Andrew Keir
Encyclopedia
Andrew Keir was a Scottish actor, who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from Hammer Film Productions
in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and particularly in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s. He is most remembered for starring as Professor Bernard Quatermass
in Hammer's film version of Quatermass and the Pit
(1967). He also originated the role of Thomas Cromwell
in Robert Bolt
's play A Man for All Seasons
in 1960.
His obituary in The Times
newspaper described him as possessing "considerable range and undeniable distinction."
. He was the son of a coalminer
, and had five brothers and one sister. When he was fourteen years old he left school and began working down the coal mine alongside his father. He began acting by chance, when he went to meet a friend at the Miners' Welfare Hall, and one member of the cast of an amateur dramatics
production being performed at the Hall had failed to turn up. Keir was persuaded to take the minor role of a farmer in the play, and enjoyed the experience so much that he became a regular in the group's performances.
The group entered a competition in Inverness
, where Keir's talent was spotted and he was offered the chance to become a professional actor at the Unity Theatre
in Glasgow
. As this was during the Second World War
he could not easily leave his occupation as a miner; he was only able to accept the offer after he obtained a medical diagnosis of pneumoconiosis
, which freed him from his work in the mine.
After a few months at the Unity Theatre, he was offered a place at Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre
by director Tyrone Guthrie
. He accepted, and remained with the Citizens Theatre company for nine years. At the Citizens' he was a contemporary of Phyllida Law
and Fulton Mackay
; Keir and Mackay used to escort Law from the theatre to the local tram
stop so that she would not be accosted by local gang
s because of the English accent she had developed at drama school
.
He made his film debut in 1950 in The Lady Craved Excitement, but had his first notable role on screen in 1952's The Brave Don't Cry. The film told the story of the rescue of a group of miners trapped underground after an accident in the pit, and Keir played a miner who places a bet on a horse race via the mine's telephone system while trapped, and has the final line of the film as he emerges from the pit after his rescue and asks who won the race.
The Maggie
(1954) and the Titanic film A Night to Remember (1958), in which he portrayed 2nd Engineer James Hesketh. He played Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
in the 1963 Richard Burton
and Elizabeth Taylor
vehicle Cleopatra
.
Keir also continued to act on the stage. He played Robert Burns in the pageant I, Robert Burns in 1959 celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the poet. In 1960 Keir initiated the role of Thomas Cromwell in the original theatrical production of Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons. Keir's performance in this part was praised by The Timess theatre critic as being "an arresting figure." In 1964 he was a member of the original West End
cast of Lionel Bart
's musical Maggie May
, playing the trade union leader.
He had first appeared on television on the BBC
in the early 1950s, and through that decade and into the 1960s continued to make guest appearances in a range of programmes, including Danger Man
, Dr Finlay's Casebook
, The Avengers
and Z Cars. However, it was in films where he became most prominent during the 1960s and early 1970s, particularly in Hammer's famous range of "Hammer Horror" productions. He appeared in Pirates of Blood River
(1962), Dracula: Prince of Darkness
(1966) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
(1971). By far his most prominent role for Hammer came in 1967's Quatermass and the Pit; this remained one of Keir's personal favourite roles of his career, and his obituary in The Independent
claimed that "Keir's mixture of gruff determination, intelligence and quirkiness made him the definitive professor."
(1971) and The Thirty Nine Steps (1978). He also continued to have success with television roles. His Australian series The Outsiders
demonstrated another time the wide range of types he could convincingly play, but brought him less praise than the BBC series Workhorses for which he was being nominated for BAFTA Scotland
's Best Actor award. He continued appearing in television series well into the 1990s, guest starring in an episode of Hamish Macbeth
in a part that was written especially for him; the series was produced by his daughter Deidre.
His final major role on screen was as the Duke of Argyll
in the 1995 film Rob Roy
. This was another role that became one of his particular favourites. His final professional engagement was resuming the role of Quatermass for the 1996 BBC radio
serial The Quatermass Memoirs
. This final performance was praised by The Independents radio reviewer: "This series has so far been hugely enjoyable - thanks in large part to Andrew Keir, who recreates the role of Quatermass in dramatic interludes; lesser actors would treat Kneale's downbeat script with a certain detachment, but Keir is prepared to charge even the most banal lines with a terror that's both a treat and a lesson."
He died in hospital in London
, aged seventy-one. From 1948 until 1977 he had been married to Julia Wallace, and they had two sons and three daughters. In 1977 he married Joyce Parker Scott who survived him, as did his five children from the previous marriage. One of his daughters is the actress Julie T. Wallace
.
