Sun Kim remembers Keith

"I have never worked with someone who I enjoyed seeing everyday. He always saw the light of things and tried not to stress the team out on projects.

"One particular story that I will always cherish is when we both interviewed this recent graduate student for a junior position. The interviewee was a young guy who had this fabulous printed book and had no web experience. Keith asked him what he wanted to do in the design industry. The young guy was unsure. Then Keith pretty much laid out two choices: it was either print or the web. The way Keith explained it to him was hilarious yet very fatherly. The young guy had to make a choice if he wanted to work at razorfish and he wouldn't be able to do both. Needless to say, the next day and week thereafter, the young guy kept calling Keith saying that he wanted to do web. But because he called too much, it scared both of us off so we didn't hire him.

"Another one was when we teased him for getting Susan medical books for Christmas. We (meaning the design group) told him that he had to get more than books for her if he wanted to be romantic.

"These moments and so many others will always bring a smile when I think of him.

"He is one of the rare people I'll ever meet who was carefree, smart, grounded and who wore red tennis shoes and who was great at word games."

- Sun Kim

An Article about Keith in the SPLC Report

September's issue of the Southern Poverty Law Center Report features an article about Keith. Keith and Imagistic did great work for the SPLC, and they are a very worthy organization who deserves our support.

How to help your younger brother

Peter sends this photo and story of he and Keith in Colorado:

Here is a picture of Keith and I after skiing A-basin in Colorado a few years ago.

Keith was not an avid skier but he certainly impressed my friends, he was keeping up with most of them. The thing I remember most was that I had never gotten vertigo on a chair lift but A-basin had one lift heading up to the bowl at 12,000 feet that sat just two and did not have a bar that came down for safety. Half way up the drop under us was about 150 feet and Keith noticed I was hugging the pole on the chair pretty tight. At this pint his big brother instincts kinked in: "Dude it looks like you're about to fall, is your ass sliding off the chair, hold on tight man."

By now I felt like my body was made of Teflon and I was griping with my butt cheeks as hard as I could and sweating like a pig (it was freezing!) When Keith realized the true scope of my discomfort he started to swing his weight moving the chair side to side. I tried to punch him in the arm but could not bring myself to loosen my grip. He egged me on. "You want to hit me but you have to let go to do it!"

Then the lift stopped.

I though that was the end of me, the sliding feeling was incredible and he kept up the assault. When we finally reached the top knowing I was a much more experienced skier, I knocked him on his butt and took off over a steep cornice. Keith did not realize I was heading down a double diamond and followed. When I got to the bottom of the chute, I looked back up at him shaking his head sliding down on his rear and laughed my ass off.

He did get up and ski it slowly which was impressive. Not many people can get down that kind of terrain without giving up taking off their skis and trying another way.

Keith was an athlete all the way; he never liked it when his little brother beat him.

The picture was taken at the continental divide, A-Basin's bowl is in the background.

Memories from Jack Kelleher

Jack Kelleher, one of Keith's oldest, closest friends, sends us these memories of Keith (thanks, Jack!):

Some random memories about my friend Keith…

Keith had been working outside at his cart outside of Faneuil Hall for the summer and he was always wearing sandals. Because of this, when he took his sandals off he had a really weird tan on the tops of his feet – like stripes. It was great for a laugh. He could have fixed it pretty easily. But again, it was good for a laugh so he kept the stripes going.

Keith got me into mountain biking and he was always up for any sort of ride. One time a group of us went up to Loon Mt. in NH during the summer to check out the trails. It was fun but not all that challenging. You just had to remember not to put your front break on as you screamed down the slopes at 50 mph. Later that day we discovered a single track going down the other side of the mountain. It was more technical with thicker brush and lots of mud so we spread out on the trail.

Towards the end there were some steep downhills and up ahead I could here the other guys in our group yelling as I approached. At the end of one of the hills, not visible until you were right on top of it, was a 5 foot deep ditch filled with muddy water. Splat! I went in - as each of the others had before me. We were now completely soaked and covered in mud. It was hilarious.

So now we were all just sitting there, covered in mud, waiting for the muddy trail’s next victim (Keith) to come around the bend. We’re laughing as we heard his bike get closer. Splat! He went in - but instead of just stopping (always the athlete) he tried to peddle his way through. It was a good try but he lost his balance, fell sideways and went completely under water in this huge muddy ditch. We knew what he was in for but this was way more than expected. It was hilarious.

