Tom Keene (actor)

Tom Keene
Publicity photograph of Tom Keene for Our Daily Bread (1934)
Born	George Duryea December 30, 1896 Rochester, New York, U.S.
Died	August 4, 1963 (aged 66) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Cancer
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Other names	Dick Powers Richard Powers Tom Keen
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1923–1959
Spouse(s)	Grace Stafford (m. 1919–40)

Tom Keene (December 30, 1896 – August 4, 1963) was an American actor known mostly for his roles in B Westerns.

Early life and career

Born as George Duryea (no relation to fellow actor Dan Duryea) in Rochester, New York, Keene studied at Columbia University and Carnegie Tech before embarking on an acting career. He made his film debut in the 1923 short film The Just a Little Late Club. Keene followed with roles in The Godless Girl (1929) directed by Cecil B. DeMille, Tide of Empire (1929) with Renée Adorée, Thunder with Lon Chaney, Sr., Tol'able David (1930), Sundown Trail (1931). In 1934 King Vidor cast him in the socially conscious Depression oriented classic Our Daily Bread with Karen Morley.

During the 1940s, Keene appeared in the film serial The Great Alaskan Mystery and two Dick Tracy films Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947). In the 1950s, he moved on to television with guest roles on The Range Rider, Buffalo Bill, Jr., Fury, Judge Roy Bean, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Keene's last film role was in the Ed Wood-directed cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959). He retired soon after this and focused on real estate and the insurance business.

Death

Keene died of cancer on August 4, 1963, aged 66. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Selected filmography

Tom Keene in Plan 9 from Outer Space, his last role.

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1928	Marked Money	Clyde	Credited as George Duryea
	The Godless Girl	Bob Hathaway
1929	Honky Tonk	Freddie Gilmore
1930	Beau Bandit	W.S. "Bill" Howard
1931	Freighters of Destiny	Steve Macey
	Sundown Trail	Buck Sawyer
1932	Partners	Dick Barstow
	Ghost Valley	Jerry Long
	Beyond the Rockies	Blackjack
	The Saddle Buster	Montana ("Monty")
	Come on Danger!	Larry Madden, Texas Ranger
1933	Sunset Pass	Jack Rock/Jim Collins
1934	Our Daily Bread	John Sims	Alternative title: Hell's Crossroads
1935	Hong Kong Nights	Tom Keene
1936	Timothy's Quest	David Masters
1937	Romance of the Rockies	Dr. Tom Foster
1938	The Painted Trail	Tom Gray posing as the Pecos Kid
1941	Riding the Sunset Trail	Tom Sterling
1942	Western Mail	Tom Allen
1944	Port of 40 Thieves	Scott Barton	Credited as Richard Powers
1945	Dangerous Intruder	Curtis
	Girls of the Big House	Barton Sturgis
1946	San Quentin	Hal Schaeffer, Robbery Detail
1947	Thunder Mountain	Johnny Blue
1948	Return of the Bad Men	Jim Younger
	Berlin Express	Major	Credited as Richard Powers
	Western Heritage	Saloon Owner Spade Thorne
1949	Brothers in the Saddle	Nash Prescott
1950	The Milkman	Duzik	Uncredited
1951	Home Town Story	Abbott, Bob's campaign manager
	The Stu Erwin Show	Arthur Hale	Episode: "The Big Game"
	The Range Rider	Lang	Episode: "The Grand Fleece"
1952	Red Planet Mars	Major General George Burdette	Uncredited
	Sky King	Sheriff	2 episodes Credited as Richard Powers
1953	The Abbott and Costello Show	Joe	2 episodes Credited as Richard Powers
	The Moonlighter	Sheriff	Credited as Richard Powers
	General Electric Theater	Slocum	Episode: "Woman's World" Credited as Richard Powers
1954	Outlaw's Daughter	Bank Manager	Uncredited
	Hopalong Cassidy	Bill Bricker	Episode: "Steel Trails West" Credited as Richard Powers
1955	Dig That Uranium	Frank Loomis	Credited as Richard Powers
	The Millionaire	Attorney Marlowe	Episode: "The Uncle Robby Story"
1956	Tension at Table Rock	Man Killed by Sam	Credited as Richard Powers
1958	Casey Jones	John Patrick	Episode: "The Silk Train" Credited as Richard Powers
	Tales of the Texas Rangers	Morgan Thorpe	Episode: "Traitor's Gold" Credited as Richard Powers
1959	Death Valley Days	Charlie Duff	Episode: "Stagecoach Spy" Credited as Richard Powers
	Plan 9 from Outer Space	Col. Tom Edwards

External links

• Tom Keene at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Keene at AllMovie