Stacy Keach

Cited frequently as one of American's finest stage actors, Stacy Keach is widely recognized as a multi-award winner for his commanding performances in productions ranging from Shakespeare to modern classics like "MacBird," "Indians" and "The Kentucky Cycle," netting him widespread acclaim as well as multiple Obies and Drama Desk Awards. Keach's career in front of the camera yielded mixed results, however, though he was praised for early films like "Doc" (1970) and John Huston's "Fat City" (1972). Having never received the same degree of praise as contemporaries like Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson, he still found rewards in dividing his time between quality projects like "The Long Riders" (1980) - which he produced with brother James - and "W" (2008) with low-budget efforts like "Mountain of the Cannibal God" (1978) and "Class of 1999" (1990). Television was always his most successful medium outside of the stage, where he made his mark as the two-fisted private eye on "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" (CBS, 1984-87), a popular series that was interrupted by his much-publicized arrest for drug possession in 1985. Despite his infamous legal troubles, Keach never lost touch with his fans, as he worked continually throughout the following decades, most notably on the small screen with a scene-stealing turns on "Titus" (Fox, 2000-02) and "Prison Break" (Fox, 2005-07). Whether playing tough-guy private detectives, beer-swilling patriarchs of dysfunctional families or washed-up fighters looking for a comeback, Keach always brought his absolute best to every performance.