Keene Curtis

Tony Award-winning actor Keene Curtis, who played Daddy Warbucks in " Annie " on Broadway and was the upstairs restaurant owner on the TV show " Cheers, " has died. He was 79.

Mr. Curtis died Oct. 13 from complications of Alzheimer ' s disease at a retirement center in Bountiful, Utah.

He won the Tony Award in 1971 as best featured actor in a musical for playing four diverse characters, each with a different accent, in " The Rothschilds. "

Mr. Curtis also won a Drama-Logue Award for his role in " Annie, " which he played on Broadway, in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He also co-starred in the national company of " La Cage aux Folles " for two years.

Among his other Broadway credits are " A Patriot for Me, " " Division Street, " " Night Watch " and " Via Galactica. "

On television, he played the snippy restaurant owner John Allen Hill on " Cheers " and had appearances on " M*A*S*H, " " Touched by an Angel, " " Caroline in the City " and " ER. "

He also appeared in a number of movies, including " Heaven Can Wait, " " American Hot Wax " and " Richie Rich ' s Christmas Wish. "

Born in Salt Lake City in 1923, Mr. Curtis grew up in Bountiful, where he made his own stage out of cardboard boxes and put on shows for the neighborhood.

He was a student actor and cheerleader at the University of Utah and spent three years in the Navy before he was discovered in 1947 by Orson Welles, who cast him as Lennox in Shakespeare ' s " Macbeth. "

After winning his Tony Award, he donated it and 48 boxes of theater memorabilia to the University of Utah. He also endowed a scholarship there to help graduates of the school ' s Actor Training Program start their careers.

Mr. Curtis is survived by his sister-in-law, nieces and nephews.