Keene Curtis (February 15, 1923 – October 13, 2002) was an American character actor. Curtis was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Polley Francella (née Holbrook), a teacher, and Ira Charles Curtis, a railway and civil service employee. Curtis made his film debut in the 1948 Orson Welles adaptation of Macbeth. Additional film credits included American Hot Wax, Rabbit Test, The Buddy System, I.Q., Heaven Can Wait, Sliver, and Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish. Keene Curtis’ theatrical career began in 1955 as a Broadway stage manager. His first appearance as a performer was in a 1965 revival of You Can’t Take It with You. In 1971, he was awarded the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Rothschilds. Additional Broadway credits included The Cherry Orchard, A Patriot for Me, Via Galactica, Annie, and La Cage aux Folles. He received an Obie Award nomination for his role as Bradley in the A. R. Gurney play, The Cocktail Hour. For the animated series SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, he voiced the character the Pastmaster. He also provided the voice of Grand Moff Tarkin for the first Star Wars radio drama, but may have been best known for voicing “Lord Balthazar” of The Smurfs from 1981-89. He has also done voice talents for other cartoon shows including The Little Mermaid, The Dukes, The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures, Trollkins, The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda, The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible, Denver, the Last Dinosaur, The Snorks, The Jetsons, Space Stars, Adventures from the Book of Virtues, The Herculoids, Fantastic Max, Paddington Bear, The Centurions, Kissyfur, Mother Goose and Grimm, The Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats and Bonkers. Keene Curtis died from complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a Bountiful, Utah nursing home, aged 79, and was buried there at Bountiful Memorial Park.