Born in Gillespie, Illinois, to Navyman-turned-coalminer Homer Keel and his wife, Grace Osterkamp Keel, young Harry spent his childhood in poverty. After his father's death in 1930, he and his mother moved to California, where he graduated from Fallbrook High School at the age of 17 and took various odd-jobs until finally settling at Douglas Aircraft Company, where he became a traveling representative.
At the age of twenty, he was overheard singing by his landlady, Mom Rider, and was encouraged to take vocal lessons. One of his musical heroes was the great baritone Lawrence Tibbett and Howard would later say that finding out that his own voice was a basso cantante was one of the greatest disappointments of his life. Nevertheless, his first public performance came in the summer of 1941 when he played the role of Samuel the Prophet in Handel's oratorio Saul and David (singing a duet with bass-baritone George London).
Just a couple years after this, in 1943, Harold met and married his first wife, actress Rosemary Cooper. In 1945 Harold briefly understudied for John Raitt in the Broadway hit Carousel, before being assigned to Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was during this time, he accomplished a feat that has never been duplicated. He performed the leads in both shows on the same day.
In 1947 Oklahoma! became the first American musical, post-war, to travel to London, England, and Harold went with it. Opening night , 30th April, at the Drury Lane Theatre, the capacity audience (which included the Queen) demanded fourteen encores. Harold Keel was hailed as the next great star and was the toast of the West End.
During the London run, the marriage of Harold and Rosemary ended in divorce, and Harold fell in love with a young member of the show's chorus, dancer Helen Anderson. They married in January 1949 and, a year later, Harold - now called Howard - became a father for the first time to daughter Kaija.
While living in London, Keel made his film debut as Howard Keel at the British Lion studio in Elstree, in The Small Voice (1948), released in the US as Hideout, playing an escaped convict, holding up a playwright and his wife in their English country cottage.
Additional Broadway credits include Saratoga, No Strings, and Ambasador. He appeared at The Muny in St. Louis, MO as General Waverly in White Christmas (2000), Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1996); Emile de Becque in South Pacific (1992), and Adam in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1978).
From London's West End, Howard ended up at MGM making his film musical debut as Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun.
Howard's MGM career was to be a frustrating business. MGM never seemed to know quite what to do with him and, outside of plum roles in the films Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, he was forced into a stream of worthless musicals and B-films. On loan-out at Warner Bros., he played Wild Bill Hickok in Calamity Jane, a highly popular, Oscar-winning musical filmed in 1953, starring Doris Day in one of her most famous screen roles. This was Warner's answer to Annie Get Your Gun, and the film that produced the smash hit number, "Secret Love".
There were two more children born to Howard and Helen, daughter Kirstine in 1952 and son Gunnar in 1955. Soon after, Howard was released from his contract and returned to his first love, the stage.
Sadly, as America's taste in entertainment changed, finding jobs became harder and harder for Howard. The 1960s held little chance for career advancement with a round of nightclub work, b-Westerns and summer stock. Under the strain, Howard began to drink heavily, and his marriage to Helen crumbled. They divorced in 1970.
But 1970 proved to be fortuitous for Howard after all. He was set up on a blind date with airline stewardess Judy Magamoll who was twenty-five years his junior and had never even heard of him. They were married in December 1970 and his drinking problem soon ceased.
By 1980 he had had enough of struggling to find work and he moved his family to Oklahoma, intending to join an oil company. They had barely settled there when Howard was called back to California to appear with Jane Powell on an episode of The Love Boat. While he was there, he was told that the producers of the smash hit television series Dallas wanted to talk to him. After several cameo appearances, Howard joined the show permanently as the dignified, if hot tempered, oil baron Clayton Farlow and his career reached heights it had never seen before.
With his renewed fame, Howard began his first solo recording career at age sixty-four, as well as a wildly successful concert career in the UK. He released an album in 1984 called "With Love", that sold poorly, thus indicating that though the American public were happy to see him as a supporting actor on hit TV show, they were not prepared for a full resumption of his previous stardom.
