I know I speak for my entire family, for everyone on our show, and for everyone at Fox and the CBS Radford Studio when I say that our hearts and our prayers are with the entire Titus family during this difficult time.

Ken Titus was one of a kind. He provided the model for one of the funniest comic creations ever to come to Television, inspired by the events of Christopher Titus’ life, and I consider myself deeply privileged to be able to play this irascibly funny man. I am also deeply saddened by his passing. But it is a great consolation to me, knowing that Ken had the opportunity to witness Christopher’s rise to stardom, and to share in his adulation …He was so proud of Christopher, no Dad was ever happier for his son’s success than Ken…and in spite of the way Ken is portrayed as the ultimate cantankerous curmudgeon, there is no doubt that a deeply loving bond has always existed between them.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ken on more than one occasion…he would come down from his home in Northern California to see the taping of our show And I asked him how he felt about being so maligned, not only in our current series, but also in Christopher’s one-man play, Norman Rockwell is Bleeding …which Christopher wrote and has performed for the past 15 years, I asked him if it didn’t bother him to be treated as such a Bad Dad …Ken said…”Hell, I’m used to it… I don’t mind, just as long as it’s funny. It’s not really me, anyway…it’s Christopher’s imagination…but tell him not to get too angry and to quit being a wussy!”

Christopher has taught all of us that humor is one of the most effective ways to deal with life’s pains and sorrows and hardships, and I have every confidence that Ken’s spirit will live on, and that beyond the tears and sadness of this immediate and difficult time, there lies an eternal spring of love and laughter. This is Ken’s legacy for all of us.

God Bless you Ken, and Thank You. And Christopher, our hearts are yours.

STACY KEACH

“A Dysfunctional Fun House!”
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE

“Ken, played by a gruff but sympathetic Stacy Keach, proves more than a mere excuse for Titus’ screw-ups. ‘My father never missed a drink or a joint or a party or a chance to get laid in his life,’ Titus concedes, ‘But he also never missed a day of work or a house payment.’ …at last! a family sitcom about abuse and insanity.”
TIME MAGAZINE

“New sitcom turns tragedy on its head!”
NY TIMES

“…sardonic moments of revelation are punctuated by quick and punchy flashbacks of Titus’s terror-filled upbringing, dominated by a drunk and disorderly, five-times-married father played with malevolent gusto by a first-rate Stacy Keach.”

Outrageous comedy and Stacy Keach. No one would have connected the two 15 years ago, when the actor’s heat-packing Hammer defined the television gumshoe. But here he is, tossing off one-liners and getting big laughs as a beer-chugging Daddy Dearest in Fox’s new comedy Titus. “I feel like at 58, I’m taking baby steps,” says Keach of his first television comedy gig. “It’s a rejuvenation, a whole new life for me.”

Keach says he’s trying something new; comedy. The trick, he’s learning, is to play it straight, a lesson that would seem all too easy for the former Mike Hammer. “But, as I say this, I know in my heart I’m such a ham that I’ll play for the laughs all the time. I guess it’s true what they say: Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” TV Guide, April 1-7, 2000

ON BEING A MAN: 
“Don’t be a wussy!”

ON MARRIAGE:
“Do you know why divorces cost so much…because it’s worth it!”

ON TEACHING HIS KIDS:
5 year old Christopher: “I’m afraid of the dark.”

Ken: “There’s no reason to be afraid.”

Ken turns off the lights and shuts the door, counts to three, burst into the dark room and shouts “Arrggghhhhhh!!!” He turns the lights back on…..

Ken says to Christopher: “See, there’s no monster.”

Christopher says: “Now I’m afraid of you, dad.”

Ken says: “Well, that’s healthy.”

Then Ken turns out the lights and leaves…

ON FIGHTING IN SCHOOL:
“Always go for the eyes, and the best finger position for the hand is the “Eagle Claw”.

ON FEAR:
“You know that bedtime prayer, “If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!”

AS A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER:
Addressing an all-male audience: Gentlemen, you need to access your personal power. Look within you.

Now, say “dinner’s not ready?”…all together now…

Now, say “Get the hell out, bitch!”

Jim – The relationship with- that you had with your father – – does it scare you about being a father? Does that have any – –

Christopher – Actually, you know, it’s like this: my dad’s been divorced five times and — well, divorced five times and on his sixth wife – – I’ve been married nine years to one woman. So, actually, in a way, I’ve always looked at it as “here’s what NOT to do.” Some people look at their life as, “yeah, I’m gonna BE this way because my DAD is this way.” You know, “I’m just following in his footsteps.” Well, I chose to just notice his footsteps and take another path.

Jim – Your dad – your Stacy Keach TV Dad – – –

Christopher – Yes – – – brilliant!

