Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow) has died - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

James"Thunder"Early · 11-07-2004, 06:53 PM

He was 85

Mr. Television · 11-07-2004, 06:56 PM

OMG. Thats so sad and on the day of the Dallas reunion. I always thought he was a great asset to the show, and he will be missed. . r.i.p. Howard.

spunkygirl · 11-07-2004, 08:06 PM

Just found this out

Howard Keel who played Clayton Farlow on Dallas sadly passed away today
aged 85.

Howard was a star of stage and film finding further fame playing
Clayton on Dallas.

Please take some time to write your message in the Condolence Book at
http://www.ultimatedallas.com/howardkeel

He will be sadly missed by fans across the world. Our thoughts are with
his family.

Mr. Television · 11-07-2004, 08:22 PM

RIP Howard.

spunkygirl · 11-07-2004, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mr roper
RIP Howard.

Skywalker · 11-07-2004, 08:40 PM

this is terrible news.

R.I. P. Howard

Jrnygrl · 11-07-2004, 08:49 PM

R.I.P.

dandelion wine · 11-07-2004, 09:22 PM

I was watching the E! True Hollywood Story on Ryan O'Neal and his family when I caught the news on their ticker. This is strange timing with the reunion airing this evening, and very sad news.

Rest in peace, Mr. Keel.

jayman75 · 11-07-2004, 10:06 PM

That is sad. He was a very talented guy.

Another thing, off topic... THE REUNION IS NOT AIRING!!! I don't know where it's at. Did the game run late???

Mr. Television · 11-07-2004, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jayman75
That is sad. He was a very talented guy.

Another thing, off topic... THE REUNION IS NOT AIRING!!! I don't know where it's at. Did the game run late???

Its running about 40 minutes late.

EmoJoe · 11-07-2004, 10:38 PM

RIP

Sara Micelli · 11-07-2004, 10:41 PM

Rest in peace, Howard.

ThirteenInchEscape · 11-07-2004, 10:43 PM

You know, I've never seen that show, but it has a really catchy themesong.

Liza · 11-07-2004, 11:18 PM

I never watched Dallas, but most fans of old Hollywood know who he is. Was. I can't believe he's gone - that is so sad. That man had such a voice! He and Kathryn Grayson sang some of the best songs in movie history. And they seemed to be friends up until the very end. I don't know if I ever had a favorite of his - Calamity Jane, Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers....

Rest in Peace, Howard. I'll miss you.

Liza · 11-07-2004, 11:20 PM

Howard Keel, Star of Musicals, Dies at 85

LOS ANGELES - Howard Keel, the broad-shouldered baritone who romanced his way through a series of glittery MGM musicals such as "Kiss Me Kate" and "Annie Get Your Gun" and later revived his career with television's "Dallas," died Sunday. He was 85.

Keel died Sunday morning of colon cancer, according to his son, Gunnar.

Keel starred in Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals in New York and London before being signed to an MGM contract after World War II. The timing was perfect: He became a star with his first MGM film, playing Frank Butler to Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun."

Keel's size and lusty voice made him an ideal leading man for such stars as Esther Williams ("Pagan Love Song," "Texas Carnival," "Jupiter's Darling"), Ann Blyth ("Rose Marie," "Kismet"), Kathryn Grayson ("Show Boat," "Lovely to Look At," "Kiss Me Kate") and Doris Day ("Calamity Jane").

His own favorite film was the exuberant "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."

"It was a fine cast and lots of fun to make," Keel remarked in 1993, "but they did the damn thing on the cheap. The backdrops had holes in them, and it was shot on the worst film stock. ... As it turned out, the miracle worker was George Foley, the cinematographer. He took that junk and made it look like a Grandma Moses painting."

When film studios went into a slump, MGM's musical factory was disbanded. Keel kept busy on the road in such surefire attractions of "Man of La Mancha," "South Pacific," "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."

Keel was 66 and presumably nearing the end of his career when he suddenly became a star in another medium.