Even after Dallas he continued to sing, and kept his voice in remarkable shape. In 1994, he and Judy moved to Palm Desert, CA. The Keels were always active in charity events, helping their community and were well loved amongst the residents. In particular, Howard and Judy attended the annual Howard Keel Golf Classic at Mere Golf Club in Cheshire, England, which raised money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). He attended for many years, up until the year of his death.
Howard died at his home in Palm Desert on November 7, 2004, six weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He is survived by Judy, his wife of thirty-four years, his four children, ten grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at various favorite places including Mere Golf Club, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and in Tuscany, Italy.
The Girl That I Marry
Howard Keel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As soft and as pink as a nursery
The girl I call my own
Will wear satins and laces and smell of cologne
Her nails will be polished and, in her hair,
She'll wear a gardenia and I'll be there
'stead of flittin', I'll be sittin'
A doll I can carry, the girl that I marry must be
Her nails will be polished and, in her hair,
She'll wear a gardenia and I'll be there
'stead of flittin', I'll be sittin'
Next to her and she'll purr like a kitten
A doll I can carry, the girl that I marry must be
The lyrics of Howard Keel's song The Girl That I Marry paints a picture of the type of girl he wishes to marry. He describes the ideal girl as being as soft and as pink as a nursery, which indicates that she should be gentle and innocent. She should also wear satins and laces and smell of cologne, which gives the impression of refinement and sophistication.
Furthermore, the girl should have polished nails and wear a gardenia in her hair, indicating that she should take great care with her appearance. The use of the phrase 'purr like a kitten' suggests that she should be meek and submissive. Howard Keel wants to be able to carry her like a doll, implying that he wants to be the one in control of the relationship.
This song reveals certain societal expectations of women during the time it was written, and some people may find the language and the sentiments expressed in the lyrics to be outdated and offensive.
Line by Line Meaning
The girl that I marry will have to be
The ideal partner for me will possess certain physical characteristics and personality traits
As soft and as pink as a nursery
She will have delicate and feminine features, like a newborn baby's room
The girl I call my own
The woman who I choose to commit to and have a relationship with
Will wear satins and laces and smell of cologne
She will have a refined taste in fashion and personal hygiene
Her nails will be polished and, in her hair,
She will take care of her appearance down to the smallest details
She'll wear a gardenia and I'll be there
She will have a flower in her hair, which will indicate her willingness to have a romantic relationship with me
'stead of flittin', I'll be sittin'
I won't waste my time on fleeting relationships, I'll be content staying with her
Next to her and she'll purr like a kitten
She will be content and happy being close to me
A doll I can carry, the girl that I marry must be
I desire a partner who is physically small and delicate, like a doll, so that I can physically carry and protect her
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-ns8qk7jt5n
Betty Hutton teaches a masterclass in expressing feelings without saying a word. Genius actress
@jackiemcmeekin6551
Just love this song. And Howard Keel had one of the greatest voices ever. He played in several musicals with Kathryn Grayson. They sang so well together!
@atheaguitering9729
"Don't you like girls? I'm a girl "
Me: ....i feel you girl
@lorad.stoner8406
Do you wear a hair style that's complimentary to your face? Wear a LITTLE makeup. Use a lipstick brush to apply lipstick that goes well with your facial coloring. The color of hair that is your NATURAL COLOR is almost always the one you look best with. Don't bleach or go for green or purple just because you like the color or because someone else is doing it. And don't believe your friends when they say they like it. Just be YOU. I'LL NET YOU'RE LOVELY. IF YOU THINK YOU'RE PRETTY and SMILE, you will be pretty.
@mrlaw711
Keel had such an awesome voice with whatever he did.
@dogge929
Oh wow it's Adam Pontabee! I'd recognize that voice anywhere.
@ellynmacgregor8210
Not that it's important (and I'm sorry to seem picky), but according to IMDb, Adam's surname is spelled Pontipee. Actually, I think I like your version better, but...there it is.
@emmaleitch207
Brilliant voice, such a rich timber fantastic.
@lukeoconnor6167
To everyone who is saying this is sexist, it isn't. he is just giving his own preference. there is nothing wrong with that. nobody would call it sexist if this were a woman talking about a man
@Ja-zz2gn
Its about ending of the movie.She is not shooting well just so he can feel better about himself....Because it seems that girl cant get a guy if she is better then him in anyway...