Under the then-extant rules, Keach should have been awarded Best Actor honors from the New York Film Critics Circle for his portrayal of Tully in Fat City (1972), as it required only a plurality of the vote and Keach was the top vote-getter in the category. At the time, the NYCC was second in prestige only to the Academy Awards (and some actors and filmmakers considered it a superior honor) and was a major influence on subsequent Oscar nominations. (In the 1976 presidential election year, director Robert Altman characterized the NYFCC Awards as the 'New York primary' leading up to the Oscar 'election,' where the Golden Globes was the 'California primary.') A vocal faction of the NYFCC, dismayed by the rather low percentage of votes that would have given Keach the award, successfully demanded a rule change so that the winner would have to obtain a majority. In subsequent balloting, Keach failed to win a majority of the vote, and he lost ground to his main rival, Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972). However, Brando could not gain a majority either, and a compromise candidate, Laurence Olivier in Sleuth
Was born with a cleft palate. He had it repaired and the scar is on his lip under the right nostril. He hides the scar with his trademark mustache.
Was cast as Ken Titus on "Titus" (2000) when, after his audition, Christopher Titus admitted that Keach intimidated him.
Was nominated for Broadway's 1970 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for playing William F. Cody, aka Buffalo Bill, in Arthur Kopit's "Indians."
When he played Ken Titus on the sitcom "Titus" (2000), he would sometimes receive tips from the actual Ken Titus (before he passed away), on how to portray him better.