Are you telling me there's a Keith David and a David Keith??
Yes.Yes I am.
David Keith (on the left) was born in Knoxville, TN, and starred in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter, alongside of Drew Barrymore and George C. Scott.
So, "knox", he's a homeboy. You should have a statue of him somewhere next to the one of Glenn Reynolds. Look for it in the big park with the gazebo.
Keith David (on the right, duh) was born in Harlem, New York, and was in John Carpenter's The Thing. He also does a ton of voice-over work. Contrary to the photo shown, he does smile, but he usually gets paid for scowling. If IMDB is to be believed, he was on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in his 20s. About the same time he was in The Thing, actually. Heh.
Aha! The glories of Youtube: Watch. I've never seen him with hair before, but that's unmistakably his voice.
OMG, I was trying so hard to be clever, I didn't even realize I actually know who Keith David is. I love him... he was hilarious in that short-lived Dennis Leary sitcom where he was a cop, I don't even remember what it was called. He also narrates (admirably) City Confidential, which is (incidentally) produced right here in Knoxville, TN. But who cares about that... I got my very own post!
ReplyDeleteA while ago David Keith moved back to Knoxville, but I've yet to have a "sighting". I think the only thing I've ever actually seen him in is "Behind Enemy Lines" where they put more mascara on him than... well I don't know who, but the poor man looks all dolled up in that movie.
ReplyDeleteWell, wait, if Keith David is in a show produced in Knoxville, and David Keith has returned Knoxville, that means you could actually have a DK-KD sighting!
ReplyDeleteDK's star really rose in the early '80s. He was in Officer & Gentlemen, most famously, as well as Brubaker, The Great Santini, Lords of Discipline, etc.
He kind of got type-cast as the down-and-out second fiddle, with the military or other redneck/conservative/puglistic background. A loser, really, usually one who couldn't live up to or was betrayed by the American Dream in some form.
I hadn't seen him in anything for years when he turned up playing Ben Affleck's dad in "Daredevil". As a down-and-out prizefighter who's throwing fights for money.
Same character.
Sometimes I feel sorry for actors.
But, he still gets work.
Oh, yeah I forgot about him in the Great Santini. That was a watchable movie only because of Robert Duvall, -- I can barely get past the drecky Pat Conroy-ness of it. I also can't believe I forgot KD in The Thing... his was just one of many cool performances in that one; I think that has to be Kurt Russell's finest work and I DON'T mean that as a joke. He's sort of like Burt Reynolds to me, where he's a great actor who always ends up in dunce movies.
ReplyDeleteHey did you see the movie where David Keith played Elvis. He was great in that.
ReplyDeleteAlso a stupid sitcom called The Class that was a lot of fun because it had a bunch of New York City theater actors in it. Keith played a quaterback who was married to a younger woman who was cheating on him with her high school boyfriend. It was pretty good but only lasted one season.
knox--
ReplyDeleteI think Russell should've gotten an Oscar for Miracle. Great performance.
As for dunce movies, he also does a really, really fine and under-rated performances in a Paul W.S. Anderson flick called "Soldier".
He's playing someone who's been trained from birth not to show (or even have) emotions, so he has a very narrow range to work in. A lot of lugs do roles like that, but they usually do it by playing dumb. I think Russell got that one just right, though not for a movie many will remember.
Sort of like Jolie in Tomb Raider. I was never a fan, really, but she just did a great job in a near impossible role. Utterly forgettable movie, though.
I was gonna mention the Elvis connection, Troop, but figured it was too obscure.
ReplyDeleteHe did a good job, as I recall. Though, going back to Kurt Russell...
Ha--there's a thought: Imitation Elvis night. Kurt Russell, David Keith, Bruce Campbell....
Didn't see "The Class", though. Really don't watch much network TV anymore.