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The (Real) Simple Life

For Rob Keefe (CFA'88), Hosting a PBS "How-to" Show Is a Great Acting Gig

By Meghan Noé

After attending Boston University, Rob Keefe (CFA'88) studied theater in England, starred in productions of Shakespeare and off-Broadway plays in New York, acted in television and radio commercials in San Francisco, and moved back to New York to write plays of his own. His has been a life on the fast track, but these days, it's all about keeping things simple — Real Simple that is.

As host of the weekly half-hour PBS television show named after the award-winning magazine, Keefe and his co-hosts attempt to simplify life by finding smart and useful solutions to basic everyday situations, such as how to speed up your morning routine, how to carve a turkey, and how to organize and store your digital photos.

"We are not a show that is abstract," he says. "We are a show that gives you answers, solutions, and strategies that you can act on and that are satisfying because they are doable."

The series, which premiered in most markets in January 2006, expands on what's offered in the magazine. "We give it more dimension," says Keefe. One segment showed how to host a no-hassle children's birthday party, where everything, including the tablecloth, could be thrown away. Another showed a shortcut recipe for lasagna that called for ravioli instead of layering the pasta and cheese.

Keefe says Real Simple presents ideas and products for every budget. "We take something as basic as supermarket flowers, wrapped up in cellophane, and make an arrangement or bouquet that is beautiful and elegant," he says. "I don't know that we present any lifestyle other than one that is based on solutions and good ideas."

Making the transition from stage actor to television host wasn't all that difficult, according to Keefe, because both professions require the same skill: listening. It also helped that every segment of the show has interested him, "whether it is about a new way to use pizza dough, as mundane as that sounds, or a home made out of recyclable materials."

"I approach the segments almost from a journalistic point of view, but I have that basic actor curiosity of wondering where is this going to go and how can I keep this person involved," he says. "Essentially, I have a scene with them."

Most important, Keefe says, he had the courage to delve into television because his professors at BU gave him the confidence to try new things. "There were teachers at BU who taught us how to rehearse, who told us to keep taking chances, keep asking questions, never really be satisfied with the status quo, and never be afraid to fail," he says. "I have been able to translate that into what I do."