Keith Curran Obit

Keith Curran Obituary

 

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Keith R. Curran, of Hyannis, MA, born in Boston on February 29, 1956, passed away on September 18, 2024.

A leap year baby, Keith was a standout from birth. As a child, he was a very talented dancer and singer. Through his teens Keith starred in many school productions. After studying opera at Indiana University, Keith headed to New York City to break into the theatre. For many years he was a successful stage actor, performing lead roles in the Broadway productions of Mayor and Just So and national tours of Annie and On the 20th Century. He even was in a series of TV commercials for Burger King.

Keith's passions eventually turned to writing, and he embarked on a second successful career as a playwright and screenwriter in New York City then Los Angeles. His most notable plays, Dalton's Back, Walking the Dead, and The Stand In, were performed off-Broadway in New York and in many regional theaters around the country. Variety said of his play The Stand In "[it] epitomizes the best in small theater: a sharp, funny script... [which] skewers nearly anything that moves, including filmmakers, publicists, talk shows, award shows, religions, gay activists, journalists, and musician Yanni." Ironically, his most notable screen production was a TV movie called Trump Unauthorized (2005), a biopic of the pre-political life of Donald Trump (who never earned Keith's vote).

Keith had a brilliant and quick wit. He could make you laugh harder than anyone. He was irreverent to a fault. While he did not consider himself an activist, he was a proud gay man. He came out to his parents while in high school in the early 1970s. His writing frequently dealt with LGBTQ+ themes long before that became mainstream. The lead in Walking the Dead might have been the first transgender lead role off Broadway. He was a loving and generous uncle. Sadly, his later years were dominated by multiple and debilitating chronic illnesses.

Keith was pre-deceased by his parents William J. Curran and Doris M. Curran and his brother Brian Curran. He is survived by his sister Sheila Dennin (Matthew), brother Geoffrey (Jill), sister-in-law Mary, nephews Ned, Joe, Danny, and Patrick, and niece Natalie.