Daniel O'Keefe (writer)

Daniel O'Keefe
Born	(1928-02-25)February 25, 1928 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	August 29, 2012(2012-08-29) (aged 84) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University (BA, MA) New School for Social Research (PhD)
Subject	social science
Notable works	Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic Festivus
Spouse	Deborah O'Keefe
Children	Dan O'Keefe Laurence O'Keefe Mark O'Keefe

Daniel Lawrence O'Keefe (February 25, 1928 – August 29, 2012) was an American writer. He was an editor at Reader's Digest for more than 30 years, where he worked with a wide range of writers.^[1]

He is known for creating Festivus, an annual secular holiday celebrated on December 23; it became more widely known after his eldest son, Dan O'Keefe, featured it in a December 1997 episode of the sitcom Seinfeld.^[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, O'Keefe received a B.A. from Columbia in 1949, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a PhD. from the New School for Social Research. At Columbia, he was national president of Junior Achievement.^[2]

He was personally recruited for work by DeWitt Wallace, founder of Reader's Digest.^[2] O'Keefe became an editor there, serving for over thirty years. He worked with freelancers such as Ray Bradbury and Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz, who lived and worked for decades in California.

Writing[edit]

O'Keefe published the book Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic in 1982.^[3] A Los Angeles Times book review called this book "a spectacular synthesis of sociology, anthropology, and psychoanalysis... a tour de force of accessible scholarship".^[4] The New York Times Book Review said it is "a powerful explication of how deeply magic is embedded in society."^[3] Commonweal classified it as "a potential classic".^[5]

Festivus[edit]

O'Keefe founded Festivus in 1966 to commemorate his first date with his wife Deborah, three years earlier. Later their son Dan O'Keefe became a writer and worked on the Seinfeld television series. During the 1997–1998 season, he introduced Festivus to the rest of us in a Seinfeld episode named "The Strike".

Personal life[edit]

Daniel and Deborah O'Keefe married in 1963. She is a writer, publishing numerous magazine articles, as well as the books Good Girl Messages and Readers in Wonderland, works of literary criticism. The couple had three sons, each of whom became a writer and or composer/lyricist: Dan O'Keefe, Laurence O'Keefe, and Mark O'Keefe.^{[citation needed]}

• Dan is a television writer. In addition to Seinfeld, he has written for Silicon Valley, The Drew Carey Show, The League, Veep, and other shows. In 2005, he published a book, The Real Festivus.^[6]
• Laurence is a composer, lyricist, and book-writer of musicals, including Batboy and Heathers. He collaborated on the Broadway show Legally Blonde with his wife, Nell Benjamin.
• Mark (aka Markham) has written for television, specifically the David Letterman and Bill Maher series, and for sitcoms including Newsradio and a show he created, The O'Keefes. He also collaborated with Steven Koren on screenplays for Bruce Almighty and Click.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Daniel O'Keefe's sons

• Dan O'Keefe profile, Internet Movie Database website
• Laurence O'Keefe profile, Internet Movie Database website
• Mark O'Keefe profile, Internet Movie Database website