Jim – Brilliant, yes! The Brilliant Stacy Keach – – –

Christopher – There you go!

Jim – Yes – –

Christopher – He’s actually legally changed his name to that: The Brilliant Stacy Keach.

Jim – Where you place him in the universe of TV Single Dads – – is he – – is he a worse dad than Jonny Quest’s dad? You know, Jonny Quest’s dad used to take him out in the swamp and they’d be shot at and stuff like that. I mean, does he put his kid in danger a lot?

Christopher – You know, Stacy – – it’s funny, we’ve tried to really – – – people have asked me, “how do you nail down – – how do you deal with a guy that’s so mean to you, if that really happened to you?” Stacy Keach plays – – we designed my father as ACTUALLY my father: a man who will let you put a penny in a light socket. And the reason he gets away with it is because he’s trying to teach. Now, his method may be really in question – – -in fact, his message – maybe the way he’s teaching may be illegal in 35 states – but he’s always trying to teach, and I think that’s what pulls it off. If Stacy played Dad just plain mean – it’s not funny. And there’s been a couple times in rehearsals – – ’cause we have to walk that edge – – and if Stacy goes one step – he’s such a brilliant actor – – if he goes one half-a-step the wrong way, it’ll kill the funny, because it crosses that line to MEAN. But he never does. There’s one or two times in rehearsal we did it, when we all looked at each other, like, “oh, wow – that was too tough.” But by the end of the week, Stacy has it nailed, and pulls it off. I can’t believe what he gets away with!

Complete Interview at TVDADS Website

Once you’ve driven your drunk father to your mom’s parole hearing…what else is there?

Titus (Christopher Titus) owns a custom car shop, Titus High Performance, and builds hot rods. His hard-drinking, hard-living father Ken was married five times which means Christopher was raised in five broken homes. His mother, Ken’s first wife, was a manic-depressive schizophrenic, which means Christopher was raised by five broken personalities. She now resides in a mental care facility — or as Ken so eloquently puts it, she’s “shacked up in the wacko basket.”

Ken Titus (Stacy Keach) is a noble, loving father, a caring human being who only thinks of others – when he’s sober. However, most of the time he’s the “anti-dad” — the most negative human being on the planet. Wherever there is hope, he will kill it; where self-esteem rears its shiny little head, he will be there to kick it in the testicles. Titus notes, “My father’s always been mean-spirited and evil. It’s been a lot of fun. Except when his mean-spirited evilness is directed at you.”

MICKEY SPILLANE’S MURDER ME, MURDER YOU
(1983, CBS TVM)
Written by Bill Stratton
Directed by Gary Nelson
Starring Stacy Keach as MIKE HAMMER

MICKEY SPILLANE’S MIKE HAMMER
(1984-1985, CBS series) 22 60-minute episodes
Based upon charactors created by Mickey Spillane
Writers: Bill Froehlich, Mark Lisson, Frank Abatemarco, Joe Gores, Joe Gunn, B.W. Sandefur, Stephen Downing, Larry Gross, George Lee Marshall, B.W. Sanderfur, Joe Viola, Ed Scharlach, Stephen Kandel, Marvin Paul Kupfer, Paul Bernbaum, Jack B. Sowards, Chester Krumholz
Directors: Leo Penn, Paul Krasny, Bernard Kowalski, James Frawley, Michael Preece, Arnold Laven, Sy Salkowitz, Russ Mayberry, Christian I. Nyby II, Sy Salkowitz, Ray Danton, Jon Anderson, Paul Stanley

Executive Script Consultant: Ed Scharlach
Executive Story Consultant: Stephen Kandel
Creative Consultant: B.W. Sandefer
Produced by Bob Singer, Daniel H. Blatt
Co-Producer: Frank Abatemarco
Executive Producer: Jay Bernstein
Music by Earle Hagen
Theme: “Harlem Nocturne” by Earle Hagen
Starring Stacy Keach as MIKE HAMMER
with Lindsay Bloom as Velda
Don Stroud as Captain Pat Chambers
Also starring Kent Williams, Danny Goldman, Lee Benton, Ben Powers, Eddie Barth, Eddie Egan , Donna Denton
Guest Stars: Barbara Stock, Tracy Scoggins, Tom Hallick, Keye Luke, Michael Constantine, Robert Costanzo, Abe Vigoda, Delta Burke, Sharon Stone, Barbara Bain, Shannon Tweed, Jeff Conaway, Stefanie Kramer, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Ray Liotta, Barbi Benton, Lou Ferrigno, Michael Ironside, Janine Turner, Dick Van Patten, Susan Strasberg, Henry Gibson, Shanna Reed, Susan Anton, Barbra Horan, George Murdock, Allan Miller, Stephen Elliott, Steven Keats, John Patterson

