Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe , actually Edward Vance Flanagan , pseudonym Jonathan Ricks , (born March 29, 1908 in Fort Madison , Iowa , † August 31, 1968 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American actor .
Life
Dennis O'Keefe had contact with film as a child through his parents, who also worked as actors. Since the early 1930s he worked as an actor in Hollywood under the pseudonym Bud Flanagan , but for a long time did not get out of extras. Only a small but striking appearance in Saratoga in 1937 brought him attention and a studio contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Here he also got his stage name Dennis O'Keefe . Soon O'Keefe also came to lead roles in numerous film productions, which were mostly adventure films or comedies. In addition to many B-movies, he also made some more elaborate films, such as Fritz Lang's Die Henker (1942), in which he played the fiancé of the leading actress Anna Lee , and Cecil B. DeMilles Dr. Wassell's Escape from Java (1944). In the 1950s he concentrated more on television work and at times had his own television show.
Dennis O'Keefe, who was married to actress Steffi Duna from 1940 and had a son, also wrote crime stories under the further pseudonym Jonathan Ricks. He also directed and wrote the screenplay for the film noir Angela, the she-devil from 1955, in which he played the lead role alongside Mara Lane and Rossano Brazzi . In the 1960s, his career ended with guest appearances in television series and supporting roles in the cinema; he died of lung cancer in August 1968 at the age of 60.
Filmography (selection)
- 1932: Divorce (A Bill of Divorcement)
- 1933: I'm No Angel
- 1934: Broadway Bill
- 1935: I dance myself into your heart (Top Hat)
- 1937: Maria Walewska (Conquest)
- 1940: Arise, My Love
- 1940: You'll Find Out
- 1941: Topper 2 - The Haunted Castle (Topper Returns)
- 1942: Executioners die too (Hangmen Also Die!)
- 1943: Hi Diddle Diddle
- 1943: The Leopard Man
- 1944: Alarm in the Pacific (The Fighting Seabees)
- 1944: Up in Mabel's Room
- 1944: Sensations for Millions (Sensations of 1945)
- 1945: Help, I'm a Millionaire (Brewster's Millions)
- 1945: Earl Carroll Vanities
- 1945: Oh, Susanne! (The Affairs of Susan)
- 1947: Secret Agent T (T-Men)
- 1947: woman without morals? (Dishonored Lady)
- 1948: Escape With No Way Out (Raw Deal)
- 1948: Warning! Nuclear spies! (Walk a Crooked Mile)
- 1949: The Lady of Atlantis (Siren of Atlantis)
- 1950: The Eagle and the Hawk
- 1950: One Knows Too Much (Woman on the Run)
- 1951: The Fist of Retribution (Passage West)
- 1953: The Fake
- 1953: Queen of Tahiti (Drums of Tahiti)
- 1954: The Big Scam (Chicago Syndicate)
- 1955: Angela, the devil (Angela) - also director and screenplay
- 1957: Massacre - The gallows must wait ( Dragoon Wells Massacre )
- 1959–1960: The Dennis O'Keefe Show (TV series, 32 episodes)
- 1964: The Naked Flame
Web links
- Dennis O'Keefe in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 6: N - R. Mary Nolan - Meg Ryan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 48.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | O'Keefe, Dennis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Flanagan, Edward Vance (real name); Ricks, Jonathan (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | US-American actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 29, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fort Madison , Iowa |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 31, 1968 |
| Place of death | Santa Monica , California |