One time Keith and I drove to the NJ shore where some of his friends from college had rented a house for the summer. There was a bunch of us in the car and it took like 8 hours to get there. The next morning we’re all going out to breakfast and Keith’s car would not go over 25 mph. Keith says: “It’s Ok - I think the car is just tired.”

By the spring of our senior year of High School everyone knew where they were going to college and sort of looked upon that last part of our public school education as just a formality. Keith and I were in the same Psychology class right after lunch and we would always be hoping for a film strip (remember those?) so that we could put our heads down on our desks and sleep. When the teacher felt that there was a particularly significant film strip being presented and that we should be taking notes, she would alert us by saying: “Keith and Jack, please stay awake for this one.”

When we were teenagers the cool thing to do was sneak into a certain private yard by the ocean and climb up this huge cliff and jump off. It was, and still is, a BIG drop. We saw it called “Dread Ledge” one time on a map but everyone called it HMF (the HM stands for huge mother).The summer before he moved to L.A. we were hanging out and he talked me into jumping off HMF again. We were both 30 years old.

I had been living in Salem MA and decided that I wanted to move into Boston. I called my landlord and gave him my 30 day notice. I didn’t have anything lined up so I bought the Boston newspapers and was just about to start looking when the phone rang. It was Keith calling to tell me about an apartment in the North End that was available. I moved into that apartment the next month.

Tennis

Keith started playing tennis later on, and like most of the sports he tried his hand at, he soon excelled. On this day in MA, the pavement was really hot, and yours truly decided to play without shoes for about 5 minutes, after which point my feet were blistered from toe to heel. Keith just thought this was about the funniest thing. "Man, what's the matter with you? Why would you do that....snicker, snicker, snicker."

Peter was a formidable match for Keith, and I know on some level this ticked Keith off, because he considered himself finesse, and when Peter would score against him, you could tell he was ticked. "Dude, you can't hit the ball like that!" But Peter would just smile and laugh.

Keithster

I invited Keith to join Friendster in March of 2004. For those of you unfamiliar with Friendster, it's basically a social networking site. Keith reluctantly joined, and hardly ever visited the site, as far as I can tell. Still, he did create a profile.

He posted as his primary picture the old lady he and I shot at the World Trade Center site (you can see that picture here, too). He also posted the picture above...typical Keith, taking a picture of himself with his own camera. That sly smile, up to mischief.

On his profile, he wrote some telling things. I've copied a few entries here; I think it's interesting, because it's how Keith saw himself:

Schools:
umass, amherst

Occupation:
designing a better world

Hobbies and Interests:
tennis, art (looking at it and making it), movies, music, travel, hangin' with my peeps, eating at great restaurants, having fun

Favorite Books:
recently... hollywood animal (joe estrhaus' memoir), aloft by Chang-Rae Lee

Favorite Movies:
super size me

Favorite Music:
kcrw playlist, miles, coltrane, getz, brazilian samba, pixies, coldplay, radiohead, steel pulse, robyn hitchcock, nick cave, tom waits, talking heads, blue nile, everything but the girl, erika badu, style council...

Favorite TV Shows:
24, sopranos, that 70's show, simpsons, survivor

About Me:
honest, smart, confident, creative, happy, athletic, someone you can count on. people tell me i'm pretty laid back and i play well with others.

Keith's Photography

This photo is on Keith's Web site. He was such a talented guy, as even the simplest of his photographs attests.

Napoleon Sleeps

A little movie sent to us from David Tonneson. Apparently, it was one of Keith's very first little movies, where he was teaching himself animation. (You'll need Apple's Quicktime Player to view the movie.)

Keith and Lisa

Lisa sent the following:

Here is "a photo of me and Keith from (gulp) about 9 or 10 years ago. It was about a year after he and Josie moved to LA and my friend Monica and I went out to visit with them for a few days. This picture was taken at the San Diego zoo, probably somewhere near the monkey house. You probably know this already, Keith loved watching the monkeys. He used to say he liked watching them because they just didn't care who was watching them they just go on with their business, whatever that may be... a guy thing of course..."

One of Keith's Holiday Cards

Lisa sent one of the holiday cards Keith drew and, of course, it features Napoleon!

