R Brian Keene, PhD

Dr. Brian Keene started his acting career at the age of 4 when he appeared on the TV show Romper Room in the mid 1960s. He was also an extra in two feature films: Harry in Your Pocket (1973) starring James Coburn and Bronco Billy (1980) starring Clint Eastwood and was filmed for a couple of commercials in the 1980s that were never actually aired. He also performed in theater in grade school, junior high, and high school. Although he hadn’t performed onstage in a play for over 40 years, he joined Magic Valley Repertory Theatre for multiple productions in the last three years and started in the theatre program at the College of Southern Idaho two years ago. He is a practiced public speaker who has presented well over 100 teacher in-service programs, has taught college classes in four different colleges, and was once asked to fill in for President Jimmy Carter for about 10 minutes at a conference in Las Vegas Nevada, when the former president had been delayed at an earlier meeting. As a teenager, he used to sing with a country western band that his uncles played in around the Boise, Meridian, Kuna, and Nampa area in western Idaho. He retired from the U.S. Army after spending 2 years active duty in the Navy and 30 years duty in the Army Reserve including fighting in two wars. He also retired from the school systems in the State of California, the State of Nevada, and the State of Utah. He currently works as an adjunct math instructor at the College of Southern Idaho and resides in Twin Falls, Idaho with his wife and two youngest daughters. He has played Santa Claus in the Philippines and in a couple of local schools and churches for several years and is easily identifiable by his thick curly white hair and full white beard.