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While attending Air Force Academy Prep School, actor Miles O'Keeffe transferred to Mississippi State so he could play football, but a hand injury put an end to his gridiron activities. He then studied at the University of the South, where he earned a BA in psychology; this led to a job as counselor at Pennsylvania State Prison. When he heard that movie producer/director John Derek was planning to put together a new Tarzan film, the 6'3" O'Keeffe sent his photo to Derek. As a result, O'Keeffe was teamed with Bo Derek in 1981's Tarzan the Ape Man, a universally panned production that nearly ended the aspiring actor's career before it began. He managed, however, to survive this experience, going on to carve a niche for himself in such sword-and-sorcery efforts as Ator (1984) and Sword of the Valiant (1984). Still working in films into the 1990s, Miles O'Keeffe starred as John Smith in the direct-to-video Pocahontas: The Legend (1995).