David Keith

Born: 8 May 1954
Where: Knoxville, Tennessee

Keith began his career as a member of the Clarence Brown Theatre Company at the University of Tennessee, where he earned his Equity card appearing in musicals.

After graduation, he moved to New York City, before relocating to L.A., and landing a guest spot on the popular sitcom Happy Days in 1978.

Keith appeared in the award-winning drama Friendly Fire, before making his feature debut as a bodyguard to Bette Midler's rock star in The Rose after which he appeared in The Great Santini.

His breakout performance came as Richard Gere's buddy in Taylor Hackford's An Officer and a Gentleman, after which he starred in The Lords of Discipline, and played father to Drew Barrymore in Firestarter.

Keith made his feature directorial debut with 1987's The Curse, a horror film about a meteorite that lands on a Tennessee farm causing the food and water to become contaminated. He also helmed and starred in the Indiana Jones knock-off The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck.

A fine singer who had once considered a career in music before a string of film and TV assignments altered his course, he contributed vocals to the soundtrack of The Curse and picked up his first screen credit as song performer on Donald Cammell's thriller White of the Eye, in which he starred as the psycho husband of Cathy Moriarty.

Keith then played Elvis Presley in Heartbreak Hotel, singing for the 'King' on a number of his famous tunes, including the title song.

He continued to appear on TV in miniseries as well as supporting roles in diverse features like The Two Jakes, David S Ward's baseball comedy Major League II, and the children's movies The Indian in the Cupboard and Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain.

Keith took roles in two mainstream pictures in 2000, portraying a gung-ho marine leading a mission to capture spy secrets from a German submarine in U-571, and joining Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr for Men of Honor.

He had a supporting role in Behind Enemy Lines, played a detective in the televison remake of Steven King's Carrie, and boxer Jack 'The Devil' Murdock, father of the comic book superhero Daredevil.