David Keith

He was a spokesperson for PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children.

He was born to Lemuel Grady Keith, a personnel division worker at the Tennessee Valley Authority and his wife Hilda Earle who worked for the Knox County Board of Education.

He was interested in the performing arts from a young age and went to the University of Tennessee from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Theatre.

He began his acting career as a theatre artist. He became a member of the Clarence Brown Theatre Company at the University of Tennessee and appeared in stage productions like ‘The Music Man’.

He moved to New York City after graduation to pursue acting in earnest. He joined the Connecticut’s Goodspeed Opera House and acted in the country and western musical, ‘The Red Bluegrass Western Flyer Show’ in 1977.

Determined to make it bigger, he moved to Los Angeles where he auditioned for television shows. He was selected to play a minor role in the series ‘Happy Days’ as Fred Collins in 1978.

In 1979, he got the opportunity to star along with Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty in the television drama ‘Friendly Fire’. The show received critical acclaim and Keith got noticed for his performance.

He appeared in the musical drama ‘The Rose’ in 1979 which tells the story of a troubled rock star who is unable to cope with the pressures of stardom. It was a fictionalized account of the life of Janis Joplin.

His best known role was as the Aviation Officer Candidate Sid Worley in the drama film, ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’. It was about an officer candidate and his conflicts with the sergeant who trains him. His role in the film was critically appreciated.