actor. I was interviewed with Barbara Eden (star of TV show I Dream of Jeannie) and I embarrassed myself terribly. Frost asked me if I’d like to do a play with Barbara Eden and I said “yes, but only if I can expose my navel.” So David said, “Oh, do show us your navel!” And I exposed my navel to the world! My mother called me later to say, “don’t EVER do that again!”
EXTRA: Did you ever meet Nixon?
KEACH: No, but there are other characters in the play that I knew, such as Irving Lazar. And a number of people who are mentioned in the play I’ve spoken to, such as Frank Gavin.
EXTRA: How did you feel about Watergate at the time?
KEACH: I was part of the liberal America that cheered when they were exposed. One of the things that this play has done is give me a new insight into the humanity of Nixon. I honestly believe that he knew nothing about Watergate at the time of the break-in. As time went on, he did cover it up for political containment and to protect certain people whom he was intimately familiar with. He calls them “mistakes of the heart.”
EXTRA: What is Nixon’s legacy?
KEACH: It is two-fold. You can’t deny the fact that he opened the door to China. He established a relationship with Russia that later caused the Cold War to thaw. International relations were his strong point. I also think that his name will always be synonymous with corruption in government, unfortunately. He is a tragic American hero. Like many of Shakespeare’s heroes, he suffers from the sin of pride. He had feelings of entitlement, as many leaders do. He felt he was above the law as President.
EXTRA: How much did the events as described in the play contribute to the media’s influence in politics that we see today?
KEACH: That’s one of the dominant themes of this piece. Television and the media are very important elements in this production. How television manipulates the sensibilities and causes us to have biases in one direction or another. As Nixon said, you needn’t go into politics unless you have a cool head of hair, you don’t perspire and you don’t shave twice a day and trim your eyebrows.
EXTRA: How much research did you do for FROST/NIXON?
KEACH: Quite a bit. I love to do research. The first thing I did was go back and look at the actual interviews themselves, and I also read a few books. The interviews were my primary resource. To me, that’s one of the best parts about being an actor is the research into a character’s history and also the period from which they came. You have certain obligations when you’re playing someone like Nixon, of course.
EXTRA: One last question. Do you prefer Italian slip-on shoes or tie shoes.
KEACH: (Laughs). I prefer slip-ons...as did Nixon, of course.
For more information on Stacy Keach go to: http://www.stacykeach.com
For information on the National Tour of FROST/NIXON go to: http://www.frostnixonontour.com
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