​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Jackson Keighley  (August 4, 1889, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - June 24, 1984, New York, New York) was an American stage actor and Hollywood film director. After graduating from the Ludlum School of Dramatic Art, Keighley began acting at the age of 23. By the 1910s and 1920s, he was acting and directing on Broadway. With the advent of talking pictures, he relocated to Hollywood. He eventually signed with Warner Bros., where he proved adept at dir ...