Irish eyes were shining brightly

While his roles on the big and small screen earned him praise and accolades worldwide, it’s his Pittsburgh roots that have earned him love and admiration in the region.

Keaton, who was inducted into the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame in 2025, has appeared in nearly 100 films and television series.

It all started in his hometown, working on the production crew of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood at Pittsburgh’s WQED studio and then making his first television appearance on the show in 1975.

Keaton went on from there to kick off a successful career that has included a laundry list of awards. He is one of only a few leading men whose films, Spotlight and Birdman, won the Academy Award for best picture in back-to-back years.

Keaton made history winning three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for The Trial of the Chicago 7.

His performance in Dopesick as “Dr. Samuel Finnix” in the Hulu limited series, which he also served as the executive producer for, earned him all five major television awards in a single awards cycle, including the Golden Globe®, Screen Actors Guild®, Television Critics Association Award®, Critic’s Choice, and the Emmy® Award for Lead Actor in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie.

Keaton and filmmaker Tim Burton combined efforts five times, beginning with their work on Beetlejuice. The collaboration continued as Keaton had title roles in Batman, Batman Returns, Walt Disney Studios’ Dumbo and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Mike and Kiya Tomlin have been staples in the Pittsburgh area since he was hired by the Steelers on January 22, 2007, and from the moment they arrived they wanted to give back to the city, whether on the field or in the community.

That is why they are the recipients of the prestigious Patricia R. Rooney Community Impact Award.

“I’m honored, but I’m humbled by it as well, that they would think of Kiya and I in this way,” said Mike Tomlin. “I know how important this is to the Rooney family and I have nothing but love and admiration for Mrs. Rooney. I’m honored and humbled would be the most appropriate words.

“But words don’t put into perspective the feelings I have about the Rooney family in general. I met them when I was a very young man, and they allowed me to grow and live out my dreams and help me in every aspect of life outside the profession.”

The award is presented annually to leaders who have produced successful organizational initiatives in response to a significant contemporary problem.

“I hold Mrs. Rooney in such high regard, so winning this is such an honor,” said Kiya Tomlin. “I have the fondest memory of our first night in Pittsburgh with her, she was so real, comfortable and down to earth. But that also she spoke her mind, and she was a really strong woman. I got to see that side of her as well, which was just inspiring.”

Mike Tomlin spent 19 seasons as the Steelers head coach (2007-25), never had a losing season, leading the team to a 193-114-2 record. He led the Steelers to a .500 or better record in each of his 19 seasons as head coach, which is tied for the second-longest streak of .500 or better seasons by a head coach in NFL history.

Tomlin’s 193 regular season wins tied Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll for the most regular season wins in Steelers history. Tomlin also tied Noll for ninth place in all-time regular season wins in NFL history.

During his tenure, Tomlin led the Steelers to a victory in Super Bowl XLIII over the Arizona Cardinals, as well as an appearance in Super Bowl XLV. In addition, the team won the AFC North eight times, including in 2025, and were AFC Champions twice, while earning a playoff berth 13 times.

Tomlin was the only head coach in Steelers’ history to lead the team to two Super Bowl appearances in his first four seasons. With the win in Super Bowl XLIII in his second season, he became the fastest coach to win a Super Bowl championship in Steelers history, and the eighth coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl within his first two seasons.

Kiya Tomlin has also made her mark on Pittsburgh, taking her love of fashion to the next level in Pittsburgh and beyond. Tomlin launched Kiya Tomlin Fashion in 2014, a combination of glamour and comfort in an easy to wear fashion line for work, play and stepping out on the red carpet.

In 2021, she expanded her brand to include NFL licensed apparel, with her designs available in her store in the Pittsburgh area and online.

What the Tomlins have done in football and fashion only touches on the impact they have had in the Pittsburgh region.

The Tomlins are past recipients of the Chuck Cooper Foundation Career Achievement Award in Leadership Diversity and Community Service Award. The Foundation’s goal is to help further the education of students in the Pittsburgh area, something that is a passion for the Tomlin family as well.

The couple has served as co-chairs for Steelers Style, the team’s annual fashion show which benefits the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, Cancer Bridges, and the Chuck Noll Foundation.

They also join forces to host a holiday food distribution in conjunction with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, giving back to those most in need during the holidays. The couple doesn’t just hand out turkeys and all the trimmings, but they take time to visit with everyone, get to know people and share the holiday spirit.

Mike Tomlin has been a participant at the ManUp Pittsburgh conference, which encourages men to be better fathers and role models. He also is involved in numerous other endeavors, all done outside of the spotlight.

“Giving back to the community is something that’s always been big for Kiya and I,” said Mike Tomlin. “We benefited as young people from community, personally, as young athletes, and particularly young athletes that kind of came from broken homes. It takes a village, and we both benefited from that.

“We always had a desire to engage and be members of the community in which we live. Pittsburgh became home for us. It was important to do it from that perspective to be positive members of a community in which we live to teach our kids how to do so. We found that in Pittsburgh.”

Kiya Tomlin is involved with multiple charitable organizations as well as other philanthropic events throughout Pittsburgh. She is on the board for the Pittsburgh Promise, which promotes high educational aspirations among urban youth, funds scholarships for post-secondary access, and fuels a prepared and diverse regional workforce.

In addition, she is involved with the Pittsburgh Art and Lectures, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Hill House, Andy Warhol Museum and the National Council of Jewish Women annual Thriftique fundraiser. She also took it upon herself during the covid pandemic to make masks for healthcare workers and beyond, the first in the Pittsburgh region to convert her factory into mask making and donating thousands of masks, while making over 10,000, as part of Highmark’s Million Mask initiative.

She has also done other fundraising and philanthropic efforts, including donating approximately 1,300 clothing items to those who lost almost everything during Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017.

“It’s an honor to be able to serve Pittsburgh and to use our platform to hopefully make Pittsburgh a better place,” said Kiya Tomlin. “But also, to really enjoy Pittsburgh for ourselves, and become Pittsburghers, and bring the Pittsburgh ethic and culture into our lives. Not being native Pittsburghers, it’s been a real benefit to us personally to adopt the Pittsburgh way, and to be able to raise our kids as Pittsburghers with that pride and work ethic and just love.

“I’m grateful to the Pittsburgh community because they have been so supportive and welcoming of me doing my own thing as opposed to just being the football wife. They have always respected me for what I am passionate about in my own right.”