Keith Roger Austin: May 11, 1944 – September 22, 2023

Keith Roger Austin, beloved father and grandfather, entrepreneur, traveler, lover of life, and rock ‘n’ roller, passed away on September 22, 2023, at the age of 79, after a short battle with cancer. Keith, still working in his studio, listening to vinyl records and was on air with his radio show The Rock Files, doing what he loved right up to the very end. 

Keith was born in Santa Monica, California, May 11, 1944, to Nathaniel and Lynn (Bernice) Austin. And at the age of three, he moved to Las Vegas, where he was raised by his grandparents, Pearl and Paul Taddy, on The Rocking Horse Ranch. The ranch wasn’t the most traditional childhood, but it shaped him into the creative man he would later become. He spent his younger days riding horses, watching atomic bomb tests in the desert, and sitting on the bar, while Grandpa Paul poured whiskey, and Grandma Pearl took orders in their ranch saloon. This was long before the Vegas strip grew into what it is today, and the area was still mostly desert. Grandpa Paul even had to build a one-room schoolhouse just so Keith could attend first grade. He fondly remembered his childhood as living in the “wild, wild west.” 

Keith’s ambition and independence started from a young age, and at the age of 13 Keith wandered into a press conference for Elvis Presley at the Frontier Hotel in Vegas. In his own words “that was when my love affair with rock and roll first began.” He got to shake hands with Elvis that day and from then on felt, lived, and loved everything rock and roll. Shortly after that fateful meeting, Keith persistently knocked on the door of the local Keno radio station, agreeing to do various tasks until they finally gave him his own weekly radio show at the age of only 14. 

It was during these early years that Keith met his best friend, Steve Miller, in Las Vegas High’s broadcasting club. Steve and Keith would soon become business partners. And in 1963, they’d open the first teenage nightclub in the United States, The Teenbeat Club, on Paradise Road. It was here that Keith and Steve hosted a weekly TV show featuring live bands called Teenbeat Las Vegas. Keith hosted countless artists on the show, including the Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, Bobby Darin, the Checkmates, and many more. The club was such a huge success, that in 2012, Keith and Steve Miller were inducted into the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And Keith and Steve remained close friends until Keith’s final days.

In 1968, Keith closed the chapter of his life as a nightclub owner to go into entertainment. He started working as a local weatherman and then as a tv personality, hosting and producing a talk show called Tonight in Las Vegas where he interviewed many of the big stars playing the Vegas strip, from the likes of Little Richard and Sammy Davis Jr. 

While starting businesses and breaking into entertainment, Keith married Gail Marks and became a father at the young age of 18. They had two children together, Deborah and Kenneth. And even though this marriage ended in divorce after only seven years, it gave him two wonderful children, who he loved very much. 

Around 1970 he decided it was finally time to leave Vegas for the bright lights of Hollywood. He planned to sell his talk show to the tv stations in L.A., unfortunately he didn’t have much success in that particular venture which left him with a lot of very expensive video tape. And that is when the Video Tape company was born. Keith knew he could erase and recycle video tape and re-sell blank, used tape to the networks. Legend has it he actually rummaged through the trash cans of ABC to find used tape in those early days to refurbish! The company was such a success, he went on to start several more of its kind, employing hundreds of people over several decades.

In the early 1980s, Keith met Linda Bisicky in Cannes, France, during a Broadcasting Convention. They would soon marry and have two children together, Grace and Julia. Keith and Linda moved to Montecito in 1985, wanting to raise their family in a quieter, safe community. For the next 20 years, Linda and Keith raised beautiful children, traveled the world as a family, and made many happy memories together. 

Keith retired when Grace was born, but quickly went back to radio, creating and producing The Rock Files for KTYD Santa Barbara. This gave him a chance to re-visit and renew his love of 1960s rock ‘n’ roll on his weekly radio show that he produced from his home studio in Montecito. 

If you knew Keith, you know he never really slowed down. Even in his later years he always kept busy with his lending businesses, real estate ventures, and radio. However, in his own words, “his favorite title was always being called dad.” He also became a grandfather and even great-grandfather several times. 

Keith was always curious and passionate about life, he had so many interests – ranging from astronomy, to history, skiing, photography, coin collecting, travel, film, and of course, rock ‘n’ roll. He could have a conversation on almost any topic, and he could do it well. He was also a great mentor, and always got along well with younger people, even in his older age. He was an inspiring entrepreneur for many he crossed paths with throughout his life. He told the best, most vibrant stories and he was a wealth of knowledge – he would light up when asked about his Vegas days and there would always be a new story each time, probably even a few he took with him. If you knew Keith, his life always held a little bit of mystery. He was a very charming man; he could sell anyone on almost anything! 

Keith will be remembered for his charisma, enthusiasm for life, creativity, ingenuity, and fearlessness. People often describe him as “unique, one-of-a kind, and a true character!” And that he was, he lived his life at full speed, never slowing down until the very end. To say his life was an adventure would be an understatement. 

Keith spent almost 40 years living in Santa Barbara, in his final two years, Keith retired to West Palm Beach, Florida, which was his final residence.

Keith is survived by his son, Kenneth Austin, daughters Grace Austin and Julia Taravella, and grandchildren Ryan, Kayla, and Hannah.

A private memorial service was held in Santa Barbara for close friends and family.