{{Short description|British actor, crime historian and writer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person |name = Keith Skinner |caption = Keith Skinner speaking at the Trial of James Maybrick conference |birth_date = {{birth year and age|1949}}<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0804275/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm IMDb]</ref> |birth_place = England, UK |occupation = Former actor, currently historian and author |years_active = 1966–present }}
'''Keith Skinner''' (born 1949) is a British actor, crime historian and author.
==Acting career== He worked as an actor in cinema and television. His career began when he starred as Bruno in the 1966 film ''Mademoiselle''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17208/mademoiselle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608093646/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17208/Mademoiselle/|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 June 2013|title = Mademoiselle}}</ref> In 1968, he was cast in Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of ''Romeo and Juliet'' as Balthasar, Romeo's manservant and trusted friend.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/452861/romeo-and-juliet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104023452/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/452861/Romeo-and-Juliet/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 November 2014|title = Romeo and Juliet}}</ref> He appears at various stages in the film including galloping on horseback to tell Romeo (played by Leonard Whiting) of Juliet's "death" and accompanies Romeo back to Verona again on horseback towards the end of the film.
Skinner starred in one episode of ''The Jazz Age'' in 1968. He played Harry Lampton in five episodes of the early seventies' TV series ''Man at the Top'' and appeared in three episodes of ''Z-Cars'' from 1969 to 1972. He went on to appear in an episode of ''Play for Today'', one episode of ''Out of the Unknown'' in 1971, two episodes of ''So it Goes'' in 1973 and two episodes of ''Beryl's Lot'' (1973-1976). In 1976 he appeared in the British musical ''The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/90508/the-slipper-and-the-rose|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201122953/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/90508/the-slipper-and-the-rose|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 December 2020|title = The Slipper and the Rose}}</ref> In 1977, Skinner worked again with Zeffirelli when he played the possessed boy in the TV miniseries ''Jesus of Nazareth''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/420341/jesus-of-nazareth-do-not-use|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029051728/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/420341/jesus-of-nazareth-do-not-use|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 October 2020|title = Jesus of Nazareth (Do Not Use)}}</ref> In 1980, he starred in Frank Loesser's musical ''Guys and Dolls''. In 1985, Skinner appeared in an episode of ''Doctor Who''.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/66114/Keith-Skinner/filmography | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027123930/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/66114/Keith-Skinner/filmography | url-status=dead | archive-date=2014-10-27 | work=The New York Times | date=2014 | title=Movies}}</ref>
==Career as crime historian and author== From an early age, Skinner developed an interest in the history of Jack the Ripper. As an adult, he started researching his own family history and undertook more thorough research on the Ripper as well. From there, he moved on to the history of the Metropolitan Police and he is now an established crime historian and author.
In 2001, he worked on the film ''From Hell'' as an historical consultant.<ref name=ksf>{{Cite web | title=Keith Skinner – Filmography | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/178820%7C93208/Keith-Skinner#overview | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021053549/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/178820%7C93208/Keith-Skinner/#overview | url-status=dead | archive-date=21 October 2012 | access-date=2024-12-27 | website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> He also worked as a historical researcher and consultant for the documentaries ''The Hunt'' (2001)<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/tv/show/50457/Hunt/overview | title=Television| newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and ''Hunt For Jack the Ripper'' (2001).<ref name=ksf/><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/tv/show/50461/Hunt-For-Jack-the-Ripper/overview | title=Television| newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
He has also co-authored a number of historical books: *''The Ripper Legacy: Life and Death of Jack the Ripper'' by Martin Howells and Keith Skinner (1987) *''Peasenhall Murder'' by Martin Fido and Keith Skinner (1990) *''Scotland Yard Files: 150 Years of the CID'', 1842-1992 by Paul Begg and Keith Skinner (1992) *''The Jack the Ripper A-Z'' by Paul Begg, Martin Fido and Keith Skinner (1992, 1996) *''The Jack the Ripper Whitechapel Murders'' by Keith Skinner and Kevin O'Donnell (1997) *''The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard'' by Martin Fido and Keith Skinner (1999) *''The Last Victim: Extraordinary Life of Florence Maybrick, the Only Woman to Survive Jack the Ripper'' by Keith Skinner, Anne E. Graham and Carol Emmas (1999) *''The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion'' by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner (2000) *''The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook: An Illustrated Encyclopedia'' by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner (2002) *''Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Murders'' (Document Pack) by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner (2002) *''The Ripper Diary'' by Seth Linder, Caroline Morris and Keith Skinner (2003) *''The Scotland Yard Files: Milestones in Crime Detection'' by Keith Skinner and Alan Moss (31 Aug 2006) *''The Complete Jack the Ripper A-Z'' by Paul Begg, Martin Fido and Keith Skinner (2010) *''Jack the Ripper: Letters from Hell'' by Stewart P Evans and Keith Skinner (2002, 2004, 2013) *''The Victorian Detective (Shire Library)'' by Alan Moss and Keith Skinner (2013) *''The Crime Museum Casebook: An Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard's Investigations'' by Alan Moss and Keith Skinner (2016)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0804275|name=Keith Skinner}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Keith}} Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century British male actors Category:British writers Category:British male television actors Category:British male film actors Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:British non-fiction crime writers Category:Historians of Jack the Ripper