Keith was born in Washington, Pennsylvania. His father was Vincent W. Hartman. His mother was Margaret Warga Hartman; she was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Houston and the Order of the Eastern Star, 97 Chartiers Chapter. In 1962, he graduated from Chartiers-Houston High School. He graduated from Mansfield State College in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, where he majored in music and was a fixture in university theatrical productions. During his college career he led an extremely popular dance band, Ronnie and the Jestors.
Wayne appeared in only one film, George A. Romero's 1968 horror classic The Night of the Living Dead. Following the completion of the film, he worked as a singer for a number of years with The Bill Roberts Show, Keith Wayne and the Unyted Brass Works and others. In the early 1980s he became a chiropractor. He wrote a column for a number of years called Chiropractic Corner in Hardgainer magazine under the name of "Dr. R. Keith Hartman".
He committed suicide on September 9, 1995, in Cary, North Carolina. His last paper was a work called How to Find Chiropractic Help, Bursitis and Tendinitis, Sternum Noises, Knee and Neck Care; plus the Notice of the Death of Dr. Hartman.
