Keith began working in the theater at a young age and in 1893 was put in charge of bookings for Keith's Theatre, which opened the following year.[2] He graduated from Harvard College in 1901.[1]
By 1905, he was the assistant general manager of the Keith chain. When he turned 30, his father gifted him the Bijou Theatre in Philadelphia.[3] In 1906, B. F. Keith combined his New York and New Jersey assets with those of F. F. Proctor to create the Keith and Proctor Amusement Company.[4] A. Paul Keith served as treasurer of Keith & Proctor until the partnership was dissolved in 1911.[5] In 1907, Keith became secretary–treasurer of the United Booking Office of America, which was a partnership between Keith & Proctor and Percy G. Williams and Oscar Hammerstein.[6] In 1908, Keith served as acting general manager of the United Booking Office while E. F. Albee recovered from injuries suffered in an automobile accident.[7]
Prior to his father's death in 1914, Keith and Edward F. Albee acquired control of the Keith circuit's 29 theaters.[8][9] The pair also owned a chain of movie theaters.[10]
On October 25, 1918, Keith came down with the Spanish flu. He died on October 30, 1918, at the home of a business associate.[11] He left an estate worth $3.8 million.($78,410,000 in 2023 dollars),[12][13] A lifelong bachelor, his business holdings were inherited by Albee and other business partners, while his personal assets were given to Cardinal William Henry O'Connell and Harvard College.[14] O'Connell used the money to create the Keith Academy and Keith Hall in Lowell, Massachusetts.[15]
