Longtime N.O. Stage Star M. Audley Keck Dies At 82
10-05-1995 Times Picayune

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40 years in Hollywood M. Audley Keck, who worked with some of
Hollywood's top stars before becoming a star himself on local
stages, died Tuesday at his home. He was 82.

Since returning to his native New Orleans in 1982, Mr. Keck was
never far from a stage. He gave his final performance the day
before his death, playing a man confined to a nursing home in
Shirley Sergent's "Looks Like Rain," a piece in an Oyster
Playhouse production at Movie Pitchers.

"He lived the dream of an actor, to be in demand all your life
and to be acting right up to the end," said Janet Shea, who
appeared with Mr. Keck in several productions. "He led a great
life and was a grand man. He called me Lady Janet and I called
him Sir Audley."

Mr. Keck had two careers in New Orleans theater, more than 45
years apart. Beginning with backyard shows in his neighborhood,
he became a regular at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre in the
early 1930s before helping organize a more avant-garde troupe,
the Group Theatre of New Orleans.

He went to Hollywood in 1938 to audition for an acting workshop
run by director Max Reinhardt. Edward G. Robinson, impressed by
his work, paid his tuition for two years.

But Mr. Keck soon left acting to become a dialogue director. For
nearly 40 years, he worked with a who's who of Hollywood.
Anthony Quinn, Lana Turner, Marlon Brando, Ava Gardner, Jimmy
Stewart, William Conrad and Henry Fonda were among those who
worked on roles with Mr. Keck, known professionally as Michael
Audley.

His job, Mr. Keck said in 1984, was to help the actors "break
down the dialogue so it would seem more natural to say. I more
or less was a psychologist helping them to analyze their
characters."

During a five-year European residency in the 1950s, he directed
a British movie, "The Mark of the Hawk," starring Sidney Poitier
and Eartha Kitt.

Mr. Keck returned to New Orleans in 1982 "to be close to my
roots" and soon resumed his theater career with a passion.

He appeared at many area theaters, including Le Petit, Tulane
Summer Lyric Theatre, Southern Repertory Theatre, the
Contemporary Arts Center and the Louisiana Shakespeare Festival.

His credits included the title role in "King Lear" and major
roles in "Prelude to a Kiss," "The Gin Game," "Native Tongues,"
"The Dresser," "Mass Appeal," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and
"Glengarry Glen Ross." He also appeared in several film and TV
productions shot in the area.

Despite his age and failing eyesight, Mr. Keck refused to slow
down. Shortly after his 80th birthday, he left the cast of
"Native Tongues" and moved directly into a featured role in
"Camelot" at Tulane. Soon he was at the Contemporary Arts Center
in a major role in "Six Degrees of Separation."

"He never stopped," said his niece, Ferol Bailey of New Orleans.
"He had arthritis and was legally blind, but he was getting
around just fine." When he wasn't on stage, Mr. Keck often could
be found in the audience. "He just loved the theater," Bailey
said. "He always said he wanted to win the lottery so he could
open his own theater."

Survivors include a brother, William H. Keck Jr.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral
Home is in charge.