Philip McKeon

Philip McKeon always reminded me of an Osmond brother. I think it was the teeth. I loved watching him on Alice when I was a kid. He was a cutie pie. I loved the brother and sister combo of him and Nancy McKeon but never really noticed the resemblance between the two. I never would have guessed they were related. They were popular around the same time as Jimmy and Kristy McNichol. I wonder if Philip and Nancy were approached about singing and dancing and recording a bad album…..

The son of Barbara and Donald McKeon, Philip Anthony McKeon was born on November 11, 1964 in Westbury, New York. The parents took both Philip and Nancy to auditions when they were very young. (Philip was four and Nancy only two.) It sounds like Nancy was a little more successful than Philip at first, but then….

Alice

Linda Lavin (Alice) discovered Philip on Broadway in a performance of Medea and Jason and recommended him for the part of Tommy. Alice ran on CBS from 1976 to 1985. Philip was a cute little boy when the series began. He was a 6’2” man when it ended. Was it just me, or did he seem more like the son of Flo? That would have made a good episode. “Switched at Birth……Kiss My Grits”

Trivia

• Was very close to Vic Tayback who played Mel on Alice. It sounds like they had a Danny Bonaduce/Dave Madden type of relationship. Coincidentally, Dave Madden had a recurring role on Alice.
• Tayback used to take Philip to Dodgers’ games and horseback riding.
• Philip liked to golf.
• Played baseball with Benoit Benjamin when they were kids.
• Began acting and modeling when he was just four.
• He is not related to actor Doug McKeon.
• His first commercial was for Fruit Loops.
• Worked for station KFWB News 98 in Los Angeles for ten years.
• Philip co-hosted The Breakfast Taco, a morning show on KWVH-LP 94.1 in Texax.
• Sister Nancy once told People magazine, “If I had to pick a brother, I’d pick him.”

Death

Sadly, Philip McKeon passed away on December 10, 2019 in Wimberley, Texas. I’m not sure as of this writing what killed him, but it’s reported that it was a long illness. His father, Donald, passed away just a few months earlier. I hope Philip has been reunited with Vic and they’re laughing it up right about now.