Otterbein University’s faculty roster is stacked with exceptional individuals, but only one has produced award-winning documentaries, penned 40-plus books and opened for Ron White as a stand-up comedian.
Photos courtesy of Wes Kroninger
That’s just a short list of what history and philosophy professor Keith Pepperell has accomplished. The Westerville resident has five degrees from universities in three different countries – the U.S., England and Canada – is a former restaurant owner and currently owns West End Antiques in Uptown Westerville.
Pepperell hails from Chelmsford, England – a city Charles Dickens called the “dullest and most stupid spot on the face of the earth,” Pepperell notes. At 17 years old, he first hit the big stage by opening for Shirley Bassey, a Welsh musician best known for singing the title songs to James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker.
He received a law degree at the University of Leeds, where he discovered his talent for comedy. After quickly realizing that law wasn’t right for him, he came to Columbus to complete his Ph.D. at The Ohio State University and pursued teaching.
He continued his stand-up career in the States. Inspired by a fellow bar-goer ordering a Tom Collins, Pepperell adopted the stage name Keith Collins. As Collins, he opened for Ron White on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour in 15 cities.
“It was odd, really, having been reasonably successful as a headliner in smaller venues, to suddenly find myself in a 5,000-seater,” Pepperell says. “It was fun to be there.”
Although he has since “hung up the microphone stand,” he says, Pepperell’s comedy still shines through in his writing. His books range from a history of the aglet – that’s the plastic tube on the end your shoelaces, in case you were wondering – to eel and oyster recipes to reading comprehension guides for college students.
“I always thought life was terribly short, and one needs to cram as much in it as possible,” Pepperell says.
He wakes up at 4 a.m. every day to write, and always has at least two books in the works. His interest in writing for publication started at OSU, where he was encouraged to write as much as possible.
“I found the demands of having to produce something fairly often, that was going to be scrutinized by some pretty smart people, was a great challenge,” Pepperell says. “I don’t know if I rose to the challenge, but at least I enjoyed it.”
His books and documentaries find the extraordinary in the ordinary. He has written a book on the history of the hardness of lead in pencils, and in 2014, he wrote and directed a documentary titled Playing it Forward, about a college American football team in England that had never won a game in its four years. Though the team never won, the documentary did: Audience Award at the 2014 Marina Del Rey Film Festival and Honorable Mention at the 2014 Santa Monica Independent Film Festival are just two of its accolades.
Pepperell’s most recent project, however, is his favorite. Pepperell wrote, directed and co-produced Dr. Shoe and Dangerous Doug. His co-producer, Derek Kavanagh, has won awards for his work on Dances with Wolves, Ronin, Straw Dogs and the original The Italian Job.
After they worked together on Playing it Forward, Pepperell knew he wanted to work with Kavanagh again.
“I approached him and he said, ‘I was hoping you were going to ask me.’ He’s a nice man,” Pepperell says. “Out of all the things I’ve done, this is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Dr. Shoe and Dangerous Doug follows Randy Birge and Doug Price of Doctor Shoe, an Uptown Westerville cobbler, in their effort to keep the old trade of shoe repair alive.
Pepperell’s experience with documentaries began in front of the camera. He was involved with Surviving History on the History Channel as well as American Titans on the American Heroes channel. Seeing that side of the documentary industry made him want to be part of the other side, he says.
After finishing Dr. Shoe and Dangerous Doug, Pepperell pitched a show to the Discovery Channel that follows the “Dr. Shoe” mystique – what goes on behind the doors of small businesses. Pepperell wants to feature the work that goes into these small businesses and the people who run them, “like the doughnut shop guy and the lady that does clothing repair, and maybe a dry cleaners or maybe a florist,” he says
“I’m interested in that,” Pepperell says. “I think there’s just a great story to be found, and I’ve got some great people who are oddly happy to work with me again.”
Pepperell has three grown children: Jack, Lydia and Alex, all of whom attended Westerville City Schools. He is not married.
When Jack was 8, he won a comedy competition at the Funny Bone and worked for a week as its MC. He opened for Dave Chappelle in Cincinnati, but decided to retire from comedy after that.
In the near future, Pepperell expects Dr. Shoe and Dangerous Doug to garner attention. He will continue to write and produce, and has high hopes for what’s yet to come.
“I’ve just been really fortunate that every day has been a lot of fun,” Pepperell says. “You know, I’m trying to slow down the drooling years.”
Amanda DePerro is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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