Tom Keene

Not much is known about the early life of darkly handsome "B" cowboy actor 'Tom Keene' (qv), 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)_ (qv), a 'Cecil B. DeMille' (qv) picture opposite 'Lina Basquette' (qv), the social drama _Marked Money (1928)_ (qv) and the MGM western _Tide of Empire (1929)_ (qv) opposite 'Renée Adorée' (qv). Known for his sharp, pleasant looks and fitness, George continued in leads and seconds leads with such early talkies as the 'Sophie Tucker' (qv) musical comedy _Honky Tonk (1929)_ (qv) co-starring 'Lila Lee' (qv) and the comedy romancer _The Dude Wrangler (1930)_ (qv) 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' (qv)." Such oaters include _Pardon My Gun (1930)_ (qv), _Sundown Trail (1931)_ (qv), _Renegades of the West (1932)_ (qv), _The Saddle Buster (1932)_ (qv), _The Cheyenne Kid (1933)_ (qv), _Cross Fire (1933)_ (qv) and _Son of the Border (1933)_ (qv). Unlike other sagebrush stars of the time, such as 'Lash La Rue' (qv) or 'William Boyd' (qv) ("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' (qv) in _Sunset Pass (1933)_ (qv) and 'Buster Crabbe' (qv) in both _Drift Fence (1936)_ (qv) and _Desert Gold (1936)_ (qv)Tom went on to star in several other "Poverty Row" western vehicles for not only Crescent Pictures Corporation (_The Glory Trail (1936)_ (qv), _Rebellion (1936)_ (qv), _Old Louisiana (1937)_ (qv) (co-starring a very young 'Rita Hayworth' (qv)), _Battle of Greed (1937)_ (qv), _Under Strange Flags (1937)_ (qv), _Drums of Destiny (1937)_ (qv)), but for Monogram Pictures (_God's Country and the Man (1937)_ (qv), _Where Trails Divide (1937)_ (qv), _The Painted Trail (1938)_ (qv), _Wanderers of the West (1941)_ (qv), _Western Mail (1942)_ (qv), _Where Trails End (1942)_ (qv), _Arizona Roundup (1942)_ (qv)).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)_ (qv), the serial _The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944)_ (qv), the 'Roy Rogers' (qv) western _Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944)_ (qv) (as a villain), _San Quentin (1946)_ (qv), _Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947)_ (qv), _Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947)_ (qv), _Crossfire (1947)_ (qv), _Berlin Express (1948)_ (qv), _Red Planet Mars (1952)_ (qv), _Dig That Uranium (1955)_ (qv), the cult "worst movie" classic _Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)_ (qv) and the Rowan & Martin comedy film _Once Upon a Horse... (1958)_ (qv). 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' (qv), who also provided the cartoon voice of Woody Woodpecker.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net