NEW YORK POST ICON BRADEN KEIL DEAD AT 53

Cindy Guyer With Braden Keil And Rita Cosby

We got a call yesterday that our friend New York Post Icon, Braden Keil, died the other night after succumbing to a battle with melanoma, a sometimes fatal form of skin cancer. He was 53 years old. Braden's column has been a weekly must read since 2000. This is very sad news to us at Times Square Gossip. Braden was a friend. He was a very loyal friend. I spent huge amounts of time just hanging out with him and Steve Dunleavy as well as the rest of the crew from the New York Post at Broadway Langans, our office away from the office. Braden was always ready to help. When I had some problems a few years ago, Braden would sit at the bar stool and tell me what he thought. He always had time for a friend and a cocktail. My celebrity friends would also seek Braden's advice. Recently a celebrity who was going through a nasty divorce and getting some very bad publicity from the press, told me she called Braden and he helped her with some of the best advice and even got her a great lawyer. This was Braden. Always ready to help a friend, and loyal to the hill. It did not matter if you were a celebrity or the man on the street. Braden was loyal to everyone and fair. Braden lived on the Upper West Side, and sometimes I thought he lived at Langans. He wrote the weekly Thursday residential real-estate column for the Post called Gimme Shelter. I would see Braden in the New York Post newsroom, sitting right next to all the crew from Page Six. He would laugh when he would see me and legend Steve Dunleavy stumbling through the newsroom looking for Dunleavy's desk. It was strange seeing him at the Post, as I was always used to doing business at Langans. It was even stranger seeing him at places like the Hampton's. Last summer he was at the Hampton's Magazine beach clam bake with his family. He would introduce me to his wife and kids, but it was strange. It was like a double life. I knew him from his business life. From his life at Langans. Later that night we had drinks at Savannah's in South Hampton. The owner saw him and flew to the door, giving him huge hugs. Everyone loved Braden. When he walked into a room, everyone knew it. When I would see him walk into Langans, I would think great. A friend has arrived. He would walk in with a big smile and right away the bartender would hand him a Chardonnay I remember how shocked I was a few years ago when I asked him his age. He looked like a guy in his 30's. He always dressed sharp, always had a smile and always had a cool story. Braden is survived by his wife Jennifer Gould Keil, and his children, Braden Lewis, 5, Kaitlin Rose, 3, and Kourtney Lee, 21. My friend Braden, I'll see you at Langans in the sky!

The New York Observer wrote a great piece on Braden. Click here to read.
Photo By: James Edstrom