Santa Barbara Wayback: Remember Keith Timmons

Crime doesn’t usually pay. But if you’re a character like Keith Timmons – the rakish District Attorney on Santa Barbara – being bad pulls in the big bucks. Played by Justin Deas – one of the most awarded actors in soap opera history – Keith was a firm fan favorite whom viewers never tired of seeing.

Vengeance Is Mine Sayeth Keith Timmons

Keith arrived in Santa Barbara in 1986 to fill the vacant District Attorney chair and immediately set about making life miserable for Cruz Castillo, the city’s top cop. It would later be revealed that Keith blamed Cruz for the death of his younger sister who killed herself when Cruz rebuffed her advances.

In his bid to ruin Cruz, Keith began an affair with the man’s wife, Santana, and later gaslit her when they were involved in a car accident. He insisted that he had never entered the car. Gina DeMott, who had been drugging Santana with laced allergy pills, corroborated Keith’s story by providing him with an alibi.

The Scheme Team
Keith became instantly smitten with scheming Gina and the two embarked on a madcap love affair. When he nearly lost her to Dr. Scott Clark, Keith opened his heart to Gina and proposed marriage.

The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. hoped to claim a reward offered to any person who could locate a missing Mason Capwell and return him to his family. The Timmons found him in Las Vegas and realized that he was suffering from multiple personality disorder.

They brought him back to Santa Barbara and began training him in proper “Masonisms” but before Keith could share in any possible monetary gain, he was forced to abandon Gina and flee town, lest he face arrest on charges on corruption – an indictment made possible by Julia Wainwright, who had gone undercover to reveal Keith’s dirty dealings.

Return
A determined Gina chased after her mister and managed to locate him inside the Disney World theme park. However, the reunited duo had to immediately go on the run in an attempt to avoid the murderous wrath of a gangster named Boots.

Once the coast was clear – and Keith’s debts paid – he and Gina were able to return to Santa Barbara but discovered, to their great disappointment, that the spark was no longer present in their relationship and they eventually parted ways.

A Pocketful of Vendettas

Although some small smart part of Keith still believed in honoring the letter of the law, he delighted in wielding his legal power against the haughty Capwell family, whom he despised, and longtime object of disdain, Cruz Castillo.

Keith tried to lay the blame for Hal Clark’s death at C.C.’s feet and later went after Mason for the murder of Mark McCormick. When Cruz stood accused of offing Elena Nicholas, Keith did his best to try and railroad the defendant.

However, Keith’s vendetta against the Capwells would prove to be his ultimate undoing. Following the death of Robert Barr, Keith first tried to press charges against Kelly and then turned his attentions toward Eden. He made a deal with Robert’s lover, Flame Beaufort, to ensure her assistance in securing a conviction but wound up with egg on his face when Flame turned out to be the actual killer!