· “24 Carat Dead” 
· “Hot Ice”
· “Seven Dead Eyes”
· “Vickie’s Song”
· “Shots in the Dark”
· “Dead on a Dime”
· “Sex Trap”
· “Negative Image”
· “The Perfect Twenty”
· “Satan, Cyanide and Murder”
· “Torch Song”
· “Too Young to Die”
· “Kill Devil”
· “Catfight”
· “Warpath”
· “Bonecrunch”
· “The Deadly Prey”
· “Dead Card Down”
· “Death in the Family”
· “Cold Target”
· “A Bullet for Benny”
· “Firestorm”
· “Deadly Reunion”

THE NEW MIKE HAMMER

A continuation of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, under a new title
(1986-1987, CBS series)
22 60-minute episodes
Based upon charactors created by Mickey Spillane
Writers: Herman Miller, Fred Freiberger, Duke Sandefur, B. W. Sandefur, Arthur Ginsberg, Howard Berk, Ray Danton, Ed Scharlach, S. S. Schweitzer, Jay Bernstein, Howard Berk, Judy Burns, Nancy Ann Miller, James Schmerer, Don Balluck, Edward DiLorenzo, Paul Bentley Diamond, Stephen Lord, Gregory S. Dinallo, E. Nick Alexander

Directors: Ray Danton, Bruce Kessler, Don Weis, Sig Neufeld, David Hemmings, John Herzfeld, Marc Daniels, Jon Andersen, David Jackson, Frank Beascoechea, Thomas J. Wright, Paul M. Lynch, Chuck Braverman, Stacy Keach, Ted Lange, Jay BernsteinStarring Stacy Keach as MIKE HAMMER
with Lindsay Bloom as Velda

Don Stroud as Captain Pat Chambers.

Guest stars: Luca Bercovici, Bill Macy, Barbara Bosson, Lyle Waggoner, Randi Brooks, Julianna McCarthy, Cornel Wilde, Robyn Douglass, Leslie Wing, Peter Iacangelo, John S. Ragin, Michael Delano, Ernie Hudson, Isabel Sanford, George Benson, Jack Carter, Arte Johnson, Jeff Conaway, Malgosia Keach, Bo Hopkins, Theodore Bikel, Foster Brooks, Bernie Kopell, Karen Valentine, Barbara Billingsley, Micky Dolenz, Claude Akins, Peter Scolari, Barbara Carrera, Dennis Cole, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Barbara Stock, Greg Evigan, Emma Samms.

· “Deirdre”
· “Dead Pigeon”
· “Golden Lady”
· “Mike’s Baby”
· “To Kill A Friend”
· “Witness for the Prosecution”
· “Harlem Nocture”
· “Murder In The Cards”
· “Requiem For Billy”
· “Little Miss Murder”
· “Kill John Doe”
· “Elegy For A Tramp”
· “Body Shot”
· “Who Killed Sister Lorna?”
· “Deadly Collection”
· “Green Blizzard”
· “The Last Laugh”
· “Lady Killer”
· “Mike Gets Married”
· “A Blinding Fear”
· “Green Lipstick”
· “A Face In The Night”

MIKE HAMMER-PRIVATE EYE

(1997, syndicated series)
26 60-minute episodes
Writers: Jennifer Boller
Directors: Rex Piano
Executive Producer: Jay Bernstein
Starring Stacy Keach as MIKE HAMMER
with Shane Conrad as Nick Farrell
Shannon Whirry as Velda
Peter Jason as Capt. Skip Gleason
Kent Williams as Deputy Mayor Barrington
Malgosia Tomassi as Maya Ricci
and Rebecca Chaney as The Face
Guest stars: Dr. Joyce Brothers, Julian Stone , Leslie Horan, Edward Albert , Mark Arnott, Elizabeth Baldwin, Tracy Scoggins, Tamara Clatterbuck.

· “Prodigal Son” (September 28, 1997)
· “Beat Street” (October 5, 1997)
· “www.murder” (October 12, 1997)
· “Hoop Nightmares” (October 19, 1997)
· “False Truths” (October 26, 1997)
· “Halloween” (Novemner 2, 1997)
· “Body Odor” (November 9, 1997)
· “Sins of the Father” (November 16, 1997)
· “A Penny Saved” (November 23, 1997)
· “The Life You Save” (January 18, 1998)
· “The Long Road to Nowhere” (January 25, 1998)
· “The Art of Murder” (February 1, 1998)
· “Countdown to Murder” (February 8, 1998)
· “The Cutting Edge” (February 15, 1998)
· “Big Brother’s Secret” (February 22, 1998)
· “A Candidate for Murder” (March 1, 1998)
· “Dump the Creep” (April 12, 1998)
· “Chop Shop” (April 19, 1998)
· “The Maya Connection” (April 26, 1998)
· “Lucky in Love” (May 3, 1998)
· “Songbird, Part 1” (May 10, 1998)
· “Songbird, Part 2” (May 17, 1998)
· “Gone Fishing” (May 24, 1998)
· “Dead Men Talk” (May 31, 1998)
· “A New Leaf, Part 1, June 7, 1998)
· “A New Leaf, Part 2” (June 14, 1998)

