Keith Larsen
Encyclopedia
Keith Larsen was an American
actor
, screenwriter
, director
, and producer
who starred in three short-lived television series between 1955 and 1961.
, he served in the United States Navy
. After he was demobbed he became involved in stage
acting in Santa Monica, California
.
. In 1953, Larsen played the title role of Ed Reed, the Kid in the film Son of Belle Starr, in which his character tries to live an upright life despite the heritage of his two lawless parents, Belle Starr
and Jim Reed.
Larsen's film career consisted mainly of television weekly series including The Hunter (1954), Brave Eagle
(1955), Northwest Passage
(1958) and The Aquanauts (1960).
In the 1955-1956 television season, Larsen starred in the title role of the 26-week CBS western
Brave Eagle
. Keith Larsen starred as Brave Eagle, a peaceful young Cheyenne
chief. The program was unusual in that it reflected the Native American
viewpoint in the settlement of the American West. Larsen's principal co-stars were Kim Winona
(1930–1978) as Morning Star, Anthony Numkena, a Hopi
Indian then using the stage name Keena Nomkeena, as Keena, Brave Eagle's foster son, and Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) as Smokey Joe.
He guest starred in 1957 on three CBS programs, as Paul in the "Anitra Dellano Story" of The Millionaire, and in two anthologies
, as Howard in "The Blackwell Story" on Playhouse 90
, and as Eddie Seabord in the episode "Father and Son Night" on General Electric Theater
, hosted by future U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan.
In the 1958-1959 season, Larsen starred in the M-G-M/NBC
series Northwest Passage
. the story of Major Robert Rogers
, an American soldier
in upstate New York during the French and Indian War
. Buddy Ebsen
co-starred as Sergeant
Hunk Marriner and Don Burnett as Ensign Towne. In 1959, Larsen guest starred on the CBS series Men Into Space
in the role of Jim Nichols in the episode " Christmas on the Moon".
In 1960-1961, Larsen appeared as 36-year-old former Navy diver Drake Andrews in the CBS adventure
series The Aquanauts, an Ivan Tors
Production renamed in March 1961 as Malibu Run. His co-star was Jeremy Slate
(1926–2006). A sinus
operation required Larsen to withdraw from the show, and he was replaced by Ron Ely as Mike Madison. The script line indicated that the character Andrews had rejoined the Navy.
After The Aquanauts, Larsen appeared as Jack Bennett in the 1961 episode "Blondes Prefer Gentlemen" of the ABC
series The Roaring Twenties
, with Donald May, Rex Reason
, and Dorothy Provine
. His other television roles, all in 1960, were as John Edwards in "The Hostage" episode of the ABC and syndicated
western series, Tombstone Territory
, as John Napier in "Nightmare Crossing" episode of NBC's The Man and the Challenge
, and as the Indian, Blue Raven, in the episode "Seed of Hate" in NBC's western Wichita Town
.
Larsen's later acting work was in films: Women of the Prehistoric Planet
(1966), Mission Batanagas as Colonel Turner (1968), Night of the Witches as Reverend Ezra Jackson (1970), The Trap on Cougar Mountain (1972), Whitewater Sam in the title role (1977), and his last appearance, Young and Free (1979). He also directed and produced some of these same films.
. After their divorce
, he married actress Vera Miles
on July 16, 1960. He was married to Vera Miles until 1971. Their son, Erik Larsen, was born in April 1961. After Larsen and Miles divorced, he married Trang Thu Nguyen in 1983. The couple had one child. The marriage ended when Larsen died, aged 82, in Santa Barbara, California.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
who starred in three short-lived television series between 1955 and 1961.
Background
Larsen was born as Keith Eric Burt in Salt Lake City in 1924. Keith Larsen was of Norwegian descent. During World War IIWorld 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 served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. After he was demobbed he became involved in stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
acting in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.
Career
Larsen was tapped by a talent scout to play a small uncredited role in 1951 movie Operation PacificOperation Pacific
Operation Pacific is a 1951 World War II submarine film starring John Wayne and directed by George Waggner. The technical advisor for this film was Admiral Charles A...
. In 1953, Larsen played the title role of Ed Reed, the Kid in the film Son of Belle Starr, in which his character tries to live an upright life despite the heritage of his two lawless parents, Belle Starr
Belle Starr
Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr , better known as Belle Starr, was a notorious American outlaw.-Early life:...
and Jim Reed.
Larsen's film career consisted mainly of television weekly series including The Hunter (1954), Brave Eagle
Brave Eagle
Brave Eagle is a 26-episode half-hour western television series which aired on CBS from September 28, 1955, to March 14, 1956, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 6. Keith Larsen , who was of Norwegian descent, starred as Brave Eagle, a peaceful young Cheyenne chief...
(1955), Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage (TV series)
Northwest Passage is a 26-episode half-hour adventure television series produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer about Major Robert Rogers during the time of the French and Indian War . The show derived its title and the main characters Rogers, Towne, and Marriner from the 1937 novel of the same name by...
(1958) and The Aquanauts (1960).
In the 1955-1956 television season, Larsen starred in the title role of the 26-week CBS western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
Brave Eagle
Brave Eagle
Brave Eagle is a 26-episode half-hour western television series which aired on CBS from September 28, 1955, to March 14, 1956, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 6. Keith Larsen , who was of Norwegian descent, starred as Brave Eagle, a peaceful young Cheyenne chief...
