American actor, a polished, many-sided performer who alternated between straight dramatic and musical roles. Best known for his leading stage role in the hit musical “Man of La Mancha,” he also starred in the film “Blackboard Jungle” in 1955.
Kiley was the son of a railroad statistician and a singer, the only son, with two sisters. In spite of his shyness, he flourished in the high school production of “The Mikado.”
He served in the military for three and-a-half years in WW II. He married Mary Bell Wood on 5 May 1948 and had six children; divorced in 1967 and remarried in 1968. He and Patricia were married for 31 years.
Strikingly handsome, Kiley also was greatly talented. In his more than 50-year acting career, he played in parts that covered his signature role in Broadway’s “Man of La Mancha,” which opened in 1965 and in which he sang “The Impossible Dream” more than 2,000 times. (Earning him two Tony Award’s, one for “Redhead” in 1959 and his outstanding performances in “Man of La Mancha” in 1966.)
His films and Emmy-winning TV performances included “Blackboard Jungle,” “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” “The Thorn Birds” and most recently, “Patch Adams.” His first love was always the theater and his heart was focused on singing.
Kiley died of an unspecified bone marrow disease on 5 March 1999 at a hospital near his Warwick, NY home, aged 76.
Link to Wikipedia biography