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and particularly in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s. He is most remembered for starring as Professor Bernard Quatermass
Bernard Quatermass
Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading up the British Experimental Rocket Group...
in Hammer's film version of Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit (film)
Quatermass and the Pit is a 1967 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions it is a sequel to the earlier Hammer films The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2. Like its predecessors it is based on a BBC Television serial – Quatermass and the Pit – written by Nigel Kneale...
(1967). He also originated the role of Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, , was an English statesman who served as chief minister of King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540....
in Robert Bolt
Robert Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, CBE was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter.-Career:He was born in Sale, Cheshire. At Manchester Grammar School his affinity for Sir Thomas More first developed. He attended the University of Manchester, and, after war service, the University of...
's play A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
in 1960.
His obituary in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper described him as possessing "considerable range and undeniable distinction."
Early life and career
Keir was born Andrew Buggy in Shotts, North Lanarkshire, ScotlandShotts
Shotts is a small rural town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh . As of the 2001 census, the population was 8,235...
. He was the son of a coalminer
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, and had five brothers and one sister. When he was fourteen years old he left school and began working down the coal mine alongside his father. He began acting by chance, when he went to meet a friend at the Miners' Welfare Hall, and one member of the cast of an amateur dramatics
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
production being performed at the Hall had failed to turn up. Keir was persuaded to take the minor role of a farmer in the play, and enjoyed the experience so much that he became a regular in the group's performances.
The group entered a competition in Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, where Keir's talent was spotted and he was offered the chance to become a professional actor at the Unity Theatre
Glasgow Unity Theatre
The Glasgow Unity Theatre was a theatre group that was formed in 1941, in Glasgow. The Unity theatre movement developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s, seeing itself as using theatre to highlight the issues of the working class being produced by and for working class audiences...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. As this was during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he could not easily leave his occupation as a miner; he was only able to accept the offer after he obtained a medical diagnosis of pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis is an occupational lung disease and a restrictive lung disease caused by the inhalation of dust, often in mines.-Types:Depending upon the type of dust, the disease is given different names:...
, which freed him from his work in the mine.
After a few months at the Unity Theatre, he was offered a place at Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre
Citizens' Theatre
The Citizens Theatre is based in Glasgow, Scotland and is the principal producing theatre in the west of Scotland. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and two studio theatres, the Circle Studio and the Stalls Studio .The Citizen's Theatre repertory group, originally called the Citizen's...
by director Tyrone Guthrie
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Life and career:Guthrie...
. He accepted, and remained with the Citizens Theatre company for nine years. At the Citizens' he was a contemporary of Phyllida Law
Phyllida Law
-Personal life:Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of William and Megsie Law, who divorced after World War II. She was married to Eric Thompson from 1957 until his death in 1982. Their two children Emma and Sophie Thompson are both actresses...
and Fulton Mackay
Fulton Mackay
Fulton Mackay OBE was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s sitcom Porridge.-Early life:...
; Keir and Mackay used to escort Law from the theatre to the local tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
stop so that she would not be accosted by local gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
s because of the English accent she had developed at drama school
Drama school
A drama school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution ; which specialises in the pre-professional training in drama and theatre arts, such as acting, design and technical theatre, arts administration, and...
.
He made his film debut in 1950 in The Lady Craved Excitement, but had his first notable role on screen in 1952's The Brave Don't Cry. The film told the story of the rescue of a group of miners trapped underground after an accident in the pit, and Keir played a miner who places a bet on a horse race via the mine's telephone system while trapped, and has the final line of the film as he emerges from the pit after his rescue and asks who won the race.
Major film and theatre roles
He began to win increasingly prominent film roles throughout the course of the 1950s, appearing in the Ealing comedyEaling Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
The Maggie
The Maggie
The Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...
(1954) and the Titanic film A Night to Remember (1958), in which he portrayed 2nd Engineer James Hesketh. He played Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was a close friend, son-in-law, lieutenant and defense minister to Octavian, the future Emperor Caesar Augustus...
in the 1963 Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
vehicle Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
.
Keir also continued to act on the stage. He played Robert Burns in the pageant I, Robert Burns in 1959 celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the poet. In 1960 Keir initiated the role of Thomas Cromwell in the original theatrical production of Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons. Keir's performance in this part was praised by The Timess theatre critic as being "an arresting figure." In 1964 he was a member of the original West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
cast of Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
's musical Maggie May
Maggie May (musical)
Maggie May is a musical with a book by Alun Owen and music and lyrics by Lionel Bart.Based on "Maggie May", a traditional ballad about a Liverpool prostitute, it deals with trade union ethics and disputes and the life of streetwalker Margaret Mary Duffy after her sweetheart dies.The show includes...
, playing the trade union leader.
He had first appeared on television on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in the early 1950s, and through that decade and into the 1960s continued to make guest appearances in a range of programmes, including Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
, Dr Finlay's Casebook
Dr. Finlay
Dr. Finlay is a fictional character, the hero of a series of stories by Scottish author A. J. Cronin.-History:The stories were used as the basis for the long-running BBC television programme, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, screened from 1962 to 1971, and radio series . Based on Cronin's novella entitled...
, The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
and Z Cars. However, it was in films where he became most prominent during the 1960s and early 1970s, particularly in Hammer's famous range of "Hammer Horror" productions. He appeared in Pirates of Blood River
Pirates of Blood River
Pirates of Blood River is a 1962 Hammer Film Productions pirate film starring Christopher Lee and Kerwin Matthews.While in a penal colony, Huguenot Jonathan Standish is captured by pirates led by Capt...
(1962), Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Dracula: Prince of Darkness is a 1966 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Studios. The film was photographed in Techniscope by Michael Reed, designed by Bernard Robinson and scored by James Bernard.-Plot:...
(1966) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 British film starring Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon, and James Villiers. This was director Seth Holt's final film, and was adapted from Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. The film was released as the support feature to Dr...
(1971). By far his most prominent role for Hammer came in 1967's Quatermass and the Pit; this remained one of Keir's personal favourite roles of his career, and his obituary in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
claimed that "Keir's mixture of gruff determination, intelligence and quirkiness made him the definitive professor."
Later career
Keir continued to appear on screen throughout the 1970s and 80s, in films such as ZeppelinZeppelin (film)
Zeppelin is a 1971 British World War I action/drama film of a fictitious German attempt to raid Great Britain in a giant Zeppelin and steal the Magna Carta from its hiding place in one of Scotland's castles...
(1971) and The Thirty Nine Steps (1978). He also continued to have success with television roles. His Australian series The Outsiders
The Outsiders (Australian TV series)
The Outsiders was the name of an Australian-German co-production which was made in Australia in 1976. It starred Andrew Keir as Charlie Cole and German Actor Sascha Hehn as Pete Jarrett...
demonstrated another time the wide range of types he could convincingly play, but brought him less praise than the BBC series Workhorses for which he was being nominated for BAFTA Scotland
BAFTA Scotland
BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1997, the branch holds an annual awards ceremony, the British Academy Scotland Awards , to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, television and video games...
's Best Actor award. He continued appearing in television series well into the 1990s, guest starring in an episode of Hamish Macbeth
Hamish Macbeth (TV series)
Hamish Macbeth is a television series made by BBC Scotland and first aired in 1995. It is loosely based on a series of mystery novels by M. C. Beaton . The series concerns a local police officer, Constable Hamish Macbeth in the fictitious town of Lochdubh on the north coast of Scotland. The titular...
in a part that was written especially for him; the series was produced by his daughter Deidre.
His final major role on screen was as the Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll is a title, created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The Earls, Marquesses, and Dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful, if not the most powerful, noble family in Scotland...
in the 1995 film Rob Roy
Rob Roy (film)
Rob Roy is a 1995 historical drama film directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Liam Neeson stars as Robert Roy MacGregor, an 18th century Scottish historical figure who battles with feudal landowners in the Scottish Highlands. Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, and Jason Flemyng also star...
. This was another role that became one of his particular favourites. His final professional engagement was resuming the role of Quatermass for the 1996 BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
serial The Quatermass Memoirs
The Quatermass Memoirs
The Quatermass Memoirs is a British radio drama-documentary, originally broadcast in five episodes on BBC Radio 3 in March 1996. Written by Nigel Kneale, it was born out of his Quatermass series of films and television serials, which had first been broadcast in the 1950s...
. This final performance was praised by The Independents radio reviewer: "This series has so far been hugely enjoyable - thanks in large part to Andrew Keir, who recreates the role of Quatermass in dramatic interludes; lesser actors would treat Kneale's downbeat script with a certain detachment, but Keir is prepared to charge even the most banal lines with a terror that's both a treat and a lesson."
He died in hospital in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, aged seventy-one. From 1948 until 1977 he had been married to Julia Wallace, and they had two sons and three daughters. In 1977 he married Joyce Parker Scott who survived him, as did his five children from the previous marriage. One of his daughters is the actress Julie T. Wallace
Julie T. Wallace
Julie Therese Wallace is an English actress.-Biography:Julie T. Wallace is the daughter of the late Scottish actor Andrew Keir, and is the sister of the actors Sean Keir and Deirdre Keir...
.