Keene Curtis was an American character actor whose career spanned fifty years in film, television, and the stage. He voiced Grand Moff Tarkin in the Star Wars radio dramatization.[source?]
Curtis's professional acting career began in 1948 when Orson Welles cast him in a film production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Soon after, Curtis moved to New York and spent the next twelve years working as a stage manager.[2] His first Broadway performance came in a 1967 production of You Can't Take it With You, which began years of steady work performing in Broadway shows. He won a Tony Award in 1971 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Rothschilds.[3]
In the 1970s, Curtis began to act regularly in film and television. Prominent TV credits include The Magician, Three's Company, Cheers, and the Bea Arthur vehicle Amanda's, among many others. In 1996 he appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, making him one of a handful of actors to have worked in both the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises. As a voice actor, besides the role of Tarkin, Curtis acted in numerous cartoon shows, notably The Smurfs, in which he voiced Lord Balthazar from 1982 to 1989.[source?] Curtis continued acting until 1998. He died of Alzheimer's in 2002.[2]
Works[]
Discography[]
Year | Title | Contribution(s) |
---|---|---|
1981 | Star Wars (radio) | Grand Moff Tarkin |
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Obituary: Keene Holbrook Curtis on Deseret News (October 17, 2002) (archived from the original on January 12, 2024)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Keene Curtis, 79; Stage Actor Famed for Role in 'Cheers' by Dennis McLellan on Los Angeles Times (October 17, 2002) (archived from the original on December 15, 2023)
- ↑ Keene Curtis on Internet Broadway Database (archived from the original on September 28, 2023)