biography
Born in Frank Miles O'Keeffe in Ripley, Tennessee, on June 20, 1954, handsome 6'3" actor Miles O'Keeffe played football as a wide receiver at Mississippi State and
Sewanee, graduating in 1977. He earned a degree in psychology and briefly worked as a prison counselor. In the late 1970s, O'Keeffe
headed for California and played semi-professional rugby, and afterward he drifted into working as a stunt man and in the meanwhile
taking a few bit parts in films. His big break in 1981 came when he was cast as Tarzan in the film Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981; with
Bo Derek, Richard Harris, and John Phillip Law).
Designed as a vehicle for director John Derek's wife, Bo Derek, the film generated poor reviews by critics,
primarily because the character Tarzan wasn't the focus of the film; rather, Jane (Bo Derek) has the majority of screen time. The film chalked up no fewer than six Razzie nominations in 1982.
Bo Derek won the Razzie Award for worst actress (tying with Faye Dunaway), but the nod for Worst Film went to
Mommie Dearest (1981; with Faye Dunaway, Steve Forrest, and Diana Scarwid). That said, the film was a
box office success, owing in part to Bo Derek's popularity and the film's notoriety.O'Keeffe managed to escape unscathed by the negative critical response to Tarzan, the Ape Man and went on to make a slew of adventure films in the 1980s, starting with his second film, the Italian production Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1982; with Edmund Purdom). Very well received by international audiences, Ator spawned two sequels: The Blade Master (1982; with David Brandon) and Iron Warrior (1987; with Savina Gersak and Iris Peynado). And the actor made a big splash as the title character in Sword of the Valiant (1984; with Sean Connery, Peter Cushing, and Cyrielle Clair). Stepping away from costume epics, later in the 1980s O'Keeffe transitioned into action/crime dramas such as Cartel (1990; with Don Stroud and William Smith) and Zero Tolerance (1994; with Robert Patrick and Titus Welliver). |
the films of miles o’keeffeTarzan, the Ape Man (1981)    
LEFT and CENTER: Miles O'Keeffe as Tarzan. RIGHT: With Bo Derek on the December 1981 cover of Muscular DevelopmentAtor the Invincible, aka Cave Dwellers (1984)
Joel Hodgson, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot watch Miles O'Keeffe in Cave Dwellers (aka Ator the Invincible) during episode #301 of Mystery Science Theater 3000Sword of the Valiant (1984)  
O'Keeffe as Sir Gawain in the adventure Sword of the ValiantAtor the Iron Warrior (1987)
From O'Keeffe's last outing as Ator in Ator the Iron WarriorWaxwork (1988)
As Dracula in the comedy/horror flick WaxworkLiberty & Bash (1990) 
From the action thriller Liberty & Bash. LEFT: O'Keeffe as Liberty. RIGHT: Home video poster with Lou FerrignoCartel (1990)
As Chuck Taylor in the action thriller CartelUnconditional Love (1999)
With Mette Holt in the action flick Unconditional Lovemiles o'keeffe todayAfter acting in S.A.S. San Salvador and Sword of the Valiant, both released in 1982, O'Keeffe headed to Italy to shoot Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1983). Through 1987, he made a number of films in Italy, such as Ator the Invincible (1984), Lone Runner (1986), and Double Target (1987). Since then, O'Keeffe has made more than 20 films; in the year 2000 alone, he starred in four features. After a lengthy hiatus, O'Keeffe returned to acting in the short film King of the Road (2010), which was shot in the Pittsburgh area in the summer of 2008. Now 68 years old, Miles O'Keeffe appears to be retired from acting. |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered July 3, 2001.
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