McDermott, Keith 1953–

PERSONAL: Born September 28, 1953, in Houston, TX; son of James E. and Betty Ray (Rees) McDermott.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Mary Day Agency, 305 W. 44th St., New York, NY 10036.

CAREER: Writer, novelist, actor, and director. Actor in motion pictures, including Tourist Trap, Charles Band Productions, 1979; Philippe, Without a Trace, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1983; and How the West Was Won (television mini-series), National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). Actor in stage productions, including Equus, Plymouth Theatre, New York, NY; Harold and Maude, Martin Beck Theatre, New York, NY; A Meeting by the River, Palace Theatre, New York, NY; The Poker Session, Theatre Off-Park, New York, NY; Romeo and Juliet, Lion Theatre, New York, NY; Misalliance, Roundabout Theatre, New York, NY; Life Class, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY; End as a Man, off-Broadway, The Tempest, off-Broadway; Da, Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo, NY; Macbeth, American Shakespeare Festival; Julius Caesar, American Shakespeare Festival; I Was Sitting on My Patio, San Francisco, CA; and A Life in the Theatre, Kenyon Festival Theatre, OH. Director of productions, including Kiss Shot, la Mama E.T.C., New York, NY, and George Dandin, Great Nose Productions, New York, NY.

WRITINGS:

Acqua Calda (novel), Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Novelist and director Keith McDermott is an accomplished actor in motion pictures, on television, and on the stage. Known for his role opposite Richard Burton in a Broadway production of Equus, McDermott embraced the actor's life and was "unquestionably of the moment," commented Patrick Giles in Interview. "I was very ambitious. I had to be, to get the kind of roles I got," he told Giles.

A lifelong interest in books and literature spurred McDermott to try his hand at writing. "I'd always been a book junkie," he remarked to Giles, "and I was getting less acting work. Writing was a natural world to get into." McDermott's youth also provided influences that would serve his literary career. During the 1970s, he lived with writer Edmund White, a pioneer author in gay literature who was also a focal point for the thriving gay culture in New York City. Later, the grim reality of AIDS caused McDermott to reassess his life as an actor and to find it less and less realistic and relevant.

In his debut novel, Acqua Calda, McDermott explores issues related to the theatre, the creative process, AIDS, and the facing of one's own mortality with grace and dignity. Gerald Barnett, an older actor living in New York City, has accepted that he is going to soon die of AIDS. He has made his peace with the world, executed his will, and said his final goodbyes. His few regrets—not having traveled more, not having more love in his life—recede as his time ticks away.

When Barnett's AIDS goes into remission, he realizes that his life closure may have been premature, and that he now has an unexpected future ahead of him. While trying to decide what to do with the respite he has received, Barnett receives a letter from his former mentor, avant-garde director William Weiss, inviting him to come to Sicily to act in Weiss's latest production. Barnett agrees, and he flies out to Italy to work on one last big production. As the production rolls on, Barnett reacquaints himself with old friends from the field and meets a host of new actors; meanwhile, tempers flare as the moody Weiss makes change after change to the production and finally declares it a disaster. On a more positive note, a moonlight encounter in a pool rekindles Barnett's long-dormant, or long-suppressed, romanticism. When Barnett faints on opening night, he is ordered to rest by the stage manager, but stoically forges on with the realization that it is the theater, and his family in the theater, that have given his life its greatest meaning.

"McDermott creates a story that is simultaneously beautiful, observant, funny and, most importantly, recognizable to readers," remarked Seth J. Bookey on the Gay City News Online. The author "acquits himself well in this debut" novel about the "revitalizing power of art," noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Acqua Calda is "filled with rich detail on the creative process of producing a play," stated Caroline Mann, writing in Library Journal, adding that the book captures the camaraderie and relationships that are forged during such a time of intensive creative work. With the characters and their interactions, McDermott has created "a vivid portrait that will make many, gay or straight, feel empathy," observed a Kirkus Reviews contributor. In Acqua Calda, "we find a testament to humanity's ability to persevere, with motivation coming not from medicine but from someplace within," commented Bookey, adding: "McDermott's novel presents the art of living even in the face of likely death in a way that is beautiful and realistic."