John Keston - Artist

Artist

Keston's best known acting performance may be his portrayal of Gehn, the complex villain from the video game Riven: The Sequel to Myst (1997). The character has developed a cult following. (A short scene in which Keston is heard singing "O Sole Mio" is hidden in the game, in a type of file known as an Easter egg. It was unscripted—filmed while Keston gave an impromptu performance when waiting between takes.)

In 1968, John Keston appeared with Juliet Prowse in the original West End (London) production of Neil Simon's Sweet Charity at the Prince of Wales Theatre, in the role of Vittorio Vidal, receiving billing directly below the title. The show was conceived, staged and choreographed by Bob Fosse (who also made significant but uncredited contributions to the book). Keston appears on the cast album of that production. He once recalled his audition for Neil Simon, who was bringing the hit show to London from Broadway. Being a trained singer, Keston wanted to be taken seriously as an actor. When asked if he could sing, he said, "A bit." He was taken aside for his vocal audition, gave an excellent performance, and got the job.

Charity was his only West End credit; he had previously appeared in London productions of Sleeping Beauty, House of Cards, The Ideal Husband, Private Lives, and Billy. He also toured in the revue Fol-De-Rols. British television appearances included Department S, Lord Byron, and U.F.O.

For a time, Keston made a living as a model; his print ads appeared in such magazines as Stern.

In 1974, Keston traveled to Washington, D.C. with the Royal Shakespeare Company's touring production of Sherlock Holmes, directed by Frank Dunlop, with artistic director Trevor Nunn. The company commenced its tour on October 7 at Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theatre. A month later, the show began previews at Broadway's Broadhurst Theater, opened on November 12, and ran 471 performances. It received four Tony nominations and two Tony awards. It gave Keston his sole Broadway credit for his performance as Sir Edward Leighton.

(It was the eighth time that particular play—co-written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- was produced on Broadway, the first time being in 1899; it has not played on Broadway since. The full title of the play is Sherlock Holmes: Being a hitherto unpublished episode in the career of the great detective and showing his connection with the STRANGE CASE OF MISS FAULKNER.)

Keston continued his career in the U.S. as a performing artist, appearing in summer stock, cabaret, and opera engagements. He also portrayed the photographer Alfred Stieglitz in a film.

Keston wrote, produced and performed a one-man show, Expressions of Aging. This two-act play with music reflects his love of history, acting, music, and the English language, on the theme of growing old. He performs selections from it to this day. The first act is straight acting—no music. Keston relates autobiographical episodes of his early days as an actor, when he would dash to the theatre by train with just enough time to make up. Then, in full view of the audience—and in almost no time—he puts on a dash of make-up, applies a wig and beard with spirit gum, and slips into a nightgown, to become the historian John Aubrey in his late life. Speaking in an English accent, Aubrey tells tales, complains about his ailments, and relates court gossip.

The second act is musical, performed with a piano accompanist. Poems, selections from Gerald Finzi's A Young Man's Exhortation, and other songs about the transition from youth to old age make up the act. Keston is a tenor, and employs his voice to cry out with a characteristically tremulous passion, to poignant effect.