Robert Keeley

Robert Keeley is the name of:

See also

Robert Keeley (comedian)

Robert Keeley (1793 – 3 February 1869) was an English actor-manager, comedian and female impersonator of the nineteenth century. In 1823 he originated the role of 'Fritz' in Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, a stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein.

Early life

Robert Keeley was born in London as one of sixteen children, his father being a watchmaker. Keeley was an apprentice printer to Hansard, but dissatisfied with this career he joined a travelling acting company. He was at the Richmond Theatre in 1813 before moving to Norwich for four years and then to the West London Theatre.

He made his professional London debut at the Olympic Theatre in 1818 as Leporello in Don Giovanni in London, based on Mozart's opera. In 1819 Keeley appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and played the original Jemmy Green in Tom and Jerry, or Life in London by William Thomas Moncrieff at the Adelphi Theatre during 1821–2. At the end of 1821 Keeley appeared at Sadler's Wells Theatre under Daniel Egerton, and in April 1822 he played Jerry in Pierce Egan's Life in London.

Keeley Electronics

Keeley Electronics is an American manufacturer of effect units for electric guitars. The company, founded by Robert Keeley and operating from Edmond, Oklahoma, also sells modifications for effects by Boss and Ibanez.

History

After graduating in electrical engineering from the University of Oklahoma, Robert Keeley started his company from his home in Oklahoma City in 2001. He initially hoped to build guitar amplifiers (he tweaked his father's Peavey Deuce), but found the market "highly saturated and becoming more so every day". Instead, while teaching at a small technical college and employing "some of his best students", he rebuilt and modified old effects units, starting with a Ross compressor. The industry for makers of hand-built effects at the time had few major players (Keeley named Mike Piera of Analog Man and Mike Fuller from Fulltone as his only competitors), and his business soon took off, aided by a reputation for quality and customers such as Brad Paisley. Rebuilt versions of the Ibanez TS9 were used by Peter Frampton, Jon Herington and Ike Willis; Keeley said he got his ideas for improving and tweaking existing effect pedals by reading commentary on various forums for guitar players. Since then, he develops his own pedals, starting with a boost pedal; his most popular effect is a compressor (first built in 2001), selling more than 27,000 copies.