American actor (–)
For the mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, see Dennis O'Keefe (politician). For the English professor of social science, see Dennis O'Keeffe.
Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vance Flanagan;[3][4] March 29, &#; August 31, ) was an American actor and screenwriter.
O'Keefe was born in Fort Madison, Iowa, as Edward Vance Flanagan,[5] the son of Edward J. Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan (née Ravenscroft),[6] both vaudevillians of Irish descent. As a small child, he joined his parents' act and later wrote skits for the stage.[5] He attended the University of Southern California but left midway through his sophomore year after his father died.[7]
O'Keefe continued his father's vaudeville act for several years after the father's death.[6] He started in films as an extra in [8] and appeared in numerous films under the name Bud Flanagan. After his role in Saratoga (), Clark Gable recommended O'Keefe to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which signed him to a contract in and renamed him Dennis O'Keefe.[citation needed]
His film roles were bigger after that, starting with The Bad Man of Brimstone () opposite Wallace Beery, and the lead role in Burn 'Em Up O'Connor (). He left MGM around but continued to work in mostly low-budget productions. He often played the tough guy in action and crime dramas, but was known as a comic actor as well as a dramatic lead. He gained great attention with a showy role in The Story of Dr Wassell and became a comedy star. He expressed interest in expanding into direction.[9] In the mids, he was under a five-year contract to Edward Small.[10] O'Keefe starred in film-noir classics such as T-Men and Raw Deal, both directed by Anthony Mann. In a newsreel following Howard Hughes' calamitous plane wreck into a neighbor's Beverly Hills house, O'Keefe can be seen walking through the home inspecting the damage.[citation needed]
In , O'Keefe starred in the radio program T-Man on CBS.[11] Also in the s, he did some directing and wrote mystery stories. During the s, O'Keefe made guest appearances as himself, or in acting roles, on episodes of a number of television series, such as Justice, The Ford Show, Studio 57, and Climax!. In , he was to be the permanent host of Suspicion,[12]:&#;&#; an anthology TV series in which 10 episodes were produced by Alfred Hitchcock. After two episodes, he left the series and was not replaced. From to , he was the star of The Dennis O'Keefe Show.[12]
His Broadway credits include Never Live Over a Pretzel Factory () and Never Too Late.[13]
O'Keefe wrote screenplays under the pen name Jonathan Rix in the late s and s, and then as Al Everett Dennis in the s. His Don't Pull Your Punches was produced by Warner Bros.[6] In , he was working on plans to co-produce and act in Drawn Sabers, another of his stories.[14] He also wrote and directed Angela.[4]
O'Keefe married actress Louise Stanley in ; the couple divorced in [15] In he married actress and dancer Steffi Duna. They had two children, Juliena and James.[16]
O'Keefe was raised a Roman Catholic.[17] A registered Democrat, he supported Adlai Stevenson in the presidential election.[18]
A heavy cigarette smoker, O'Keefe died of lung cancer in at the age of 60 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. He was buried at Wee Kirk O'the Heather at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[5]