Keith, Peter, and Lisa

From Peter:

Keith loved his three piece suit and razzed me often when we had to get dressed up for temple about how cool his suit was compared to mine. As you can also see Keith was physically a tall kid for his age, he was about 14 in this photo. I think in sixth grade he was the biggest kid in his class at 5'8 and well filled out. This was one of the reasons he was a tremendous athlete through little league and then into high school sports. Fortunately for Keith by the time everyone caught up and many got bigger, his interest in organized sports compared to art was waning. I certainly had much to look up to in my younger years. Because I played the same sports as Keith, the coaches and everyone else referred to me as Keith's little brother.

Keith, Peter, and their Grandmother

From Peter:

I think Keith was about 16 in this photo. Our Grandmother was dear to both of us. Keith got a job in the nursing home she lived in as a cook. I think he did it to be close to her. My grandmother was an important part of both of our lives.

Keith, Peter, and Napoleon

From Peter:

This was taken at the Griffith park observatory. Keith and I played tennis earlier that day and then took Napoleon to one of his favorite dog parks. So much of his life revolved around his little guy. As usual Napoleon would only give his back side for a group photo. He liked to be the center of attention, that is why there are so many solo shots of him. He loved the dog more than I thought possible considering the temperament but in his last days Napoleon stayed with me. I was glad Keith did not have to see him in his last moments and had visited a month prior when the little guy was still looking good.

Keith Relaxing

From Peter:

Alex gave me this photo he had taken of Keith. I held it through the services and at the cemetery. When I look at it I feel like he is ready to listen to whatever I have to say. I have it in a special place where I spend a few minutes a day talking to him. Alex and Keith were as close as brothers. He cherished all of his friends greatly and was always happy to include his little brother in their activities. Thank you so much Alex, this is one of my favorite photos.

Keith and Peter

From Peter:

I believe this was the second place Josie and Keith lived before buying a house. It was a great apartment in Beverly Hills but the neighbors upstairs were very loud. Keith would call me often to say "dude I can hear them fooling around above us like they are in the same room, and she is loud." When I was visiting he and I spent sometime deciding how to confront them. Ultimately they moved and bought a beautiful home in the hills.

Keith on the Beach

From Peter Freedman:

Keith and I were beach kids growing up. Whenever the weather was right we would go boogy boarding or body surfing in Malibu. Back home when he was on summer vacation from college he was a lifeguard for a few summers. Keith was a great swimmer and loved to play in the water. Sometimes we went down to Manhattan beach to catch some good waves and hang out, we always had a lot of fun.

Toad Hall

This was a pic I took of Keith at Toad Hall in SoHo. I think he was screwing around with his mobile phone. It was midday; we were having beers and trying to stay out of the heat.

Photo Credit

Keith and I were down by Ground Zero in NY having lunch at this outdoor cafe. I pointed out this crazily-dressed older woman. We worked in tandem, using Keith's camera, to distract her and at the same time get a candid pic. We joked about who should get photo credit.

Keith loved this photo so much, he used it on his friendster profile, even though I think the only reason he ever set up that profile was because I invited him to my friendster network (I think he added to his profile once, then abandoned it).

(Unrelated aside: I think it's interesting that on his friendster profile, Keith listed his occupation as "designing a better world.")

"Okay, whatever, just step back a bit"

This summer, Keith and I were walking around NY, going to galleries, art stores, and bars.

Walking through SoHo, we saw one of those semi-cheesy street photographers who shoot your picture with a polaroid, then do a rough-development process right there on the street.

I said that we should get a picture taken. Keith said, "what, you're going to pay $15 for a polaroid? Don't you live here? We'll look like tourists."

I said, "Whatever, let's just do it." So there we were on Prince Street, and I try to get close to Keith so we're both in frame. He slowly moves to the right. I move to the right. He says, "Dude, why are you so close to me?" I said, "What are you afraid of? We're just a happy couple out for a day on the town."

"Okay, whatever, just step back a bit."

I just pushed right up next to him, and the photographer took our picture.

This is the last picture I have of us hanging out together. Well worth the $15.

Photography

Keith was a talented photographer. He took this photo of a caterpillar in his yard one day. I always thought the lighting and composition were strange and beautiful. He loved digital photography, often just snapping something he thought he might use in a design project at some point in the future.

Keith & Avenue A | Razorfish

How can you forget his laugh? It was such a pleasure working with an easy-going guy such as Keith. When I was having a bad day, he always had a way of making me laugh.

He interviewed most of us - if not all of us - from the Creative Team. Upon my first interview with him, I remembered thinking that he was the first laid back Creative Director that interviewed me in such a long time. We had many laughs during the interview process. I knew that if he laughed at my corny and poorly delivered jokes, we would work together well.

