| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | He was cast as the Russian astrophysicist Dr. Dubov in Meteor (1979) and Soviet Premier Gorny in World War III (1982) because he spoke fluent Russian. |
| 2 | He was known to be a very private man. |
| 3 | Depression ran in his family. |
| 4 | Resided in Malibu, California, for over a quarter of a century, until his death in 1997. |
| 5 | Was a spokesperson for Camel Cigarettes in the 1950s. |
| 6 | Owned a 41 ft. yacht 'Maialoha' off Waikiki. |
| 7 | He was always producer Don Fedderson's first choice to play Uncle Bill Davis in Family Affair (1966). |
| 8 | His widow Victoria Young and son Bobby Keith are both artists. |
| 9 | His second wife Judy Landon was an actress and dancer. They were married for 15 years until their divorce in 1969. |
| 10 | His final film Rough Riders (1997) was dedicated to his memory. |
| 11 | Had a dog named Mush. |
| 12 | Began his career as a contract player for Paramount in 1953. |
| 13 | His mother, Helena Shipman, was originally from Aberdeen, Washington. |
| 14 | Met actor Michael Landon on an episode of Crusader (1955). The two became good friends from 1956 until Landon's death in 1991. |
| 15 | Used to live not too far from best friend Michael Landon. |
| 16 | His third wife, Victoria Young, is Hawaiian. |
| 17 | Met a young actor James Drury while making the movie, Ten Who Dared (1960); they became and remained friends until Keith's suicide in 1997. |
| 18 | His father Robert Keith was from Indiana. |
| 19 | His son, Robert, was named after him and Keith's grandfather. |
| 20 | Father of Michael, Mimi, Robert and Daisy, and adoptive father of Barbara, Betty and Rory. |
| 21 | In 1945, seeking a commission as an officer in the Merchant Marine after four years' service in the Marine Corps, Keith was rejected due his poor scores in algebra. |
| 22 | Spent seven years on the New York stage in summer stock and live television before moving to California to find work films. |
| 23 | Owned a 200-acre ranch in Redlands, California. |
| 24 | Appeared on the front cover of TV Guide three times. |
| 25 | Was raised as a Roman Catholic. |
| 26 | With the success of Family Affair (1966), Keith was able to star in another sitcom The Brian Keith Show (1972). |
| 27 | He was disgusted in his role on Crusader (1955), because he thought the character was too much a souped-up action hero, not enough a regular guy. |
| 28 | Commuted from Los Angeles to Hawaii to film The Brian Keith Show (1972), every week for 2 seasons. |
| 29 | Had boasted of telling CBS executives 'to go fly a kite' when they suggested toning down the content of his series The Westerner (1960) to make it more appealing to children. |
| 30 | An Old West buff. |
| 31 | Acting mentor and friends of Kathy Garver and Daniel Hugh Kelly. |
| 32 | Guest starred on the first episode of Murder, She Wrote (1984). |
| 33 | Never retired from acting. |
| 34 | Brian Keith died on June 24, 1997. His last work appeared after his death: voice-over work in the final episode of Spider-Man (1994), and an on-screen appearance in Follow Your Heart (1999). |
| 35 | Changed his first name from Robert to Brian Keith, prior to becoming an actor. |
| 36 | His daughter Daisy Keith co-starred with him on his final show Heartland (1989). |
| 37 | Keith's stepmother Peg Entwistle also committed suicide, jumping from the "H" of the famous Hollywood Sign in 1932. |
| 38 | Best remembered by the public for his starring role as Uncle Bill Davis on Family Affair (1966). |
| 39 | Attended Michael Landon's funeral in 1991. |
| 40 | Was raised in the same area as Telly Savalas. |
| 41 | Before he found success as an actor, Keith worked in carnivals. |
| 42 | Made a comeback with a successful TV series when he was 62. |
| 43 | Was also good friends of John Mills's entire family. |
| 44 | Stepson of Dorothy Tierney. |
| 45 | Had a son, Michael, who died in 1963. |
| 46 | Had enjoyed playing his role on Hardcastle and McCormick (1983). |
| 47 | His ambition to follow his father into acting was delayed by World War II. |
| 48 | Of British descent. |
| 49 | His parents were divorced when he was 4. |
| 50 | Stepson of stage and screen actress Peg Entwistle. |
| 51 | Suffered an eye injury on the set of Hardcastle and McCormick (1983). [1985]. |
| 52 | His parents, Robert Keith and Helen Shipman, were married in 1919. |
| 53 | Had four biological children, and adopted three more. |
| 54 | Was a close friend of Charlton Heston. |
| 55 | The younger of two children. |
| 56 | Was an active Republican. |
| 57 | His third wife, Victoria Young, was almost 23 years his junior. |
