{{Short description|American radio personality (1946-2011)}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Tom Keith | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Tom Keith Prairie Home Companion.JPG | image_size = | alt = | caption = Keith during a live performance of ''A Prairie Home Companion'' in 2007 | birth_name = Thomas Alan Keith<ref name=NYTObit>{{cite news| last=Slotnik| first=Daniel E.| title=Tom Keith, Creator of Radio Soundscapes, Dies at 64| newspaper=The New York Times| date=November 2, 2011| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/arts/tom-keith-creator-of-radio-soundscapes-dies-at-64.html}}</ref> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1946|12|21}} | birth_place = St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|10|30|1946|12|21}} | death_place = Woodbury, Minnesota, U.S. | resting_place = Acacia Park Cemetery, Mendota Heights, Minnesota, U.S. | alma_mater = University of Minnesota | occupation = radio personality | years_active = 1973–2011 | employer = Minnesota Public Radio | known_for = Sound effects | spouse = Ri Wei Liu-Keith }}
'''Thomas Alan Keith''' (December 21, 1946 – October 30, 2011) was an American radio sound effects artist and performer best known for his work on the nationally syndicated public radio program ''A Prairie Home Companion.'' Over a career of more than three decades, Keith created live sound effects and occasional character voices for the show, contributing to its distinctive audio style and storytelling.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-11-02 |title=Tom Keith, Creator of Radio Soundscapes, Dies at 64 (Published 2011) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/arts/tom-keith-creator-of-radio-soundscapes-dies-at-64.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250305050058/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/arts/tom-keith-creator-of-radio-soundscapes-dies-at-64.html |archive-date=2025-03-05 |access-date=2025-12-20 |language=en}}</ref>
In addition to his work with ''A Prairie Home Companion'', Keith performed and produced radio and audio projects in the Twin Cities area and collaborated with other public radio productions. He was widely regarded within public radio for his technical skill and creative use of sound effects.<ref name="obituary">{{cite news| url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/10/31/tom-keith-obit| title=Prairie Home Companion sound effects man Tom Keith remembered| first1=Euan| last1=Kerr| author2=Elizabeth Dunbar| date=October 31, 2011| work=Minnesota Public Radio News}}</ref>
==Death== Keith died October 30, 2011, at his home due to a heart attack.<ref name="obituary"/><ref name=StarTribuneObit>{{cite news |title=Thomas Alan 'Tom' Keith |work=Star Tribune |location=Minneapolis |date=November 1, 2011 |url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/celebrities/132931758.html |accessdate=November 2, 2011 |author1=Walsh, Paul |author2=Miller, Pamela |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102162841/http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/celebrities/132931758.html |archivedate=November 2, 2011 }}</ref>
In 2012, A Prairie Home Companion released ''Tom Keith - Sound Effects Man'', a CD collecting eleven of his featured performances from the live radio show.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tom Keith – Sound Effects Man (2012, CD) |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/3626628-Tom-Keith-Sound-Effects-Man |website=Discogs |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref>
== See also == * {{Portal-inline|Biography}}
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Tom}} Category:1946 births Category:2011 deaths Category:American Public Media people Category:Minnesota Public Radio people Category:Animal impersonators Category:Sound effects artists Category:Mass media people from Saint Paul, Minnesota Category:United States Marines Category:University of Minnesota alumni