Brian Keith was first seen in the 1924 American silent comedy-drama film ‘Pied Piper Malone,’ in which he played the role of a little boy. After making uncredited appearances in films like ‘Knute Rockne, All American’ (1940), ‘Portrait of Jennie’ (1948), and ‘Fourteen Hours’ (1951), he starred as ‘Cpl. Brady’ in the 1953 Western Technicolor film ‘Arrowhead’ directed by Charles Marquis Warren. The film was based on a novel by W. R. Burnett. He continued to appear in films like ‘Alaska Seas’ (1954), ‘Jivaro’ (1954), ‘The Bamboo Prison’ (1954), ‘The Violent Men’ (1955), ‘5 Against the House’ (1955), ‘Storm Center’ (1956), ‘Dino’ (1957), ‘Hell Canyon Outlaws’ (1957), ‘Fort Dobbs’ (1958), ‘Sierra Baron’ (1958), ‘The Young Philadelphians’ (1959), and ‘Ten Who Dared’ (1960). In 1961, he starred as ‘Mitch Evers’ in the American romantic comedy film ‘The Parent Trap,’ directed by David Swift. The film was praised by critics and currently holds a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The following year, he played the role of ‘Major General Vanneman’ in the James Neilson-directed American Technicolor science fiction comedy film ‘Moon Pilot.’ The film generated a mixed response from critics. He was next seen in films like ‘Savage Sam’ (1963), ‘The Raiders’ (1963), ‘A Tiger Walks’ (1964), ‘Those Calloways’ (1965), and ‘The Hallelujah Trail’ (1965).
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In 1966, he played the role of ‘Police Chief Link Mattocks’ in the American comedy film ‘The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming,’ directed by Norman Jewison. The film received positive reviews from critics and performed well at the box office, grossing over $21.7 million on a $3.9 million budget. That same year, Keith also became a part of the American sitcom ‘Family Affair’ where he portrayed ‘Uncle Bill Davis.’ The show aired 138 episodes in a span of 5 seasons before going off-air in 1971. He next appeared in films like ‘Reflections in a Golden Eye’ (1967), ‘With Six You Get Eggroll’ (1968), ‘Krakatoa, East of Java’ (1969), ‘Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?’ (1970), ‘Scandalous John’ (1971), ‘The Yakuza’ (1975), ‘The Wind and the Lion’ (1975), and ‘Nickelodeon’ (1976). In 1978, he portrayed ‘Jocko Doyle’ in the American action-comedy film ‘Hooper,’ directed by Hal Needham. The film was met with positive reviews and was a major commercial success, grossing over $78 million on a budget of $6 million. He continued to star in films like ‘Meteor’ (1979), ‘The Mountain Men’ (1980), ‘Sharky's Machine’ (1981), ‘Death Before Dishonor’ (1987), ‘Young Guns’ (1988), ‘Welcome Home’ (1989), ‘Wind Dancer’ (1993), ‘Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story’ (1996), ‘The Second Civil War’ (1997), ‘Walking Thunder’ (1997), and ‘Rough Riders’ (1997). He last appeared in the 1999 romantic comedy film ‘Follow Your Heart,’ directed by Lorenzo Doumani.