Keefe Brasselle (February 7, 1923 – July 7, 1981) was an American film actor, television actor/producer, and author. He is best remembered for the starring role in The Eddie Cantor Story (1953).
Keefe Brasselle | |
|---|---|
 Brasselle in 1954 | |
| Born | Henry Keefe Brassil February 7, 1923 Elyria, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | July 7, 1981 (aged 58) Downey, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1942–1973 |
| Spouses | Norma Jean Aldrich
(m. 1942; div. 1956)Arlene DeMarco
(m. 1956; div. 1967) |
| Children | 3 |
Early years and career
editHe was born Henry Keefe Brassil, the son of an Irish father, Henry Richard Brassil, a hotel manager in Cleveland, Ohio; and Madelaine Antonelli, an Italian nightclub singer from New York. Keefe was raised by his mother and her second husband, Harold Prindle, in New York; Prindle trained Keefe for a career in show business.
Brasselle joined the U. S. Army in 1942 and appeared in a few motion pictures without screen credit. Just a few days after separating from the Army in September 1944, he auditioned for the juvenile lead opposite singing star Gloria Jean in the waterfront mystery River Gang (filmed in 1944, released 1945).[1] His dark, chorus-boy looks landed him the role, and he went on to featured roles in movies. Ida Lupino cast him in two pictures she produced herself, Not Wanted (1949) and Never Fear (1950).
Brasselle's mother was actress Betty Grable's personal hairdresser, using the name Marie Brasselle. In 1949 she wrote, "My son, Keefe Brasselle, is an actor. [Betty] called Louella Parsons and gave Keefe a build-up that would make a press agent's conversation sound weak by comparison. That plug from Betty Grable, who has never sought publicity for herself, did Keefe a lot of good, and he'll never forget it."[2] Brasselle was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1950 as a promising leading man.
Warner Bros. groomed him for stardom in The Eddie Cantor Story (1953), filmed in response to the wildly successful The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again starring Larry Parks as Al Jolson, one of Cantor's musical-comedy contemporaries. The Eddie Cantor Story could not equal the success of the Jolson films, largely because Brasselle didn't fit the role physically. Standing almost a foot taller than the real Cantor, and unable to convey Cantor's natural warmth, Brasselle's performance became a caricature: the actor played most of his scenes with bulging eyes and busy hands, which was effective in the musical numbers but awkward in the dramatic scenes. In 1954, to promote the film, he was a guest on an episode (season 4, episode 21, Feb. 21, 1954) of The Colgate Comedy Hour with host Gene Wesson.
Ultimately, Brasselle's career did not launch as anticipated, and he reverted to second and third leads in minor films. An attempt in 1957 to find starring roles in England resulted in two feature films, after which he returned to America for occasional appearances on television.
Nightclubs and television
editDetermined to find steadier work, Brasselle turned to nightclubs, where he appeared as a singer and comedian. In 1961, an Edison Township, New Jersey, nightclub owned by Brasselle burned under suspicious circumstances.[3] Fire officials came across six empty cans of gasoline at the scene, while their caps and spouts were found separately in a paper bag.[3]
In the summer of 1963, Brasselle starred in a summer replacement series for The Garry Moore Show. Called The Keefe Brasselle Show, the program featured actress Ann B. Davis as herself in three episodes. A 21-year-old Barbra Streisand appeared on his first episode on June 25, 1963, in promoting her first album.
Brasselle had a close friendship with CBS executive James Aubrey. Brasselle started his own production company, "Richelieu Productions," and Aubrey granted Brasselle's company three new but untested television series without any previous script, pitch, or pilots: The Baileys of Balboa starring Paul Ford, The Cara Williams Show, and The Reporter starring Harry Guardino. These received preferential treatment, airing during the 1964-1965 season in the "cushiest time periods available in all of network TV today," according to Variety,[4] and all had poor ratings.
Brasselle, notorious for his inflated ego and brash self-confidence, insisted on Aubrey's total support. This even extended to routine appointments, as Variety reported: "When Aubrey failed to arrive at the appointed hour, Brasselle summoned the ground floor receptionist to relay the urgent and impatient message to 'phone Mr. Aubrey that he's keeping Mr. Brasselle waiting.' Insiders say that the sheer bravado of the Brasselle communication shook the entire CBS building; multi-million-dollar clients have been known to cool their heels in the 19th floor reception room while awaiting an overdue Aubrey appointment."[5] There were rumors that Aubrey had no choice in approving the Brasselle projects due to threats from the Mafia, with which Brasselle was known to be connected.[6] The insider chicanery angered CBS stockholders, who filed and won a lawsuit against Aubrey and Brasselle. Aubrey was removed as president of CBS Television in February 1965.
