Thomas Alan Keith (December 21, 1946 – October 30, 2011) was a
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
personality who worked for
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest.
MPR ha ...
in
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...
. He was the engineer for
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...
when the latter began his early morning radio show from the
St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota studio. Keillor wanted dialogue during the program and Keith was about the only other person around at that early hour. Keith was one of the primary sound effects performers for the radio show ''
A Prairie Home Companion
''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
'' and was often an actor in sketches written by Keillor.
[ Keillor created the persona of Jim Ed Poole for Keith on the old early morning show. Jim Ed was said to have grown up in ]West St. Paul, Minnesota
West St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 20,615 at the 2020 census. It is immediately south of Saint Paul and immediately west of South St. Paul.
History
The city's misleading name comes in part fro ...
and graduated from Henry Sibley High School
Two Rivers High School (formerly known as Henry Sibley High School), located in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, United States, was founded in 1954. The current school was built in 1971 to serve students in grades 9–12. Today, it serves students in g ...
.
After serving in the Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
, Keith earned a degree from the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
. When production of the radio program moved to St. Paul, Tom Keith continued to play Jim Ed who lived in the Hotel Transom with his pet chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
, Curtis. When Keillor left the morning program, Keith was joined on ''The Morning Show'' by Dale Connelly
Dale Connelly (born 4 October 1955) was co-host (with Tom Keith, aka Jim Ed Poole) of ''The Morning Show'' on Minnesota Public Radio. The program was first carried on KSJN at frequency 91.1 (now KNOW-FM, later on KSJN at 99.5 and finally on KCMP ...
. He maintained the Jim Ed Poole persona and developed several other characters (like Dr. Larry Kyle of Genway Laboratories and B. Marty Barry the self-described "bottomless well of wellness") in cooperation with Connelly. Keith developed his vocal and sound effects skills on the morning program and later on ''A Prairie Home Companion''.Fitzgerald Theater
The Fitzgerald Theater is the oldest active theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the home of American Public Media's ''Live from Here'' (formerly '' A Prairie Home Companion''). It was one of many theaters built by the Shubert Theatre Corporatio ...
in St. Paul that morning.
Death
Minnesota Public Radio announced that Keith died October 30, 2011, at his home due to a massive pulmonary embolism. He was 64 years old.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Tom
1946 births
2011 deaths
American Public Media
American radio personalities
Minnesota Public Radio people
People from Saint Paul, Minnesota
United States Marines
University of Minnesota alumni