From its start in 1978, "Dallas" with its combination of oil, greed, sex and duplicity had become the hottest series in television. Jim Davis, who had played the role of Jock Ewing, died in 1981, and the producers needed another strong presence to stand up to the nefarious J.R. Ewing Jr. (Larry Hagman). They chose Keel.

"The show was enormous," Keel reflected in 1995. "I couldn't believe it. My life changed again. From being out of it, I was suddenly a star, known to more people than ever before. Wherever I went, crowds appeared again, and I started making solo albums for the first time in my career."

As Clayton Farlow, husband of "Miss Ellie" Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes), Keel remained with "Dallas" until it folded in 1991.

When Keel was born in Gillespie, Ill., his name was Harold Clifford Leek. His father, once a naval captain, became a coal miner and drank to soothe his bitterness. During drunken rages, he beat his children. His mother, a strict Methodist, forbade her two sons from having any entertainment.

"I had a terrible, rotten childhood," Keel commented in 1995. "My father made away with himself when I was 11. I had no guidance, and Mom was six feet tall, bucktoothed and very tough. I was mean and rebellious and had a terrible, bitter temper. I got a job as an auto mechanic, and I would have stayed in that narrow kind of life if I hadn't discovered art. Music changed me completely."

At 20 he was living in Los Angeles and he was befriended by a cultured woman who took him to a Hollywood Bowl concert featuring famed baritone Lawrence Tibbett. Keel was inspired, and he started taking vocal lessons at 25 cents an hour. His first semi-professional opportunity came as a singing waiter at the Paris Inn Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at $15 a week and two meals a day.

Six foot three and a gawky 140 pounds, Keel was painfully shy. He worked during five years during World War II at Douglas Aircraft, and the experience helped his confidence.

He sang in recitals and opera programs and was summoned to an audition with Oscar Hammerstein II, who was looking for young singers to play Curly in the growing number of touring "Oklahoma!" companies.

Hammerstein approved, and soon under a new name Howard Keel he was singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" in New York eight times a week. He sometimes replaced John Raitt in Rodgers and Hammerstein's other hit, "Carousel" On occasion he would appear in a matinee of "Oklahoma!" and an evening performance of "Carousel." He played "Carousel" for eighteen months in London.

Rodgers and Hammerstein were notorious for underpaying their actors and denying them billing. Keel rankled at being paid $250 a week for the unbilled starring role in a sell-out musical. As soon as his contract expired, he hurried back to Los Angeles.

Desperately in need of handsome, virile actors who could sing, MGM signed Keel to a contract that paid $850 a week.

He made it big in musicals, but also appeared in westerns: Waco," "Red Tomahawk," "The War Wagon" (with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas) and "Arizona Bushwhackers." After leaving MGM, he appeared as St. Peter in the unsuccessful "The Big Fisherman."

Keel was married and then divorced twice: to actress Rosemary Cooper and dancer Helen Anderson, with whom he had three children: Kaija, Kristine, Gunnar. In 1970 he married former airline stewardess Magamoll. They had one daughter, Leslie.

He continued singing in his 1980s, explaining: "As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing (than act). There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good numbers to do and having a fine orchestra."

11-07-2004, 06:53 PM	#1
James"Thunder"Early Whoever's In New England Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 23, 2004 Location: The Apollo Posts: 7,088	Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow) has died He was 85
	__________________ Esther Anderson: Get thee behind me, Satan, but I'm gon' get behind you, 'cause I'm gonna put my foot in your--- Peggy Mitchell: Get outta my pub! You better pray you get the last laugh, it's a kick in the teeth when you don't get it.

11-07-2004, 06:56 PM	#2
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	OMG. Thats so sad and on the day of the Dallas reunion. I always thought he was a great asset to the show, and he will be missed. . r.i.p. Howard.
	__________________ Sonny

11-07-2004, 08:06 PM	#3
spunkygirl Member Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Apr 26, 2003 Posts: 21,563	RIP Howard Keel Just found this out Howard Keel who played Clayton Farlow on Dallas sadly passed away today aged 85. Howard was a star of stage and film finding further fame playing Clayton on Dallas. Please take some time to write your message in the Condolence Book at http://www.ultimatedallas.com/howardkeel He will be sadly missed by fans across the world. Our thoughts are with his family.

