Keith Carradine

Carradine was born August 8, 1949 in San Mateo, California.{{cite web|title=Keith Carradine |url= https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Keith-Carradine/ |work=broadwayworld.com |access-date=10 April 2025}} He is a son of actress and artist Sonia Sorel (née Henius), and actor John Carradine.{{cite news | newspaper=The News and Observer | location=Raleigh, North Carolina | date=September 29, 1991 | page=162 | title='I Didn't Want to Fail' | last=Rader | first=Dotson | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-keith-carradine-pa/123675695/}} His full brothers are Christopher and Robert Carradine, both of whom are actors. His paternal half-brothers are Bruce and David Carradine. His maternal half-brother is Michael Bowen. His maternal great-grandfather was biochemist Max Henius, and his maternal great-grandmother was the sister of historian Johan Ludvig Heiberg.{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_JEbAQAAMAAJ&q=henry+henius+carradine |title=The National cyclopaedia of American biography |work=Google Books |year=1971 |access-date=September 24, 2013}}

Carradine's childhood was troubled; he has said that his father drank and his mother "was a manic depressive paranoid schizophrenic catatonic—she had it all."{{cite news |first=Joyce |last=Wadler |title=Keith Carradine's Long Road to 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/theater/23wadl.html |work=The New York Times |date=July 23, 2006 |access-date=September 24, 2013}} His parents divorced in 1957, when he was eight years old. A bitter custody battle led to his father gaining custody of him and his brothers, Christopher and Robert, after the children had spent three months in a home for abused children as wards of the court. Keith said of the experience, "It was like being in jail. There were bars on the windows, and we were only allowed to see our parents through glass doors. It was very sad. We would stand there on either side of the glass door crying."{{cite news |first=Digby |last=Diehl |title=Getting Personal With Keith Carradine |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19841104&id=0e4vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=n_sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3804,1522465 |work=Boca Raton News |publisher=The Ledger |date=November 4, 1984 |access-date=September 24, 2013}} He was raised in San Mateo primarily by his maternal grandmother,{{cite news|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Carradine Paints His Way Into 'The Moderns' ' Corner|last=Champlin|first=Charles|date=March 22, 1988|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-22-ca-1790-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200527183040/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-22-ca-1790-story.html|archive-date=May 27, 2020}} and he rarely saw either of his parents.{{cite news |first=Dotson |last=Rader |title=I didn't want to fail |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19910929&id=qbEeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6s4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4980,3938857 |work=Parade Magazine |publisher=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |date=September 29, 1991 |access-date=September 24, 2013}} His mother was not permitted to see him for eight years following the custody settlement.

Carradine attended Ojai Valley School, where he was active in the school's theater department, performing in productions of Aria da Capo and The Madwoman of Chaillot. After high school, Carradine entertained the thought of becoming a forest ranger, and enrolled at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. "I had this idyllic fantasy of sitting somewhere communing with nature and chatting with the bears," he recalled, "[but] I didn't want to have to learn anything." He changed his major to drama after enrolling, but dropped out after one semester and returned to California, moving in with his older half-brother, David, who encouraged him to pursue an acting career, paid for his acting and vocal lessons, and helped him get an agent.

As a youth, Carradine had opportunities to appear on stage with his father in the latter's productions of Shakespeare.{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Thomas |title=John Carradine says, "I'll never quit!" |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eeweAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eSQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5630,2124268 |work=The Times-News |date=November 9, 1986 |access-date=September 24, 2013}} Thus, he had some background in theater when he was cast in the original Broadway run of Hair (1969), which launched his acting career. In that production he started out in the chorus and worked his way up to the lead roles{{cite news |first=Hikari |last=Takano |title=David Carradine Interview |url= http://hikaritakano.co/index.php/audio-interviews/david-carradine |work= Hikaritakano.co |access-date=September 24, 2013}} playing Woof and Claude. He said of his involvement in Hair, "I really didn't plan to audition. I just went along with my brother, David, and his girlfriend at the time, Barbara Hershey, and two of their friends. I was simply going to play the piano for them while they sang, but I'm the one the staff wound up getting interested in."{{cite news |first=Julie |last=Cirelli-Heurich |title=Keith Carradine back on stage as a man of the theater |url= http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2009/04/keith_carradine_back_on_the_st.html |work=New Jersey On-Line |date=April 9, 2009 |access-date=September 24, 2013}}

In 1991, he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, as the title character in the 45th Tony Awards winning musical, The Will Rogers Follies in 1991, for which he also received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Foxfire with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, and appeared as Lawrence in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Imperial Theater. In 2008, he appeared as Dr. Farquhar Off-Broadway in Mindgame, a thriller by Anthony Horowitz, directed by Ken Russell, who made his New York directorial debut with the production.{{Cite web|url= http://www.mindgametheplay.com |title= 'Mindgame' The Play |work= mindgametheplay.com |date=October 13, 2008 |archive-date=October 13, 2008 |url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081013105124/http://www.mindgametheplay.com/}} In March and April 2013, he starred in the Broadway production of Hands on a Hardbody, for which, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his work.

File:Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall – Nashville.jpg in Nashville (1975)]]

Carradine's first notable film appearance was in director Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller in 1971. That same year, he co-starred with Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash in A Gunfight. His next film, Emperor of the North Pole (1973), was re-released with a shorter title Emperor of the North. The film was directed by Robert Aldrich and also starred Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. Carradine then starred in Altman's film Thieves Like Us (1974), then played a principal character, a callow, womanizing folk singer, Tom Frank, in Altman's critically acclaimed film Nashville (1975; see "Music and songwriting"). He had difficulty shaking the image of Tom Frank following the popularity of the film. He felt the role gave him the reputation of being "a cad."{{cite news |first=Art |last=Harris |title=Nashville Role Haunts Carradine |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19780430&id=EWcaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5934,7226078 |work=The Milwaukee Journal |date=April 30, 1978 |access-date=September 24, 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In 1977, Aldrich said "I think that Keith Carradine, if he's careful—I don't think he is careful—and if he's prudent about the selection of his parts, can be a great big movie star. I think that whoever's advising him is making some terrible selections about material. Because I think the guy is gifted, he's talented, he's attractive.""I CAN'T GET JIMMY CARTER TO SEE MY MOVIE!" Aldrich, Robert. Film Comment; New York Vol. 13, Iss. 2, (Mar/Apr 1977): 46–52.

In 1977, Carradine starred opposite Harvey Keitel in Ridley Scott's The Duellists. Pretty Baby followed in 1978. He has acted in several offbeat films of Altman's protege Alan Rudolph, playing a disarmingly candid madman in Choose Me (1984), an incompetent petty criminal in Trouble in Mind (1985), and an American artist in 1930s Paris in The Moderns (1988).

File:Aspettando Clint Keith Carradine (fcm).jpg

He appeared with brothers David and Robert as the Younger brothers in Walter Hill's film The Long Riders (1980). Keith played Jim Younger in that film. In 1981, he appeared again under Hill's direction in Southern Comfort. In 1994, he had a cameo role as Will Rogers in Rudolph's film about Dorothy Parker, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. He co-starred with Daryl Hannah as homicidal sociopath John Netherwood in the thriller The Tie That Binds (1995). In 2011, he starred in Cowboys and Aliens, an American science fiction western film directed by Jon Favreau also starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde. Carradine traveled to Tuscany in 2012 to executive produce and star in John Jopson's Edgar Allan Poe inspired film Terroir. In 2013, he starred in Ain't Them Bodies Saints, which won the 2013 Sundance Film Festival award for cinematography. In 2016 Keith played Edward Dickinson, father of Emily Dickinson, in a biographical film directed and written by Terence Davies about the life of the American poet, in A Quiet Passion.

In 2016, Carradine returned to star in his fourth Alan Rudolph film Ray Meets Helen, which was the final screen appearance of Sondra Locke.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/lesley-ann-warren-keith-carradine-ray-meets-helen-1201689193|title=Lesley Ann Warren, Keith Carradine Starring in 'Ray Meets Helen'|work=Variety|date=January 26, 2016|access-date=June 19, 2017}}

His brother, David, said in an interview that Keith could play any instrument he wanted, including bagpipes and the French horn. Like David, Keith integrated his musical talents with his acting performances. In 1975, he performed a song he had written, "I'm Easy", in the movie Nashville. It was a popular hit, and Carradine won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Original Song for the tune. This led to a brief singing career; he signed a contract with Asylum Records and released two albums – I'm Easy (1976) and Lost & Found (1978). His song "Mr. Blue" was number 44 in the Canadian AC charts in April 1978.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5541.pdf| title=RPM Top 50 AC - April 15, 1978}} In 1984, he appeared in the music video for Madonna's single "Material Girl". In the early 1990s, he played the lead role in the Tony Award–winning musical The Will Rogers Follies.{{cite web |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1993-01-03-9301010567-story.html |title=Keith Carradine's Follies |last=Zink |first=Jack |work=Sun Sentinel |date=January 3, 1993 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}

In 1972, Carradine appeared briefly in the first season of the hit television series, Kung Fu, which starred his brother, David. Keith played a younger version of David's character, Kwai Chang Caine. In 1984, he starred alongside Tuesday Weld in the TV movie Scorned and Swindled. In 1987, he starred in the highly rated CBS miniseries Murder Ordained, with JoBeth Williams and Kathy Bates. Other TV appearances include My Father My Son (1988). In 1983, he appeared as Foxy Funderburke, a murderous pedophile, in the television miniseries Chiefs, based on the Stuart Woods novel of the same name. His performance in Chiefs earned him a nomination for an Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special" category.{{cite web | title=Chiefs | website=Television Academy | url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/chiefs | access-date=April 28, 2023}} Carradine also starred in the ABC sitcom Complete Savages, and he played Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series Deadwood.

