Keenan Wynn

Actor. He was a prolific American film and television actor, who was the son of comic actor Ed Wynn. Born Francis Xavier Aloysius Wynn, Keenan took his stage name from his grandfather Frank Keenan who was a Broadway actor. Keenan Wynn came from a well-known show-business family, and it was he that encouraged his father, an established comedian, to pursue acting. Keenan was known for his mustache and expressive face. He appeared in hundreds of movies and television programs between 1934 and 1986. Some of his notable film appearances were in "Week-end At the Waldorf" in 1945, "Song of the Thin Man" in 1947, "The Hucksters" in 1947, "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1950, "Kiss Me Kate" in 1953, "The Long, Long Trailer" in 1954, "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" in 1956, "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" in 1964, "The War Wagon" in 1967, "Herbie Rides Again" in 1974, and "Just Tell Me What You Want" in 1980. He also had an unbilled bit part in "Touch of Evil" in 1958, in which Orson Welles directed and starred. His numerous television appearances included "Playhouse 90," "General Electric Theater," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone," "77 Sunset Strip," "One Day at a Time," "St. Elsewhere," "Taxi," and "The Fall Guy." He was also a regular on "Dallas" from 1978 through 1980. Keenan enjoyed racing boats, cars and motorcycles and was frequently found in the Detroit, Michigan area racing boats on the Detroit River. Since racing is a very loud hobby, it has been speculated that those activities attributed to his eventual loss of hearing. He later suffered from a chronic ringing in his ears that forced him to wear two hearing aids. In his later years, Keenan supported numerous philanthropic groups. His two sons were Ned Wynn, author and actor and screenwriter Tracy Keenan Wynn. He was uncle by marriage to the Hudson Brothers, and his daughter Hilda is married to Paul Williams, an American composer, singer, songwriter and actor.