Tom Keene

Biography

Not much is known about the early life of darkly handsome "B" cowboy actor Tom Keene, who was born George Duryea on December 30, 1896, in Rochester, New York. However, he did arrive in Hollywood in the late 1920s after college studies at Columbia and Carnegie Tech and immediately made an impact as the leading man of the silent films The Godless Girl (1928), a Cecil B. DeMille picture opposite Lina Basquette, the social drama Marked Money (1928) and the MGM western Tide of Empire (1929) opposite Renée Adorée. Known for his sharp, pleasant looks and fitness, George continued in leads and seconds leads with such early talkies as the Sophie Tucker musical comedy Honky Tonk (1929) co-starring Lila Lee and the comedy romancer The Dude Wrangler (1930) with Ms. Basquette again. In 1930, Tom found a strong above-the-title niche for several years as a cowboy hero of RKO "Poverty Row" westerns and given the more rugged marquee name of "Tom Keene." Such oaters include Pardon My Gun (1930), Sundown Trail (1931), Renegades of the West (1932), The Saddle Buster (1932), The Cheyenne Kid (1933), Cross Fire (1933) and Son of the Border (1933). Unlike other sagebrush stars of the time, such as Lash La Rue or William Boyd ("Hopalong Cassidy"), Tom's heroes took on different names and appearances -- wearing both black and white western outfits and hats -- and his characters were not two-fisted men by nature. As a result, he remained a second-string, less identifiable Western star for the duration of his career. He would also appear alongside or secondary to such other western stars such as Randolph Scott in Sunset Pass (1933) and Buster Crabbe in both Drift Fence (1936) and Desert Gold (1936) Tom went on to star in several other "Poverty Row" western vehicles for not only Crescent Pictures Corporation (The Glory Trail (1936), Rebellion (1936), Old Louisiana (1937) (co-starring a very young Rita Hayworth), Battle of Greed (1937), Under Strange Flags (1937), Drums of Destiny (1937)), but for Monogram Pictures (God's Country and the Man (1937), Where Trails Divide (1937), The Painted Trail (1938), Wanderers of the West (1941), Western Mail (1942), Where Trails End (1942), Arizona Roundup (1942)). The third, declining phase in Tom's film career occurred at this point. Changing his marquee name yet again to "Richard Powers," he pursued lesser roles in more quality non-westerns and even pursued stage work (Broadway's "The Barber Had Two Sons" in 1943) to help squelch the rugged stereotype, but it didn't work. Films during this period include Up in Arms (1944), the serial The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944), the Roy Rogers western Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944) (as a villain), San Quentin (1946), Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947), Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947), Crossfire (1947), Berlin Express (1948), Red Planet Mars (1952), Dig That Uranium (1955), the cult "worst movie" classic Plan 9 from Outer Space (1958) and the Rowan & Martin comedy film Once Upon a Horse... (1958). 1950's TV appearances included "Sky King," "The Adventures of Superman," "Hopalong Cassidy," "General Electric Theatre," "The Abbott and Costello Show," "The Millionaire," a recurring role in Disney's "Corky and White Shadow" series (as Sheriff Martin), "Fury," "Casey Jones" and "Ozzie and Harriet." Tom retired in 1958 and delved into real estate and insurance fields for the short remainder of his life. Dying of cancer on August 4, 1963, Tom was survived by his second wife, Florence Ramsey, and a stepson. He was formerly married to actress Grace Stafford, who also provided the cartoon voice of Woody Woodpecker.