Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn (
July 27,
1916 â€"
October 14,
1986) was an
American character actor and member of a well-known
show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.
He was born in
New York, New York as
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn, the son of Jewish American
vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn, and his
Irish-American Catholic wife, but took his
stage name from his maternal grandfather,
Frank Keenan, one of the first
Broadway actors to star in Hollywood. Ed Wynn became an actor after Keenan Wynn's encouragement, and the two appeared together in the original television production of
Rod Serling's
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956) as well as a subsequent television drama detailing the problems they'd experienced together while working on that show called
The Man in the Funny Suit (1960); the Wynns, Serling, and much of the rest of the cast and crew played themselves.
Keenan Wynn appeared in hundreds of movies and
television shows between 1934 and 1986. Early notable Wynn performances can be seen in
See Here Private Hargrove (1944),
Under the Clock (1945),
Weekend at the Waldorf (45),
The Hucksters (1947) and
Annie Get Your Gun (1950). He had a featured role in
Kiss Me, Kate (1953) and
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956). His best-known part was as Col. "Bat" Guano in
Dr. Strangelove (1964). He appeared as the villainous Alonzo P. Hawk in the "
flubber" movie,
The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), in which his father appeared as well. Wynn took a dramatic turn as the tough as nails Yost in
Point Blank (1967) with
Lee Marvin. He appeared with
Charles Bronson and
Jan-Michael Vincent in
The Mechanic. He also appeared in other
Disney films, including
Herbie Rides Again (1974) (as Alonzo P. Hawk, once again) and
The Shaggy D.A. (1974). He had an uncredited role in
Touch of Evil. He also appeared in such films as
Laserblast,
Joe Dante's
Piranha,
Robert Altman's
Nashville,
Dino De Laurentiis'
Orca, and the cult favorite
Parts: The Clonus Horror. He was a regular on
Dallas from 1978-1980, playing the part of "Digger Barnes."
In later years, Wynn took time to support various philanthropic groups. He was an active member of Westwood
Sertoma, in West
Los Angeles, for many years until his death from cancer at the age of 70.(Note: Sertoma is an acronym for Service to Mankind, and is comparable to
Rotary International).
One son, actor and writer Ned Wynn (born
Edmond Keenan Wynn) wrote the
autobiographical memoir We Will Always Live In Beverly Hills. His other son, Tracy Keenan Wynn is a screen writer, whose credits include
The Longest Yard and
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.
He was uncle by marriage to the
Hudson Brothers and his daughter Hilda is recently divorced from actor/singer/songwriter
Paul Williams.
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Find-A-Grave profile for Keenan Wynn