| 58 | Remained friends with Daniel Hugh Kelly during and after Hardcastle and McCormick (1983). |
| 59 | His widow Victoria Young guest-starred with him on 2 episodes of Hardcastle and McCormick (1983). |
| 60 | His father Robert Keith and mother Helena Shipman were both actors. |
| 61 | Was a heavy smoker until 1986, quitting a decade before he was diagnosed with lung cancer. |
| 62 | His father, Robert Keith, died on December 22, 1966. |
| 63 | His future Family Affair (1966) co-star Kathy Garver had guest-starred with him twice: on an episode of his short-lived series, Crusader (1955) and, just before his death, on the Spider-Man (1994) cartoon series. |
| 64 | Was very disappointed when Family Affair (1966), was canceled at the end of its fifth season during CBS's shift to more adult-oriented sitcom fare. |
| 65 | Keith's hobbies included: golfing, swimming, spending time with family, cooking, sailing, horseback riding, reading and painting. |
| 66 | Remained good friends with Johnny Whitaker and Kathy Garver, during and after Family Affair (1966). |
| 67 | Was diagnosed with emphysema and lung cancer. He also had financial problems and was depressed by the suicide of his daughter, which eventually led to his own suicide. |
| 68 | Beat out three other actors for the role of the title character in Hardcastle and McCormick (1983). |
| 69 | Was offered the role of Deke Thornton in The Wild Bunch (1969), but turned it down, because he was under contract working on Family Affair (1966). |
| 70 | Though he'd been acting since age three, Keith didn't appear in his first film until age 31. |
| 71 | His mother, Helena Shipman, died on October 26, 1983. |
| 72 | Was raised in Long Island, New York, by his grandmother. |
| 73 | Actors Kathy Garver and Johnny Whitaker were said to be huge fans of his when they were both growing up. They both co-starred alongside him on Family Affair (1966), and stayed with the show until its cancellation in 1971. |
| 74 | When future Family Affair (1966) co-star Johnny Whitaker appeared in the movie The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), Keith was so impressed by Johnny's acting that he invited him to co-star in Keith's new sitcom. |
| 75 | Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly was said to be a huge fan of Keith's while he was growing up. His favorite movies of Keith's were The Rare Breed (1966) and Nevada Smith (1966). Years later, he would land a co-starring role opposite Keith in Hardcastle and McCormick (1983), and stayed on the show until its cancellation in 1986. |
| 76 | He served as a machine gunner in the United States Marine Corps in World War II, and received an Air Medal. |
| 77 | He graduated from East Rockaway High School in East Rockaway, New York, in 1939. |
| 78 | Was good friends with: Robert Fuller, James Drury, Doug McClure, Raymond Burr, Gene Barry, Ernest Borgnine, John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Maureen O'Hara, Sebastian Cabot, Adam West, Michael Landon, Carroll O'Connor, Larry Hagman, Wink Martindale, Dick Van Dyke, Martin Landau, Ben Johnson, James Best, Burt Reynolds, John Huston, John Mills, Geoffrey Lewis, Keye Luke, Alfred Hitchcock, Betty Lynn, Richard Bull, Nancy Walker, Jonathan Winters, Fred MacMurray, Richard Chamberlain, Anne Francis, Charlton Heston, Robert Conrad, Beverly Garland, Mickey Rooney and Sean Connery. |
| 79 | His third wife Victoria Young co-starred with him on The Brian Keith Show (1972), she played a nurse. |
| 80 | Before making his mark on screen, Keith acted in stock theater productions and on radio. |
| 81 | Was fluent in Russian. |
| 82 | He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. |
| 83 | Plays the role of a real president of the United States in both of John Milius's films featuring Theodore Roosevelt. In The Wind and the Lion (1975) he co-starred as Roosevelt, himself. In Rough Riders (1997), Keith had a bit part as Theodore Roosevelt's predecessor, William McKinley (duing the period when Roosevelt served as President McKinley's Assistant Secretary of the Navy). |
| 84 | At the time of his death, Keith was suffering from emphysema and terminal lung cancer, as well as mourning the recent gunshot suicide of his 27-year-old daughter, Daisy Keith, ten weeks earlier. He committed suicide after he returned from a stay at a hospital. |
| 85 | Buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. |
| 86 | Father, with Victoria Young, of Bobby and Daisy Keith. |
| 87 | Son of Robert Keith and Helena Shipman. |
| 88 | His first son died in childhood. Daughter, Daisy Keith committed suicide 10 weeks before her father's suicide, aged 27. |
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