David Lemuel Keith was born on May 8, 1954 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the
son of Lemuel Grady Keith Jr. and Hilda Earle. He graduated from the
University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Theater.
Keith had a supporting role in
The Rose (1979) starring
Bette Midler, had a supporting role in
Brubaker (1980), and co-starred with
Richard Gere in
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982).
He played a local thug in
The Great Santini (1979),
starred in
The Lords of Discipline (1983)
and
White of the Eye (1987), and
held a prominent supporting role opposite
Matthew McConaughey in
U-571 (2000). He played opposite
Drew Barrymore in the science
fiction horror film
Firestarter (1984), and opposite
Brooke Shields and
Martin Sheen in
Running Wild (1995).
Keith played
Elvis Presley in
Chris Columbus'
Heartbreak Hotel (1988), the
cowboy "Boo-Hoo" Boone in
Frank Oz's
The Indian in the Cupboard (1995),
and the leading role of Nate Springfield in the horror film
Hangman's Curse (2003). He also
co-starred in the sitcom
The Class (2006) as Yonk Allen, a
retired professional football player. He has appeared in the horror
remake
Carrie (2002),
Daredevil (2003),
Raise Your Voice (2004) starring
Hilary Duff, and
Expiration Date (2006). He has
also appeared on the television series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999),
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001),
CSI: Miami (2002),
NCIS (2003),
and
Hawaii Five-0 (2010). He
also co-starred as Robert Allen's father John Allen on the short-lived
Fox drama series
Lone Star (2010).
David Keith married realtor Nancy Clark in 2000 and the couple reside
in Knoxville, Tennessee.