11-07-2004, 08:22 PM	#4
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	RIP Howard. Attached Images

11-07-2004, 09:22 PM	#8
dandelion wine ~ Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 20, 2003 Location: Behind the Couch Posts: 34,967	I was watching the E! True Hollywood Story on Ryan O'Neal and his family when I caught the news on their ticker. This is strange timing with the reunion airing this evening, and very sad news. Rest in peace, Mr. Keel.
	__________________ Fans of Jon-Erik Hexum Merry Christmas!

11-07-2004, 08:40 PM	#6
Skywalker Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2003 Posts: 14,204	this is terrible news. R.I. P. Howard

11-07-2004, 08:49 PM	#7
Jrnygrl Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 03, 2003 Location: wheel in the sky Posts: 4,540	R.I.P.

11-07-2004, 10:06 PM	#9
jayman75 I Love the 80s! Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 27, 2000 Location: THE GREAT UNITED STATES Posts: 3,809	That is sad. He was a very talented guy. Another thing, off topic... THE REUNION IS NOT AIRING!!! I don't know where it's at. Did the game run late???
	__________________ A fan of quality, classic television comedies and holiday specials... The Wonder Years,The Golden Girls,Burns and Allen, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Are You Being Served?, Family Guy, South Park, Designing Women, Dallas, The Facts of Life, Roseanne, Will and Grace, The Twilight Zone, Original Scooby-Doo, Murphy Brown, The Big Bang Theory... Talk to me about one of these shows, and I'm all yours...

11-07-2004, 10:38 PM	#11
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478	RIP
	__________________ "I know the difference between TV and reality, Jeff. TV has structure, it makes sense, there are likable leading men. In real life, we have this. We have you." - Abed Nadir, Community www.sitcomsarestupid.blogspot.com

11-07-2004, 10:41 PM	#12
Sara Micelli Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 14, 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 3,122	Rest in peace, Howard.
	__________________ Formerly popcornperson2002. Some people come into our lives and quickly go.Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never,ever the same-source unknown. "Suicide sometimes proceeds from cowardice, but not always; for cowardice sometimes prevents it; since as many live because they are afraid to die, as die because they are afraid to live" -Charles Caleb Colton

11-07-2004, 10:43 PM	#13
ThirteenInchEscape Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 21, 2004 Location: Palouse, Washington Posts: 1,218	You know, I've never seen that show, but it has a really catchy themesong.
	__________________ *Member of the "God Lilith is so ing Cool" Fanclub* Freedom of Thought

11-07-2004, 11:18 PM	#14
Liza BestYearsofOurLives Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 24, 2001 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 6,537	I never watched Dallas, but most fans of old Hollywood know who he is. Was. I can't believe he's gone - that is so sad. That man had such a voice! He and Kathryn Grayson sang some of the best songs in movie history. And they seemed to be friends up until the very end. I don't know if I ever had a favorite of his - Calamity Jane, Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.... Rest in Peace, Howard. I'll miss you.

