Actor Michael O'Keefe was educated at NYU and trained for a theatrical career at AADA. O'Keefe made his first off-Broadway appearance in 1974's Kildeer, his Broadway debut in Fifth of July, and in 1975 made his TV bow in the small-screen remake of Friendly Persuasion. Within a year of his 1978 film debut, he was Oscar-nominated for his portrayal of Ben Meechum (author Pat Conroy's alter ego) in The Great Santini (1979). While his subsequent stage credits were consistently praiseworthy--he won a 1982 Theatre World Award for Mass Appeal, and was a co-founder of the Collanade Theatre Lab--his screen efforts of the 1980s alternated between brilliant (Ironweed) and lamentable (The Slugger's Wife). On television, O'Keefe was briefly seen as Jackie's (Laurie Metcalf) husband Fred on Roseanne (1988), gonzo attorney Simon MacHeath in Against the Law (1990), suburbanite Ron Steffey in Middle Ages (1992) and also as basketball coach/househusband Kevin Hunter in Life's Work(1996). Michael O'Keefe is married to singer Bonnie Raitt with whom he has co-written two songs, one of them the Grammy-nominated "Longing in Their Hearts".
by Hal Erickson
biography
