James Keach is an American actor, producer, writer, and director, who was born on the 7th December 1947, in Savannah, Georgia, the son of prolific screen actor Stacey Keach, Sr. and brother of Stacey Keach, Jr.
With a lengthy and varied media career, how rich is James Keach? Sources estimate his net worth at $20 million as of early 2017, earned through his decades as an actor which began in the early 1970s.
James Keach Net Worth $20 million
James Keach came from an acting family, both his mother and father working in the business. He grew up mainly in California, and whilst at school also played on the football team. He graduated from Northwestern University at the Yale School of Drama in 1970, and after receiving classical training as a Shakespearean actor, appeared in the New York Shakespeare festival. His first on screen credit came in 1971, when he played in an episode of the “NET Playhouse”, as legendary aviator Orville Wright, alongside his real-life brother, Stacey; he would play Wright again two years later in “Wilbur and Orville: The First to Fly”. His acting work has mainly been confined to television, though he branched into movies with higher frequency during the 1980s, with a few of his cinematic roles including “Evil Town” (1977), “The Razor’s Edge” (1984), and “Options” (1989), all adding to his net worth.
The role for which he is best known was in the 1980’s “The Long Riders” – the movie was notable for the fact that it cast four sets of real life siblings as brothers within the film. Keach featured as the brother of the outlaw Jesse James, Frank James, Jesse being played by his brother, Stacey. David Carradine featured along with three of his brothers, Dennis Quaid with his brother, and Christopher Guest with his. James Keach co-wrote the script and produced the movie.
Country and rock star Johnny Cash was a big fan of “The Long Riders”, and became acquainted with Keach as a result. They met again in 1993 on the set of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”, which starred Keach’s wife, Jane Seymour. In 2005, Keach produced “Walk the Line”, a biopic on Cash, starring Joaquin Phoenix, and also cameoed as a Folsom Prison Warden. The film was a critical success, nominated for five Academy Awards, and reported a gross of $186 million at the box office, greatly contributing to Keach’s overall net worth too.
His directorial debut had come in 1989 with the made for TV movie, “The Forgotten”. He has continued his directing work consistently ever since, with a documentary, “Augie”, in post-production and scheduled for a release this year.
In his personal life, Keach has been married three times, firstly in 1976 to Holly Collins with whom he has a son, then to Mimi Maynard, and finally to Jane Seymour in 1993 – they have twin boys, but divorced in December of 2015. Amongst his celebrity friends are the late Christopher Reeves and Johnny Cash, who his twin sons are named for. Keach also hosted the wake for David Carradine at his own home. He is known for his close affiliation to the charity Meningitis UK. In 2010, he received the “Ellis Island Medal of Honor”, an award which recognises contributions made by immigrants and their children.
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