Walter Stacy Keach Jr. was born on June 2, 1941, in Savannah, Georgia. His father, character actor Stacy Keach Sr., was teaching drama at Armstrong Junior College. His younger brother, James Keach, also became an actor and appeared with him in The Long Riders (1980). The family moved to Pasadena and Stacy Keach graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1959. He studied Dramatic Art and English at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, he earned a scholarship to the Yale School of Drama, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. He won a Fulbright Scholarship, which took him to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Stacy Keach appeared in several off-Broadway productions and made his debut on Broadway in Danton's Death. In the Sixties, he appeared on Broadway in The Country Wife, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, King Lear, and Indians. In the Seventies, he appeared in Deathtrap. In the Nineties, he appeared in Solitary Confinement and The Kentucky Cycle. In the Teens, he appeared in Other Desert Cities.
Stacy Keach made his movie debut in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter in 1968. He appeared in the movies End of the Road (1970), The Travelling Executioner (1970), and Brewster McCloud (1970). In the Seventies, he appeared in the movies Doc (1971), Orville and Wilbur (1972), Fat City (1972), The New Centurions (1972), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Luther (1974), The Gravy Train (1974), Watched! (1974), Conduct Unbecoming (1975), Hamburger Hamlet (1975), Gli esecutori (1976), The Killer Inside Me (1976), The Squeeze (1977), Il grande attacco (1978), Gray Lady Down (1978), La montagna del dio cannibale (1978), Up in Smoke (1978), Two Solitudes (1978), The Ninth Configuration (1980), and The Long Riders (1980).
In the Eighties, Stacy Keach appeared in the movies Nice Dreams (1981), Butterfly (1981), That Championship Season (1982), The Class of 1999 (1990), False Identity (1990), and Milena (1990). In the Nineties, he appeared in the films Sunset Grill (1993), Raw Justice (1994), New Crime City (1996), Escape from L.A. (1996), The Sea Wolf (1997), Future Fear (1997), American History X (1998), Icebreaker (2000), Milita (2000), Mercy Streets (2000), and Unshackled (2000). He was the voice of the Phantasm in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993).
In the Naughts, Stacy Keach appeared in the movies Birds of Passage (2001), When Eagles Strike (2004), Galaxy Hunter (2004), El padrino (2004), Caught in the Headlights (2005), Man with the Screaming Brain (2005), Keep Your Distance (2005), Jesus, Mary and Joey (2005), Come Early Morning (2006), Sunstorm (2007), Honeydripper (2007), W. (2008), The Boxer (2009), The Assistants (2009), Imbued (2009), Chicago Overcoat (2009), Machete (2010), and The Portal (2010).
In the Teens, he appeared in the movies Cellmates (2011), Countdown (Jerusalem Countdown) (2011), Storm War (2011), The Bourne Legacy (2012), The Architect (2012), The Great Chameleon (2012), Ooga Booga (2013), Nebraska (2013), Planes (2013), Father Rupert Mayer (2014), If I Stay (2014), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014),Truth (2015), Cell (2016), Gold (2016), Girlfriend's Day (2017), Tokyo Trial (2017), Sam (2017), and Gotti (2018). In the 2020s, he appeared in Buckle Up (2023), Lost and Found in Cleveland (2024), and Jay Kelly (2025).
Stacy Keach made his television debut on an episode of Channing in 1964. In the Sixties, he appeared in TV adaptations of The Winter's Tale and Macbeth. In the Seventies, Stacy Keach starred on the TV show Caribe. He appeared in the mini-series Lincoln, Jesus of Nazareth, and A Rumour of War. He guest starred on the shows NET Playhouse, Great Performances, The Fitzpatricks, Saturday Night Live, and Skag. He appeared in such TV movies as The Man of Destiny and All the Kind Strangers.
Stacy Keatch first played Mike Hammer in the TV movie Murder Me, Murder You in 1983. It was followed by the TV movie More Than Murder. This lead to the TV series Mike Hammer, which ran for two seasons. After the show was cancelled, Stacy Keach appeared as Mike Hammer in the TV movie The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer in 1986. This led to a revival of the series under the title The New Mike Hammer, which ran for one season. Following the end of The New Mike Hammer, there was another TV movie, Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All, in 1989.
In the Eighties, Stacy Keach also guest starred on the show HBO Theatre. He appeared in the mini-series The Blue and the Gray, Princess Daisy, Mistral's Daughter, and Hemingway. In the Nineties, Stacy Keach once more played Mike Hammer, this time in the syndicated TV series Mike Hammer, Private Eye. It only lasted for one season. He was a regular on the show Die Gang. He guest starred on the shows In the Heat of the Night; Promised Land, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and The Outer Limits. He provided guest voices for the animated shows Batman Beyond and Rugrats. He appeared in the mini-series The Mysteries of the Dark Jungle. He appeared in several TV movies, among them Rio Diablo, Body Bags, Texas, Young Ivanhoe, and The Pathfinder.
In the Naughts, Stacy Keach was a regular on the shows Titus and Prison Break. He had a recurring role on Two and a Half Men. He guest starred on the shows Gary & Mike; Girls Club; Touched by an Angel; Boomtown; Will & Grace; George Lopez, ER; and Live from Lincoln Center. He appeared in the mini-series Blackbeard and Meteor.
In the Teens, Stacy Keach was a regular on the shows Lights Out, Full Circle, and Crowded. He had recurring roles on the shows The Neighbors, Sean Saves the World, NCIS: New Orleans, Blue Bloods, and The Blacklist. He guest starred on the shows Bored to Death, 30 Rock, Anger Management, Malibu Country, 1600 Penn, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Enlisted, Jennifer Falls, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Exes, Hot in Cleveland, Ray Donovan, The Simpsons, Blunt Talk, and Kidding. He appeared in the mini-series Hindenburg: The Last Flight and Tokyo Trial.
Chances are good that Stacy Keach will be best remembered as Mike Hammer, and not simply because he played the role so often. He gave dimensions to a character from novels who really didn't have that much in the way of any sort of depth. While he may be best remembered as Mike Hammer, he played a great variety of other roles. In fact, he was one of the most respected Shakespearean actors of his generation, who appeared numerous productions of the Bard's plays, playing everything from Hamlet to Falstaff. He played several historical figures on television, including Napoleon Bonaparte in Man of Destiny, Frank Ames in The Long Riders, Ernest Hemingway in Hemingway, and Captain Benjamin Hornigold in Blackbeard. He played ageing boxer Billy Tully in Fat City, a rookie cop in The New Centurions, and narc turned pothead Sgt. Stedenko in Up in Smake and Nice Dreams. Stacy Keach was as gifted at comedy as he was drama, and throughout his career he played a diverse number of roles.
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