Brasselle later wrote a novel that was a thinly disguised account of his relationship with Aubrey and the network, The CanniBal$ (1968),[7] followed by a sequel, The Barracudas (1973), in which he attacked several showbiz figures he'd worked with, including comedian Jack Benny.[8] Brasselle struggled to find work after his CBS experience and tried to relaunch his fading career, as a self-styled "modern minstrel" recording artist.
Personal life
editIn 1942, 19-year-old Brasselle married Norma Jean Aldrich; the marriage ended in divorce in 1956.
That same year, Brasselle married singer Arlene DeMarco[9] (January 28, 1933 – February 19, 2013).[10] They divorced in 1967.[11]
Brasselle was of the Roman Catholic faith[12] and a lifelong Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.[13]
Later years and death
editIn 1974, Brasselle signed on as director of the low-budget sex comedy If You Don't Stop It... You'll Go Blind (released 1975; shown in Britain as You Must Be Joking). This was a feature-length parade of burlesque blackouts, double-entendre jokes, and bawdy song-and-dance numbers. Brasselle staged the musical numbers himself and even appeared as a specialty act, embellishing his performance with Eddie Cantor's gestures and mannerisms. The film was booked into hundreds of theaters for midnight shows and, despite scathing reviews from mainstream critics, was very popular with college students; it earned more than four million dollars.
Keefe Brasselle died from liver disease in 1981, at age 58.
Radio appearances
edit| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Stars in the Air | The House on 92nd Street[14] |
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | USS VD: Ship of Shame | Chicken | military training film, uncredited |
| 1944 | Janie | Soldier | uncredited |
| Three Little Sisters | Soldier | uncredited | |
| 1945 | River Gang | Johnny | |
| 1947 | Bells of San Angelo | Ignacio | uncredited |
| Repeat Performance | Delivery Boy | uncredited | |
| Killer at Large | Copy Boy | uncredited | |
| Heartaches | Gus, Prop Boy | uncredited | |
| Railroaded! | Cowie Kowalski | ||
| T-Men | Ocean Park Hotel Desk Clerk | uncredited | |
| 1948 | The Babe Ruth Story | Call Boy | uncredited |
| 1949 | Not Wanted | Drew Baxter | |
| 1950 | Never Fear | Guy Richards | |
| Dial 1119 | Skip | ||
| 1951 | A Place in the Sun | Earl Eastman | |
| Bannerline | Mike Perrivale | ||
| The Unknown Man | Rudi Wallchek | ||
| It's a Big Country | Sgt. Maxie Klein | ||
| 1952 | Skirts Ahoy! | Dick Hallson | |
| 1953 | The Eddie Cantor Story | Eddie Cantor | |
| 1954 | Three Young Texans | Tony Ballew | |
| 1955 | Mad at the World | Sam Bennett, aka Bill Holland | |
| Bring Your Smile Along | Marty Adams | ||
| 1956 | Battle Stations | Chris Jordan | |
| 1957 | West of Suez | Brett Manders | British film, released in the United States as The Fighting Wildcats |
| 1958 | Death Over My Shoulder | Jack Regan | British film |
| 1973 | Black Gunn | Winman | |
| 1975 | If You Don't Stop It... You'll Go Blind | Himself | (final film role) |
References
edit- ^ MacGillivray, Scott and MacGillivray, Jan. Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven, iUniverse, Bloomington, IN, 2005, p. 172. ISBN 978-0-595-37080-1.
- ^ Brasselle, Marie. "Betty Lets Her Hair Down", Screenland, June 1949, p. 60.
- ^ a b "Nightclub Fire Mystery". The Miami News. 28 July 1961. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Rosen, George. Variety, Mar. 4, 1964, p. 29.
- ^ Rosen, Variety, Mar. 4, 1964.
- ^ "The Keefe Brasselle Show". Archive of American Television. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ Schaap, Dick (1968-09-09). "An UnaBRidgEd Yarn". New York. Retrieved 2017-06-03 – via Google Books.
- ^ Josefsberg, Milt (3 June 1977). The Jack Benny Show. Arlington House Publishers. ISBN 087000347X.
- ^ "Actor Keith Brasselle, Singer are Married". Reading Eagle. 24 December 1956. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Brandi, Lisa. "Tribute to Arlene DeMarco, Lead Singer of The Five DeMarco Sisters". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Deutsch, Linda (12 December 1971). "Arlene DeMarco Spills the Beans". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Morning News, January 10, 1948, Who Was Who in America (Vol. 2)
- ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
- ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 35 (2): 32–39. Spring 2009.