(Keith) Andes, leading man to Marilyn Monroe, dies at 85

LOS ANGELES - Keith Andes, a handsome actor who was Marilyn Monroe's leading man in the 1952 film "Clash by Night," has died at the age of 85.

Andes, who had suffered from bladder cancer and other ailments, was found dead Nov. 11 in his Santa Clarita home, said longtime friend Marshall LaPlante. The Los Angeles County coroner's office ruled the death a suicide by asphyxiation.

Though Andes rarely discussed his career, his apartment walls displayed memorabilia including an album cover from "Wildcat," the 1960 Broadway musical in which he starred with Lucille Ball. A framed note from her refers to the close quarters they shared on stage: "I ate onions, ha-ha, love, Lucy."

Andes' grandson, Ryan Andes, said people "always, always, always" asked about Andes' friendship with Monroe.

"There was always a murmur about them having a relationship, but he said that wasn't the case," he said.

When Andes was asked once in the mid-1950s if he could get Monroe to attend a UCLA graduation reception, Monroe agreed to go only if Andes would be her date, his grandson said.

Andes got his start in Hollywood when studio head Darryl F. Zanuck saw him perform as the understudy in the Broadway production of "Winged Victory" and offered him a small part in the 1944 film version.

The actor, known for a comforting baritone, appeared in about 20 other movies, including playing one of the brothers in "The Farmer's Daughter" (1947) and Gen. George C. Marshall in "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970).

On television he was an amateur sleuth on "Glynis," a 1963 CBS sitcom in which Glynis Johns played his wife, and appeared in the syndicated police drama "This Man Dawson" during 1959 and 1960. He had guest appearances on more than 40 shows, many of them westerns.

Born John Charles Andes on July 12, 1920, in Ocean City, N.J., he was appearing on the radio by age 12. He attended Oxford University, graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from Temple University in 1943 and studied voice at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music.

Andes earned the Theatre World Award for the outstanding breakout performance of 1947 in "The Chocolate Soldier," and later starred in "Kiss Me Kate."

In addition to his grandson, Ryan, the twice-divorced actor is survived by a son, Mark, an original member of the rock groups Canned Heat and Spirit, another son, Matt, and two other grandchildren.

FRom the Santa Clarita Valley web site

Actor Keith Andes Found Dead in Home

http://www.the-signal.com/News/ViewStory.asp?storyID=8349

11/23/2005
Kristopher Daams Signal Staff Writer

Keith Andes, a second lead actor in the 1950s and 1960s, was found dead at his Canyon Country home on Nov. 11. He was 85.

Andes committed suicide by asphyxiation, according to a report from the Los Angeles County Coroners Office.

Friends and family of Andes said the world is now absent of a man who never let his Hollywood and Broadway success fatten his head.

Andes performed in films and Broadway plays with stars like Al Pacino in the film “And Justice for All,” and also played the character of Gen. George C. Marshall in the film “Tora! Tora! Tora!” about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Born John Charles Andes, Andes was an award-winning Broadway thespian and starred opposite Lucille Ball in the play “Wildcat” in 1960. His career spanned three decades, appearing in episodes of the science-fiction television show “Star Trek” and in the classic film “The Farmer’s Daughter” with Loretta Young.

Born in July 1920 in New Jersey, Andes had an array of health problems up until his death, his friend and executor of his will Mike Brodowy said. He was stricken with bladder cancer, had suffered from back pain, had trouble walking, had a kidney that did not function and had lung problems due to his lifelong smoking.

But the 35-year Santa Clarita Valley resident and World War II Air Force veteran was an avid weight lifter, and even went to the gym two days before he died, Brodowy said.

His steadfast dedication to a prime physique and his chain-smoking were two unique things about Andes, Brodowy said.

“That’s the thing that’s ironic about him,” friend Marshall LaPlante said. “He was in awesome shape, went to the gym five days a week, up until two days before he died. And you wouldn’t know it if you saw it, but he smoked.”

In the 1952 film “Clash By Night,” Andes dallied with a young Marilyn Monroe. LaPlante said Andes had nice memories of the former blonde bombshell whom he met before her stardom had seduced the nation.

“He said she was a nice, shy girl,” LaPlante said. “He had fond memories of her, I know that.”

But his success on stage and on the silver screen never went to his head, and his friends recall a man who was somewhat reluctant to bring it up.

“He was very secret about it,” friend Nancy Brodowy said.

“He was really nonchalant,” said LaPlante, who added that it took him nearly 10 years of persuasion to capture Andes in a picture with a mural of Marilyn Monroe in Hollywood.

Although he may have been less outspoken about his Hollywood successes, he was remembered as an eccentric man with friends, a man who loved to ride his motorcycle all around California and the rest of the nation who held a spot in his heart for those less fortunate.

Friends also described him as a jokingly brusque individual, who would correct one’s English and pronunciation with a sarcastic tinge.

“He was a heck of an English teacher, but I wouldn’t want to be his student though,” Mike Brodowy said.

Andes is survived by his two children Mark and Matt Andes, both of Dripping Springs, Texas, and his three grandchildren, Luke of Sherman Oaks, and Rachel and Ryan of Pennsylvania.

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