Michael O'Keefe (1955)

 early life

O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family. His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as also teaching at St. Thomas of Villanova College. O'Keefe attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and New York University, and made his acting debut in a 1970 Colgate television commercial.
He is a cousin of Will Eno.

 career

O'Keefe's best known film role is Danny Noonan in the comedy film Caddyshack. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as the oldest son of a Marine aviator in The Great Santini, starring Robert Duvall, also nominated for an Academy Award for the film. He played a Marine in 1980 in the miniseries A Rumor of War as the friend of Brad Davis' character, Philip Caputo, and played the lead role in the 1982 film, Split Image, as an all-American college athlete who gets lured into a religious cult by a beautiful girl . He has also appeared in the independent film The Glass House, as well as starring alsongside Tommy Lee Jones in the 1983 pirate adventure Nate and Hayes . More recently O'Keefe appeared opposite George Clooney in Michael Clayton. He's appeared twice opposite Jack Nicholson, as his son in Ironweed and as the father of a murdered girl in The Pledge. His film Frozen River was in the competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. He also plays the powerful District Attorney Calvin Beckett in the film American Violet.

O'Keefe's Broadway theatre credits include Side Man, Mass Appeal, Fifth of July, and Reckless with Mary Louise Parker.

O'Keefe's highest profile television role to date has been his portrayal of Fred, the husband of Jackie Harris on the ABC series Roseanne. O'Keefe appeared on the show from 1993 to 1995. After leaving the series, O'Keefe played the husband in the series Life's Work, which aired after Roseanne in its final season. Additional television credits include the lead role of Simon MacHeath in the short lived Boston-based series Against the Law and guest appearances on Saving Grace, The West Wing, Criminal Minds, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, House MD, M*A*S*H, Ghost Whisperer, "Brothers and Sisters", Leverage, and The Waltons.

O'Keefe appears briefly in part 1 of the film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged as Hugh Akston.

 personal life

O'Keefe was married to rock/blues singer Bonnie Raitt from April 27, 1991 to November 9, 1999 when they were divorced. He has since become a practicing Zen Buddhist. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Bennington College.