Dallas star Howard Keel dies, aged 85

HOWARD KEEL, the broad-shouldered baritone who romanced his way through a series of glittery MGM musicals such as Kiss Me Kate and Annie Get Your Gun and later revived his career with Dallas, died yesterday. He was 85.

Keel died of colon cancer, according to his son, Gunnar Keel.

Keel became a star in his first MGM film, playing Frank Butler to Betty Hutton’s Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. His size and lusty voice made him an ideal leading man for such stars as Esther Williams, Ann Blyth, Kathryn Grayson and Doris Day.