



Keyes' personal life often overshadowed her acting career. Besides her often turbulent marriages to Shaw and directors Huston and Charles Vidor, she lived with the flamboyant producer Mike Todd for three years during his preparation and filming of "Around the World in 80 Days." She played a cameo role in the movie and helped on publicity.

Todd sent her to the premiere in Caracas, then called her abruptly from Paris with this message: "Listen, I have to tell you. I've fallen in love with Elizabeth (Taylor)."

"Oh well, nothing lasts forever," she philosophized in 1977. "The good part was that I invested all my money in `Around the World in 80 Days,' and that set me up for life."

Keyes gave a frank account of her romances and marriages in her 1977 autobiography, "Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister." Her role in the 1939 classic led to a contract at Columbia Pictures and stardom.

Among her notable roles: as Robert Montgomery's lover in "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (1941), the Ruby Keeler role as Al Jolson's wife in "The Jolson Story" (1946), and as Dick Powell's wife in "Mrs. Mike" (1949).

She also starred in B pictures that were later praised by movie critics as prime examples of film noir: "Johnny O'Clock" (1947), "The Killer That Stalked New York" (1950), "The Prowler" (1951), "99 River Street" (1953) and "The Big Combo" (1955).


Vidor, a handsome Hungarian who directed her first Columbia film, "The Lady in Question," became romantically involved with Keyes, though both were married at the time. When her husband committed suicide and Vidor's wife, actress Karen Morley, divorced him, Vidor and Keyes married. The marriage ended two years later when she discovered he was unfaithful to her as well.


Their marriage in 1946 led to an adventurous life. Just one of the examples she recalled in 1971 involved Huston returning home from the 1949 film "We Were Strangers," with a gift from actress Jennifer Jones, a pet chimpanzee.


David Niven wrote in his memoir "Bring on the Empty Horses" that Keyes became exasperated at the non-housebroken animal and issued an ultimatum: "One of us has to go. It's the monkey or me."

According to Niven, Huston replied, "Honey, it's you." Keyes reported in her own memoir that it was the chimp that got the boot.

The Huston marriage did end in 1950, however, and Keyes sought analysis to recover from the failure. Her conclusion: "I was always looking for the same man — a strong father figure."





After a few minor roles at Paramount, she appeared in "Gone With the Wind" and then moved to Columbia, where her career blossomed.

After her film career and marriages ended, she turned author, producing an autobiographical novel, "I Am a Billboard," two memoirs, "Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister" and "I'll Think About It Tomorrow," film scripts and articles.

