Ken Titus' Eulogy

San Francisco, CA, January 7, 2001

I know I speak for my entire family, for everyone on our show, and for everyone at Fox and the CBS Radford Studio when I say that our hearts and our prayers are with the entire Titus family during this difficult time.

Ken Titus was one of a kind. He provided the model for one of the funniest comic creations ever to come to Television, inspired by the events of Christopher Titus’ life, and I consider myself deeply privileged to be able to play this irascibly funny man. I am also deeply saddened by his passing. But it is a great consolation to me, knowing that Ken had the opportunity to witness Christopher’s rise to stardom, and to share in his adulation …He was so proud of Christopher, no Dad was ever happier for his son’s success than Ken…and in spite of the way Ken is portrayed as the ultimate cantankerous curmudgeon, there is no doubt that a deeply loving bond has always existed between them.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ken on more than one occasion…he would come down from his home in Northern California to see the taping of our show And I asked him how he felt about being so maligned, not only in our current series, but also in Christopher’s one-man play, Norman Rockwell is Bleeding …which Christopher wrote and has performed for the past 15 years, I asked him if it didn’t bother him to be treated as such a Bad Dad …Ken said…”Hell, I’m used to it… I don’t mind, just as long as it’s funny. It’s not really me, anyway…it’s Christopher’s imagination…but tell him not to get too angry and to quit being a wussy!”

Christopher has taught all of us that humor is one of the most effective ways to deal with life’s pains and sorrows and hardships, and I have every confidence that Ken’s spirit will live on, and that beyond the tears and sadness of this immediate and difficult time, there lies an eternal spring of love and laughter. This is Ken’s legacy for all of us.

God Bless you Ken, and Thank You. And Christopher, our hearts are yours.

STACY KEACH