The office will not be the same without him there to bully us around for our "offerings" - a.k.a: snacks and candy - which in the end we willingly gave to him. Last and not least, I've learned so much from him and will never forget his advice throughout the duration of my career.

Keith as Little League Champ

Peter tells me that Keith was the starting pitcher for Swampscott Little League in 1978. They almost went to the Little League World Series on his left arm. He also played first base. Apparently he was quite the baseball player (Keith's friends Rob and Jack recently told me that Keith was the best stickball player in MA!)

Here is the Summary (or you can read more here):

In perhaps the most exciting Massachusetts state tournament ever played, Keith Freedman's bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning scored Paul Moran and gave a resilient Swampscott team its first ever state title.

Swampscott had fallen behind Taunton West by a 5-0 margin (pitcher John Ghenses' two-run homer in the first was the key blow), but the North Shore team responded with four in the third. With Taunton West still leading 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Swampscott again rallied. Jamie Murphy singled and scored on Timmy Hyde's double to tie the score. Hyde was later picked off second, but Swampscott loaded the bases before Freedman delivered his game-winning hit.

In a wild semifinal win over Medford North, Swampscott scored four, four, and three runs in the first three innings to race to an 11-0 lead. Medford North responded by sending 17 batters to the plate and scoring 12 runs in the third inning to take the lead. Swampscott (17 hits on the game) kept pounding away. The Baby Blue scored five in the fourth to take a 16-12 lead. Jamie Murphy had a key RBI double to tie the game, and third baseman Paul Moran (who went 5-for-5) doubled in two more. Medford cut the Swampscott lead to two, but could come no closer. Medford North had two runners on base and the potential winning run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning when Swampsoctt relief pitcher Kyle Mueller registered a game-ending strikeout to put his team in the finals.

Brothers

The summer before last, Keith, Peter, and I hung out in Salem, and had a lot of laughs and good times.

I took this pic of them one night out on the town. Being around the two of them, you can just tell how close they are: friends as much as brothers. Competitive, poking fun at one another, but laughing all the time.

Napoleon

There was absolutely no way to know Keith without knowing Napoleon. He worked his way into Keith's work, his animations, even his commercial projects. He was the feisty, barking counterpart to Keith's easy-going, laid back persona.

One day, after helping Keith move, he rewarded me with a delicious Italian sub. As Keith and I were sitting on the grass in front of his new apartment, our sandwiches between us, I heard this munching / grunting sound. I looked down to see Napoleon eating my sandwich. I grabbed it, but Napoleon held on fast. I pulled and pried, but he just dug in his heels and growled.

Keith, knowing that I would never win the sandwich back (and, frankly, why would I want it back at that point?), started laughing and said, "just let it go. I'll get you another one."

Sometimes it felt like no one in the world could love a dog like Napoleon. But Keith did.

Do you have a Napoleon story?

Keith and music

Keith loved music, and he had great taste in it, too. He used to love to listen to KCRW, either in his car, at home, or streaming over the Web.

I thought I had pretty good taste in music, but it never stopped Keith from joshing around with me. Recently, I purchased a ton of guilty 80s pleasure music from iTunes, stuff I used to love back in the day. Keith joked with me that, in fact, there was some NEW music out there.

Then I played Style Council, and apparently it brought back some 80s memories for him, too. I guess he loved Style Council.

Know anything about Keith's musical tastes? What he liked in high school? What he listened to at work? Post a comment below.

Keith and me, artsy

Keith and I were at MOMA in 2005, and I took our picture in front of this big projected orange.

That week, Keith and I walked around New York snapping photos and comparing how differently, or similarly, we saw things as designers.

Keith was always creating, seeing things in new ways.

Summer 2004

In the summer of 2004, I stayed with Keith and his family in Salem, MA. He and I and his brother Peter spent several days hanging out, bumming around, goofing off in that particular way that was uniquely Keith-ian. I met some of Keith's oldest friends, saw many of his childhood haunts, and spent the better portion of a week laughing and reminiscing.

This photo was taken in Keith's parents' kitchen just before heading out to Boston for the evening, in one of those rare moments when Keith let another guy put his arm around him.

Keith commented on the photo that we both had big heads.

MOMA, 2005

Summer, 2005, Keith visited me in New York City. We had dinners out, drinks on the town, and, of course, visited the recenty reopened MOMA.

Of course, Keith's shoes had to match the art.

Share or read a story about Keith

This is a thread where you can share or read memories people have about Keith Freedman.