Walter O'Keefe (August 18, 1900 – June 26, 1983) was an American songwriter, actor, syndicated columnist, Broadway composer, radio legend, screenwriter, musical arranger and TV host.

Biography

O'Keefe was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He attended the College of the Sacred Heart in Wimbledon, London before entering the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

in 1916. At Notre Dame, he was a member of the Glee Club and a Class Poet. He graduated cum laude in 1921. O'Keefe began as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer in the midwest for several years. In 1925, he went to New York City and became a Broadway performer. By 1937, he wrote a syndicated humor column and filled-in for such radio personalities as

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Ch ...

, Don McNeill and

Garry Moore Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network ...

. He became the long-time master of ceremonies of the NBC show ''

Double or Nothing Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...

'' and was a regular on that network's ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

'' series. O'Keefe also worked in television, presiding over talk shows and quiz shows for the CBS network. Producers

Mark Goodson Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and ea ...

and

Bill Todman William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created ...

hired him for their game show '' Two for the Money''. When the show's usual host

Herb Shriner Herbert Arthur "Herb" Shriner (May 29, 1918 – April 23, 1970) was an American humorist, radio personality, actor, and television host. Shriner was known for his homespun monologues, usually about his home state of Indiana. He was frequently co ...

had other commitments during the summer of 1954, O'Keefe took over for three months. He was the host for the first Emmy Awards ceremony, held on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. He replaced the original host,

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

after he left town at the last minute. O'Keefe wrote the musical scores of several Hollywood films. He introduced the popular song "

The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", originally published under the title "The Flying Trapeze" and also known as "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", is a 19th-century popular song about a flying trapeze circus performer, Jules Léotard. ...

" in 1934, and it became permanently associated with him. O'Keefe became addicted to alcohol, and sought treatment in Cleveland, Ohio during the late 1960s.

Death and legacy

He has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

in the category of radio. He died in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

at the age of 82.

Filmography

* 1929 ''

The Sophomore ''The Sophomore'' is a 1929 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Eddie Quillan, Sally O'Neil and Jeanette Loff.Munden p.747 Made during the early sound era, it was shot using the RCA Photophone sound system with a sep ...

'' - actor and music composer * 1929 ''

Red Hot Rhythm ''Red Hot Rhythm'' (1929) is an American pre-Code early sound musical film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Alan Hale Sr., Kathryn Crawford, Walter O'Keefe, and Josephine Dunn. As originally released by Pathé Exchange, the film featured ...

'' - actor, music composer and lyricist * 1930 ''

Dancing Sweeties ''Dancing Sweeties'' (1930) is an American Pre-Code romantic comedy film with music directed by Ray Enright, released by Warner Bros., and starring Grant Withers and Sue Carol. The film is based on the story ''Three Flights Up'' by Harry Fried ...

'' - music composer * 1930 ''

Sweet Kitty Bellairs ''Sweet Kitty Bellairs'' is a 1930 American historical musical comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green. The film is based on the 1900 novel, ''The Bath Comedy'' by Agnes Castle and Egerton Castle. Shot entirely in Technicolor, the film stars ...

'' - music composer * 1931 '' The Smart Set-Up'' - actor * 1935 ''

Vagabond Lady ''Vagabond Lady'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Sam Taylor and written by Frank Butler. The film stars Robert Young and Evelyn Venable. The film was released on May 3, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot Irresponsible, happy-go-luc ...

'' - music composer and lyricist * 1936 ''

Prison Shadows ''Prison Shadows'' is a 1936 American crime film directed by Robert F. Hill and starring Edward J. Nugent, Lucille Lund and Joan Barclay.Pitts p.440 Plot Gene Harris, a prizefighter, is sentenced to five years in prison after killing an opp ...

'' - actor * 1938 ''

Go Chase Yourself ''Go Chase Yourself'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Paul Yawitz and Bert Granet. The film stars Joe Penner, Lucille Ball, Richard Lane, June Travis, Fritz Feld and Tom Kennedy. The film was released o ...

'' - screenwriter * 1941 ''

Too Many Blondes ''Too Many Blondes'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Rudy Vallee, Helen Parrish and Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon ...

'' - music arranger * 1952 '' Two for the Money'' (TV Series) - guest host * 1954 '' Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Stars on Parade'' - himself * 1956 ''

The NBC Comedy Hour ''The NBC Comedy Hour'' was a comedy show that ran on NBC in the first half of 1956, intended to be a replacement for ''The Colgate Comedy Hour''. Leo Durocher hosted the show in January, and Gale Storm from February until April 8; from April 22 o ...

'' (Episode #1.16) - actor (himself)

References

External links

Prelinger Film Collection - Walter O'Keefe serving as an announcer in a 1940 screen ad
archive.org; accessed October 6, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Walter 1900 births 1983 deaths American film score composers Songwriters from Connecticut American radio personalities American male radio actors American male film actors American game show hosts Male actors from Hartford, Connecticut Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut Songwriters from New York (state) University of Notre Dame alumni Vaudeville performers Writers from Hartford, Connecticut 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American composers American male film score composers 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters