Joey D. Vieira
Encyclopedia
Joey D. Vieira is an American film and television actor. He began as a child actor using the professional name Donald Keeler as chubby, beanie
-wearing farm boy, Sylvester "Porky" Brockway in the first several seasons (1954–1957) of TV's Lassie
(retitled Jeff's Collie in syndicated reruns and on DVD
). Vieira borrowed the professional surname from his aunt, Ruby Keeler
, star of numerous Warner Bros.
musicals in the 1930s. Lassie won two Emmys
during his run on the series. Vieira and costar Tommy Rettig
jointly accepted the show's second Emmy at the awards ceremony in 1956.
Vieira infuriated producers of Lassie by showing up for work one day with his hair trimmed in the then popular buzz style. Max Factor
quickly crafted a wig for Vieira and writers concocted a storyline in less than two hours. In a 1956 episode "The Haircut", Keeler enters a barber shop wearing the wig and exits with his buzz cut. He was given orders to never change his appearance again.
Other early TV appearances include The Pride of the Family
, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
, Shirley Temple's Storybook
, and My Three Sons
. Film appearances include The Private War of Major Benson
(1955) with Charlton Heston
and The Patriot
(2000) with Mel Gibson
. Vieira has also written, produced and directed.
In addition to being the nephew of Ruby Keeler
, he is the brother of actor Ken Weatherwax
, best known for portraying Pugsley Addams
on the 1960s TV series The Addams Family
.
Beanie
A beanie is a head-hugging brimless cap with or without a visor that was once popular among school boys.-Description:In the United States of America, beanies are made by triangular sections of cloth joined by a button at the crown and seamed together around the sides.They can also be made from...
-wearing farm boy, Sylvester "Porky" Brockway in the first several seasons (1954–1957) of TV's Lassie
Lassie (1954 TV series)
Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...
(retitled Jeff's Collie in syndicated reruns and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
). Vieira borrowed the professional surname from his aunt, Ruby Keeler
Ruby Keeler
Ruby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, was an actress, singer, and dancer most famous for her on-screen coupling with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly 42nd Street . From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson...
, star of numerous Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
musicals in the 1930s. Lassie won two Emmys
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
during his run on the series. Vieira and costar Tommy Rettig
Tommy Rettig
Thomas Noel "Tommy" Rettig was an American child actor,computer software engineer, and author. Rettig is best remembered for portraying the character "Jeff Miller" in the first three seasons of CBS's Lassie television series, from 1954–1957, later seen in syndicated re-runs as Jeff's Collie...
jointly accepted the show's second Emmy at the awards ceremony in 1956.
Vieira infuriated producers of Lassie by showing up for work one day with his hair trimmed in the then popular buzz style. Max Factor
Max Factor
Max Factor & Company is a cosmetics company, founded during 1909 by Maksymilian Faktorowicz , Max Factor, a Polish-Jewish cosmetician. Max Factor & Company was a related, two-family, multi-generational international cosmetics company before its sale in 1973 for $500 million dollars...
quickly crafted a wig for Vieira and writers concocted a storyline in less than two hours. In a 1956 episode "The Haircut", Keeler enters a barber shop wearing the wig and exits with his buzz cut. He was given orders to never change his appearance again.
Other early TV appearances include The Pride of the Family
The Pride of the Family
The Pride of the Family was a half-hour situation comedy starring Paul Hartman, Fay Wray, Natalie Wood, and Robert Hyatt, which aired for forty episodes on ABC in the 1953–1954 season....
, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
, Shirley Temple's Storybook
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was...
, and My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
. Film appearances include The Private War of Major Benson
The Private War of Major Benson
The Private War of Major Benson is 1955 comedy film starring Charlton Heston, Julie Adams, Sal Mineo and Tim Hovey, about a tough-talking U.S. Army Officer who must shape up the ROTC program at Sheridan Academy, a Catholic boys' military school, or be forced out of the Army.The movie was filmed on St...
(1955) with Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
and The Patriot
The Patriot (2000 film)
The Patriot is a 2000 historical war film directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Robert Rodat, and starring Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper, and Heath Ledger. It was produced by the Mutual Film Company and Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
(2000) with Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
. Vieira has also written, produced and directed.
In addition to being the nephew of Ruby Keeler
Ruby Keeler
Ruby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, was an actress, singer, and dancer most famous for her on-screen coupling with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly 42nd Street . From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson...
, he is the brother of actor Ken Weatherwax
Ken Weatherwax
Kenneth Patrick "Ken" Weatherwax is an American actor, best known for playing Pugsley Addams on The Addams Family television series....
, best known for portraying Pugsley Addams
Pugsley Addams
Pugsley Addams is a member of the fictional Addams family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams.Pugsley is the oldest child of Morticia and Gomez Addams. He is a pre-teen boy who is almost always seen wearing a striped T-shirt and shorts...
on the 1960s TV series The Addams Family
The Addams Family (TV series)
The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966...
.