Austin, Keith, 1944-2023

Keith Austin was born in Santa Barbara, California on May 11, 1944. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947 to live with his grandparents on the Rocking Horse Ranch. At the age of 13, he fell in love with rock n' roll after attending Elvis Presley's press conference at the Frontier Hotel.

Austin graduated from Las Vegas High School and opened Teenbeat Club with fellow graduate and friend, Steve Miller. The two were both members of the Las Vegas High School Broadcasting Club. The pair hosted a weekly television show, "Teenbeat Weekly" where they interviewed entertainers like Bobby Darin, Grateful Dead, and many more. He went on to work at KLAS-TV Channel 8, where he interviewed entertainers who came to Las Vegas to perform, like Sammy Davis Jr.

At 18, he married Gail Marx and had two children, Kenneth and Deborah. Gail and Keith later divorced. Keith relocated back to Southern California in 1970s, first to Los Angeles and later Santa Barbara area. Keith met and married his second wife, Linda, and together had two children, Grace and Julia. The family moved to Montecito, California in 1985.

After officially retiring, he eventually went back to work as the executive producer and host of "Rock Files", a weekly radio program for KYTP in Santa Barbara. Austin passed away September 23, 2023 in Santa Barbara, California.

Source:

"The Lifetime of Keith Austin" video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2f2JtZKvvI