Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Brian Keith grew up on the road, touring with his parents, character actor Robert Keith and stage actress Helena Shipman. He first appeared at the age of 3 in the 1924 film Pied Piper Malone. Joining the Marines as a machine gunner in 1942, he completed his service and returned to the stage, making his 1948 Broadway debut in Mister Roberts, which starred his father as 'Doc'. Eventually he branched out into television and film in a career that spanned another five decades.
Brian Keith died at the age of 75 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
