Keefe Brasselle is best remembered for the starring role in The Eddie Cantor Story.
16 Facts About Keefe Brasselle
2.
Keefe Brasselle broke into motion pictures while serving in the US Navy.
3.
Keefe Brasselle's first co-starring role was opposite singing star Gloria Jean in the waterfront mystery River Gang.
4.
Keefe Brasselle was groomed for stardom in The Eddie Cantor Story, filmed in response to the wildly successful The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again starring Larry Parks as Al Jolson, one of Cantor's musical-comedy contemporaries.
5.
Keefe Brasselle turned to nightclubs, where he appeared as a singer and comedian.
6.
In 1961, an Edison Township, New Jersey, nightclub owned by Keefe Brasselle burned under suspicious circumstances.
7.
Keefe Brasselle had a close friendship with CBS executive James Aubrey.
8.
Keefe Brasselle started his own production company, "Richelieu Productions," and Aubrey granted Keefe Brasselle's company three television series without any previous script, pitch or pilots.
9.
The insider-chicanery resulted in a lawsuit against Aubrey and Keefe Brasselle launched by CBS shareholders.
10.
Keefe Brasselle later wrote a novel that was a thinly disguised account of his relationship with Aubrey and the network, The CanniBal$, followed by a sequel, The Barracudas, in which he attacked several showbiz figures he'd worked with, including comedian Jack Benny.
11.
Keefe Brasselle struggled to find work after his CBS experience and tried to relaunch his fading career, as a self-styled "modern minstrel" recording artist.
12.
In 1942, Keefe Brasselle married Norma Jean Aldrich; Keefe Brasselle was age 19 at the time.
13.
That same year, Keefe Brasselle married singer Arlene DeMarco.
14.
Keefe Brasselle was of the Roman Catholic faith and a lifelong Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.
15.
Keefe Brasselle staged the musical numbers himself and even appeared as a specialty act, embellishing his performance with Eddie Cantor's gestures and mannerisms.
16.
Keefe Brasselle died from liver disease in 1981, at age 58.