Carradine hosted the documentary Wild West Tech series on the History Channel in the 2003–2004 season, before handing the job over to his brother, David. In the 2005 miniseries Into the West, produced by Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks, Carradine played Richard Henry Pratt. During the second and fourth seasons of the Showtime series Dexter, he appeared numerous times as FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy. Carradine is credited with guest starring twice on the suspense-drama Criminal Minds, as the psychopathic serial killer Frank Breitkopf. Other shows he appeared in include The Big Bang Theory (as Penny's father Wyatt), Star Trek: Enterprise ("First Flight" episode) and the Starz series Crash. Carradine also made a guest appearance on NCIS in 2014. Also in 2014, he had a recurring role as Lou Solverson in the FX series Fargo, followed by a recurring role as President Conrad Dalton on Madam Secretary.

In July 2016, Carradine hosted a month-long series of Western films on Turner Classic Movies. He appeared in dozens of wraparounds on the channel, discussing such films as Stagecoach, featuring his father, and McCabe & Mrs. Miller, in which he himself appears in a small role.{{Cite web|last=Cristi|first=Andrew|date=July 5, 2016|title=HOW THE WESTERN GENRE WAS WON; Legendary Actor KEITH CARRADINE Hosts SHANE PLUS A HUNDRED MORE GREAT WESTERNS On TCM!|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-the-western-genre-was-won-legendary-actor-keith_b_57793f1ae4b00a3ae4ce2381|access-date=February 9, 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}}

In 2012, Carradine lent his voice to the video game Hitman: Absolution, voicing the primary antagonist Blake Dexter.

In 1968, Carradine met actress Shelley Plimpton when they starred in the Broadway musical Hair. She was married to actor Steve Curry, although they were separated; she and Carradine became romantically involved. After Carradine left the show and was in California, he learned that Shelley was pregnant and had reunited with Curry. He met his daughter, Martha Plimpton, when she was four years old, after Shelley and Steve Curry had divorced. He said of Shelley, "She did a hell of a job raising Martha. I was not there. I was a very young man, absolutely terrified. She just took that in, and then she welcomed me into Martha's life when I was ready."

Carradine married Sandra Will on February 6, 1982. They were separated in 1993,{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Verrier |title=Keith Carradine Sues Pellicano |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-25-me-carradine25-story.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 25, 2006 |access-date=September 24, 2013}} before Will filed for divorce in 1999.{{cite magazine |first1=Troy |last1=Patterson |first2=Corey |last2=Takahashi |title=Michael Jackson Sued by Concert Investors |url=https://ew.com/article/1999/12/03/michael-jackson-sued-concert-investors/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=December 3, 1999 |access-date=September 24, 2013 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714210349/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,271909,00.html |url-status=live }} The couple had two children: Cade Richmond Carradine (born July 19, 1982) and Sorel Johannah Carradine (born June 18, 1985). In 2006, Will pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury for lying to a grand jury about her involvement in the Anthony Pellicano wire tap scandal. She hired and then became romantically involved with Pellicano after her divorce from Carradine. According to FBI documents, Pellicano tapped Carradine's telephone and recorded calls between him and girlfriend Hayley Leslie DuMond at Will's request, along with DuMond's parents. Carradine filed a civil lawsuit against Will and Pellicano which was settled in 2013 before it went to trial.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/keith-carradine-settles-anthony-pellicano-651172 |title=Keith Carradine Settles Anthony Pellicano Lawsuit |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |date=October 28, 2013 |access-date=July 4, 2014}}

On November 18, 2006, Carradine married actress Hayley DuMond, in Turin, Italy.{{cite web |url=http://www.repubblica.it/2006/11/sezioni/persone/nozze-carradine/nozze-carradine/nozze-carradine.html |title=Star Usa, nozze italiane come "must" – A Torino si sposa Keith Carradine |author=Caroli, Clara |date=November 18, 2006 |publisher=la Repubblica |access-date=December 4, 2010 |language=it |trans-title=Star USA, Italian wedding as a "must" – In Turin married Keith Carradine}} They met in 1997 when they co-starred in the Burt Reynolds film The Hunter's Moon.{{cite news |first1=Kim |last1=Peiffer |first2=Tim |last2=Nudd |title=Deadwood's' Keith Carradine Gets Married |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1561773,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319203625/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1561773,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 19, 2008 |work=People |date=November 21, 2006 |access-date=September 24, 2013}}

• Carradine family
• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

{{reflist}}

• Pilato, Herbie J. (1993). The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle. {{ISBN|0-8048-1826-6}}.

{{wikisource|Deep Doodoo}}

• {{IMDb name|1018}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• {{iobdb name|19059}}
• {{Discogs artist|Keith Carradine}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141024191046/http://www.mindgametheplay.com/ Mindgame official site]
• [http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=34379 BroadwayWorld.com interview with Keith Carradine, October 16, 2008]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12_pLyS8j0I Keith Carradine Discusses 'The Duellists' at Virginia Film Festival, November 3, 2012]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfX_cu0CU5M SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations with Keith Carradine, May 17, 2013]

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