. Keith Larsen starred as Brave Eagle, a peaceful young Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
chief. The program was unusual in that it reflected the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
viewpoint in the settlement of the American West. Larsen's principal co-stars were Kim Winona
Kim Winona
Kim Winona was a Native American actress. A Sioux Native American, Winona appeared with Keith Larsen in the CBS western television series Brave Eagle during 1955-1956 season....
(1930–1978) as Morning Star, Anthony Numkena, a Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
Indian then using the stage name Keena Nomkeena, as Keena, Brave Eagle's foster son, and Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) as Smokey Joe.
He guest starred in 1957 on three CBS programs, as Paul in the "Anitra Dellano Story" of The Millionaire, and in two anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, as Howard in "The Blackwell Story" on Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
, and as Eddie Seabord in the episode "Father and Son Night" on General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
, hosted by future U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan.
In the 1958-1959 season, Larsen starred in the M-G-M/NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage (TV series)
Northwest Passage is a 26-episode half-hour adventure television series produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer about Major Robert Rogers during the time of the French and Indian War . The show derived its title and the main characters Rogers, Towne, and Marriner from the 1937 novel of the same name by...
. the story of Major Robert Rogers
Robert Rogers (soldier)
Robert Rogers was an American colonial frontiersman. Rogers served in the British army during both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution...
, an American soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
in upstate New York during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
co-starred as Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Hunk Marriner and Don Burnett as Ensign Towne. In 1959, Larsen guest starred on the CBS series Men Into Space
Men Into Space
Men Into Space is an American sci-fi television series broadcast from September 30, 1959 to September 7, 1960 by CBS which depicted future efforts by the United States Air Force to explore and develop outer space. The black-and-white filmed show starred William Lundigan as Col...
in the role of Jim Nichols in the episode " Christmas on the Moon".
In 1960-1961, Larsen appeared as 36-year-old former Navy diver Drake Andrews in the CBS adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
series The Aquanauts, an Ivan Tors
Ivan Tors
Ivan Tors was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater filmed television and films, and films about animals...
Production renamed in March 1961 as Malibu Run. His co-star was Jeremy Slate
Jeremy Slate
Jeremy Slate was an American film and television actor.-Early life:He attended a military academy and joined the navy when he was 16. He was barely 18 when his destroyer assisted in the Normandy Invasion on D-Day . After the war he attended St. Lawrence University where he graduated with honors in...
(1926–2006). A sinus
Sinus (anatomy)
Sinus is Latin for "bay", "pocket", "curve", or "bosom". In anatomy, the term is used in various contexts.A sinus is a sack or cavity in any organ or tissue, or an abnormal cavity or passage caused by the destruction of tissue...
operation required Larsen to withdraw from the show, and he was replaced by Ron Ely as Mike Madison. The script line indicated that the character Andrews had rejoined the Navy.
After The Aquanauts, Larsen appeared as Jack Bennett in the 1961 episode "Blondes Prefer Gentlemen" of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series The Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties (TV series)
The Roaring 20s is an American drama series that aired on the ABC network beginning on October 15, 1960, and ending on September 21, 1962.-Synopsis:...
, with Donald May, Rex Reason
Rex Reason
Rex Reason is an American actor.He is the brother of actor Rhodes Reason, who is two years younger...
, and Dorothy Provine
Dorothy Provine
Dorothy Michelle Provine was an American singer, dancer, actress, and comedienne.-Career:Provine was born in Deadwood, South Dakota, to Virgil and Kathleen Provine. She attended the University of Washington, where she majored in drama. In Washington she handed out prizes for a local television...
. His other television roles, all in 1960, were as John Edwards in "The Hostage" episode of the ABC and syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western series, Tombstone Territory
Tombstone Territory
Tombstone Territory is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959...
, as John Napier in "Nightmare Crossing" episode of NBC's The Man and the Challenge
The Man and the Challenge
The Man and the Challenge is a 36-segment half-hour television adventure/science fiction series which ran new episodes on NBC from September 12, 1959, to June 11, 1960. It starred George Nader as Dr. Glenn Barton, a research scientist for the Institute of Human Factors, an agency that conducted...
, and as the Indian, Blue Raven, in the episode "Seed of Hate" in NBC's western Wichita Town
Wichita Town
Wichita Town is a half-hour western television series starring Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea, Carlos Romero, and George Neise that aired on NBC from September 30, 1959, until April 6, 1960....
.
Larsen's later acting work was in films: Women of the Prehistoric Planet
Women of the Prehistoric Planet
Women of the Prehistoric Planet is a 1966 film. It was featured in the first season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1989.-Plot:A spacefaring crew from an advanced civilization is preparing to return home after an extended voyage...
(1966), Mission Batanagas as Colonel Turner (1968), Night of the Witches as Reverend Ezra Jackson (1970), The Trap on Cougar Mountain (1972), Whitewater Sam in the title role (1977), and his last appearance, Young and Free (1979). He also directed and produced some of these same films.
Personal life
Larsen was married three times. In 1953, he wed actress Susan CummingsSusan Cummings (actress)
Susan Cummings is a German-American actress of the 1950s and 1960s. She portrayed characters in several television shows and films...
. After their divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, he married actress Vera Miles
Vera Miles
Vera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
on July 16, 1960. He was married to Vera Miles until 1971. Their son, Erik Larsen, was born in April 1961. After Larsen and Miles divorced, he married Trang Thu Nguyen in 1983. The couple had one child. The marriage ended when Larsen died, aged 82, in Santa Barbara, California.
Other sources
- McNeil, Alex Total Television (New York: Penquin Books, 1996)