Dennis O'Keefe

'Dennis O'Keefe (March 29 1908 - August 31, 1968) was an American actor. Born Edward Flanagan ("Bud"), he was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States. As a small child he joined his parents' act, and later wrote skits for the stage.

He started in films as an extra, appearing in Cimarron (1931), Scarface (1932), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Wonder Bar (1934), Dante's Inferno (1935), Top Hat (1935), San Francisco (1936) and The Plainsman (1936).

After a small but impressive role in Saratoga (1937), Clark Gable recommended O'Keefe to MGM; he signed with them in 1937 and was renamed Dennis O'Keefe. His film roles were bigger after that, starting with Bad Man of Brimstone (1938), and the lead role in Burn 'Em Up O'Connor (1939). O'Keefe left MGM around 1940, but continued to appear in lower budget films such as La Conga Nights (1940), Mr. District Attorney (1941), The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942), and Hi Diddle Diddle (1943). He gave excellent performances in popular comedies like Topper Returns (1941), Up in Mabel's Room (1944), Abroad With Two Yanks (1944), Brewster's Millions (1945), and Getting Gertie's Garter (1945). He often played the tough guy, and had dramatic parts in films such as The Leopard Man (1943), The Fighting Seabees (1944) with John Wayne and Susan Hayward, The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944), T-Men (1947), Raw Deal (1948), and Walk a Crooked Mile (1948).

In the 1950s he did some directing, wrote mystery stories, and had a TV show, "The Dennis O'Keefe Show". He worked in a couple of films in the 1960s, and died of lung cancer at the age of 60.