (born c. 1948) and an older brother, Richard (born c. 1951).
According to IMDb, the brothers made their screen debut as infants in the feature film ''
The Long Gray Line
''The Long Gray Line'' is a 1955 American Cinemascope Technicolor biographical comedy-drama film in CinemaScope directed by John Ford based on the life of Marty Maher and his autobiography, Bringing Up the Brass'' co-written witNardi Reeder Cam ...
'', sharing an uncredited role as the infant son of Kitty, played by
Betsy Palmer
Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek; November 1, 1926 – May 29, 2015) was an American actress, who was known as a regular supporting film and Broadway actress and television guest star, as a panelist on the game show ''I've Got a Secret' ...
.
At age 8, they appeared on the Jan. 15, 1962 episode of the quiz show ''
I've Got a Secret
''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Line ...
'', their secret being that they had worked with panelist Palmer as infants. Throughout their childhood, the brothers continued to work as professional child actors, primarily playing twin roles in various commercials, films and television series.
Career
Acting
In 1966, Keith and Kevin landed starring roles on the television series ''
The Monroes'', portraying twin brothers Jefferson "Big Twin" Monroe and Fennimore "Little Twin" Monroe respectively.
The series, which also starred
Michael Anderson, Jr.
Michael Joseph Anderson Jr. (born 6 August 1943) is an actor whose 40-year career includes roles in '' The Sundowners'', ''In Search of the Castaways'', '' The Sons of Katie Elder'', and '' Logan's Run''. During the 1966 television season he sta ...
,
Barbara Hershey
Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...
and
Tammy Locke, centered around a frontier family of five orphan siblings as they attempted to make a new life in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Although only lasting one season, the series launched the Schultz brothers as popular child stars of the day and the twins were routinely in demand to make celebrity appearances to meet with young fans across the United States during the height of the show's popularity.
After ''The Monroes'', the Schultz brothers auditioned for the
Hanna-Barbera television series ''
The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', loosely based on the characters from the
Mark Twain novel.
Eventually beating out his brother for the role, Kevin co-starred as Tom Sawyer alongside
Michael Shea as Huck Finn and
LuAnn Haslam as Becky Thatcher, navigating weekly adventures within an animated world as they attempted to outrun a vengeful "Injun Joe", played by
Ted Cassidy
Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor noted for his tall stature at and deep voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of ...
.
All less than a year apart in age, the show's three teenage stars were tutored together for three hours a day on the set between scenes, with each episode reportedly taking approximately four hours to film and six months to animate.
Premiering on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
on September 16, 1968, ''The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' aired in over 15 countries and was the first weekly television series to combine live-action performers with animation.
In a departure from the network's usual
Saturday morning cartoon schedule, the series aired Sunday nights and made its three young stars popular
teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups.
By region Asia
East Asia possess ...
s of the era.
Although another series that lasted only one season, the show continued to air in reruns as part of ''
The Banana Splits
''The Banana Splits'' is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. ...
'' syndication package, becoming well known to subsequent generations for the next four decades.
In addition to ''The Monroes'' and ''The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', the Schultz brothers continued to appear in various other film and television roles, with Keith guest-starring on such television series as ''
Gunsmoke'', ''
The Flying Nun
''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...
'' and ''
Cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
'', and Kevin guest-starring on such television series as ''
The Iron Horse'', ''
Lucas Tanner'', and ''
Eight is Enough
''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...
'', as well as appearing in the feature film ''
Big Wednesday
''Big Wednesday'' is a 1978 American coming of age film directed by John Milius. Written by Milius and Dennis Aaberg, it is loosely based on their own experiences at Malibu, California. The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Gary ...
''. Keith and Kevin's final appearance would be together as brothers Ken and K.C. Zeigler on the
Showtime comedy series ''
Brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
'' in the episode titled "Two-Timin' Man" which aired August 6, 1986.
Music
In 1967, following the notoriety they'd achieved on ''The Monroes'', the Schultz brothers embarked on a music career, forming their own four-piece musical group "The Monroe Doctrine" with Greg Reinhardt and their elder brother Ric Schultz.
Keith played rhythm guitar and Kevin played bass while both sang harmony to Ric's lead vocals.
By 1970, the group was known as "Keith, Kevin & Air" and featured the twins performing songs written by their brother Ric, as well as other group members, Brad Driver, Keith Fogel, Tim Henderson and Jim Purvis.
In 1970, Keith, Kevin & Air signed a record deal with Pzazz Records and released a 7" single which included the songs "Euphoria" and "Michael's Theme".
Photography
Following their show business careers in front of the camera, the Schultz brothers transitioned to a joint career behind the camera as celebrity photographers.
According to their website SchultzBrosPhoto.com, the brothers had developed a passion for photography while working as child actors in Hollywood.
Keith is the photographer of the team while Kevin handles the lighting, retouching and restoration elements.
After 30 years of experience, the brothers are perhaps best known for their celebrity "head shots" of such child stars as
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (born Jonathan Taylor Weiss; September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on ''Home Improvement'' and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 film ''The Lion King'' and Pinocch ...
,
Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday () (née Pearman; born December 10, 1985), also known mononymously as Raven, is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has received several accolades, including five NAACP Image Awards, two Kids' ...
and
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986), also known as the Olsen twins as a duo, are American fashion designers and former actresses. The twins made their acting debut as infants playing Michelle Tanner on the television s ...
, among others.
Personal life
As teenagers, the Schultz twins garnered a significant amount of attention from the teen magazines of the late-1960s and were said to have shared many of the same interests and ambitions.
At the time, the brothers' interests reportedly included swimming, fishing, baseball and football, as well as watching their favorite television show, ''
The Avengers'' and listening to records by their favorite singing group, ''
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
''.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Schultz Bros. Photographyat SchultzBrosPhoto.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Keith and Kevin
1953 births
20th-century American male actors
Male actors from Los Angeles
American child singers
American male child actors
American male film actors
American photographers
American male television actors
Living people
Male actors from Santa Monica, California
American twins
Sibling musical duos
Identical twin male actors
Musical groups established in 1967