Howard Keel

Howard Keel (sometimes credited as "Harold Keel") (born April 13, 1919) is an American actor who starred in many of the classic film musicals of the 1950s. He was born "Harry Clifford Leek" (and reversed his last name for his stage name) in Gillespie, Illinois.

His height (6'4") and muscular build showed to great advantage in the skimpy costumes he often wore in such movies as the 1955 Jupiter's Darling where he played Hannibal invading Rome with his elephants. After the studios phased out musicals in the 1960s, his (baritone) singing was no longer in much demand, and he did non-singing (and usually non-starring) roles, many of them in Westerns. He also played "Clayton Farlow" on the American television series Dallas from 1984 to 1991.

Filmography

• Annie Get Your Gun[?] (1950)
• The Big Fisherman (1959)
• Calamity Jane[?] (1953)
• Jupiter's Darling[?] (1955)
• Kiss Me Kate (1953)
• Pagan Love Song[?] (1950)
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
• Show Boat (1951)
• The War Wagon[?] (1967)
• Dallas