11-07-2004, 11:20 PM	#15
Liza BestYearsofOurLives Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 24, 2001 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 6,537	Howard Keel, Star of Musicals, Dies at 85 LOS ANGELES - Howard Keel, the broad-shouldered baritone who romanced his way through a series of glittery MGM musicals such as "Kiss Me Kate" and "Annie Get Your Gun" and later revived his career with television's "Dallas," died Sunday. He was 85. Keel died Sunday morning of colon cancer, according to his son, Gunnar. Keel starred in Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals in New York and London before being signed to an MGM contract after World War II. The timing was perfect: He became a star with his first MGM film, playing Frank Butler to Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun." Keel's size and lusty voice made him an ideal leading man for such stars as Esther Williams ("Pagan Love Song," "Texas Carnival," "Jupiter's Darling"), Ann Blyth ("Rose Marie," "Kismet"), Kathryn Grayson ("Show Boat," "Lovely to Look At," "Kiss Me Kate") and Doris Day ("Calamity Jane"). His own favorite film was the exuberant "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." "It was a fine cast and lots of fun to make," Keel remarked in 1993, "but they did the damn thing on the cheap. The backdrops had holes in them, and it was shot on the worst film stock. ... As it turned out, the miracle worker was George Foley, the cinematographer. He took that junk and made it look like a Grandma Moses painting." When film studios went into a slump, MGM's musical factory was disbanded. Keel kept busy on the road in such surefire attractions of "Man of La Mancha," "South Pacific," "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Keel was 66 and presumably nearing the end of his career when he suddenly became a star in another medium. From its start in 1978, "Dallas" with its combination of oil, greed, sex and duplicity had become the hottest series in television. Jim Davis, who had played the role of Jock Ewing, died in 1981, and the producers needed another strong presence to stand up to the nefarious J.R. Ewing Jr. (Larry Hagman). They chose Keel. "The show was enormous," Keel reflected in 1995. "I couldn't believe it. My life changed again. From being out of it, I was suddenly a star, known to more people than ever before. Wherever I went, crowds appeared again, and I started making solo albums for the first time in my career." As Clayton Farlow, husband of "Miss Ellie" Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes), Keel remained with "Dallas" until it folded in 1991. When Keel was born in Gillespie, Ill., his name was Harold Clifford Leek. His father, once a naval captain, became a coal miner and drank to soothe his bitterness. During drunken rages, he beat his children. His mother, a strict Methodist, forbade her two sons from having any entertainment. "I had a terrible, rotten childhood," Keel commented in 1995. "My father made away with himself when I was 11. I had no guidance, and Mom was six feet tall, bucktoothed and very tough. I was mean and rebellious and had a terrible, bitter temper. I got a job as an auto mechanic, and I would have stayed in that narrow kind of life if I hadn't discovered art. Music changed me completely." At 20 he was living in Los Angeles and he was befriended by a cultured woman who took him to a Hollywood Bowl concert featuring famed baritone Lawrence Tibbett. Keel was inspired, and he started taking vocal lessons at 25 cents an hour. His first semi-professional opportunity came as a singing waiter at the Paris Inn Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at $15 a week and two meals a day. Six foot three and a gawky 140 pounds, Keel was painfully shy. He worked during five years during World War II at Douglas Aircraft, and the experience helped his confidence. He sang in recitals and opera programs and was summoned to an audition with Oscar Hammerstein II, who was looking for young singers to play Curly in the growing number of touring "Oklahoma!" companies. Hammerstein approved, and soon under a new name Howard Keel he was singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" in New York eight times a week. He sometimes replaced John Raitt in Rodgers and Hammerstein's other hit, "Carousel" On occasion he would appear in a matinee of "Oklahoma!" and an evening performance of "Carousel." He played "Carousel" for eighteen months in London. Rodgers and Hammerstein were notorious for underpaying their actors and denying them billing. Keel rankled at being paid $250 a week for the unbilled starring role in a sell-out musical. As soon as his contract expired, he hurried back to Los Angeles. Desperately in need of handsome, virile actors who could sing, MGM signed Keel to a contract that paid $850 a week. He made it big in musicals, but also appeared in westerns: Waco," "Red Tomahawk," "The War Wagon" (with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas) and "Arizona Bushwhackers." After leaving MGM, he appeared as St. Peter in the unsuccessful "The Big Fisherman." Keel was married and then divorced twice: to actress Rosemary Cooper and dancer Helen Anderson, with whom he had three children: Kaija, Kristine, Gunnar. In 1970 he married former airline stewardess Magamoll. They had one daughter, Leslie. He continued singing in his 1980s, explaining: "As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing (than act). There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good numbers to do and having a fine orchestra."