“The little moments that nobody ever got to see gave him the most joy. These moments could include the winter mornings in Idaho when he went out shooting quail with Gary Cooper, or catching a marlin in Cuba or winning at a cockfight. He loved violent sports and he almost created the word “macho,” but on the other hand he was extremely sensitive and soft-spoken, almost meek. For me as an actor it was wonderful to explore and run a gamut of emotions.”

“He was a complicated, idiosyncratic man. There’s not a color in the human spectrum he doesn’t reflect. He was a gentleman, a boor and a braggart, along with being sensible and humble.”

“He became much more aware of his being a public persona than his job as a writer and I think he felt he was beginning to lose his identity as an author. He recaptured it with one glorious moment, ‘The Old Man and The Sea’ in the 1950s, but after that he just wasn’t the same.”

“Pain, pride and depression drove the author to take his own life. He couldn’t write anymore, his memory was gone and at 61, he could no longer live up to the macho image of a man he created.”

Of all of the memorable characters created by Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway, none was more complicated, more fascinating or more charismatic than Hemingway himself. Legendary writer, soldier, war correspondent, adventurer, brawler, sportsman, husband, father and lover, Hemingway embraced life with gusto. He was the personification of “macho” – adored by women and the quintessential “man’s man.” Yet, he suffered severe bouts of depression and ultimately took his own life.

HEMINGWAY reveals his tender and stormy relationships with each of his four wives: Hadley Richardson (Josephine Chaplin), who put aside her own aspirations to share his dreams as a struggling young author in Paris; Pauline Pfeiffer (Marisa Berenson), assistant to the Paris editor of Vogue Magazine and Hadley’s friend before she became the second Mrs. Hemingway and moved with him to their famous Key West, Florida home; Martha Gellhorn (Lisa Banes), savvy, independent, globe trotting war correspondent; Mary Welsh (Pamela Reed), the Time-Life reporter Hemingway first met in war-torn London and who enthusiastically participated in his adventures up until his death in 1961.

Filmed on-location in Paris, Venice, Pamplona, The Alps, Africa, the U.S. and The Caribbean – places where Hemingway lived, worked, loved and produced some of the most influential and enduring fiction of the 20th Century.

A co-production of Daniel Wilson Productions and Alcor Film GmbH. Mr. Wilson, winner of numerous awards including 18 Emmys and a Peabody Award, was Executive Producer with co-Executive Producer Bodo Scriba. Director was Bernhard Sinkel with Wolfgang Treu as Director of Photography. Based on “Ernest Hemingway Collected Letters 1917 – – 1961” and Carlos Baker’s celebrated biography, “Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story.”

NOVELS

· I, the Jury (1947)

· My Gun is Quick (1950)
· Vengeance is Mine (1950)
· The Big Kill (1951)
· One Lonely Night (1951)
· Kiss Me, Deadly (1952)
· The Girl Hunters (1962)
· The Snake (1964)
· The Twisted Thing (1966)
· The Body Lovers (1967)
· Survival…Zero (1970)
· The Killing Man (1989)
· Black Alley (1996)…

SHORT STORIES

· “The Night I Died” (1953; originally an unproduced radio play, tidied up and presented as a short story by Max Allan Collins in 1998’s Private Eyes, edited by Spillane and Collins)

· “The Screen Test of Mike Hammer” (July 1955, Male; 1995, Hard-Boiled)

· “The Killing Man” (December 1989, Playboy; a condensation of the novel)

RADIO

· THAT HAMMER GUY
(AKA The Mickey Spillane Mysteries)
(1953, Mutual)
30-minute episodes
First broadcast: January 6, 1953
Last broadcast: October 5, 1953.
Based on characters created by Mickey Spillane
Written by Ed Adamson
Directed by Richard Lewis
Advisor: Mickey Spillane
Starring Larry Haines as MIKE HAMMER
(also Ted De Corsia).
Also starring Jan Miner

COMIC STRIP

· FROM THE FILES OF…MIKE HAMMER
(1953-54, Phoenix Features Syndicate)
Daily and Sunday strips
Written by Mickey Spillane, Ed Robbins and Joe Gill
Art by Ed Robbins

COMIC STRIP COLLECTIONS

· Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer-The Comic Strip, Volume 1: The Sudden Trap and Other Stories (1982)

· Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer-The Comic Strip, Volume 2: