Tommy Kelly (actor) explained

Tommy Kelly
Birth Name:Thomas Francis Kelly
Birth Date:6 April 1925
Birth Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation:Film actor
Yearsactive:1938–1950
Spouse:Sue Kelly (married 1948–2016, his death)
Children:6

Thomas Francis Kelly[1] (April 6, 1925 – January 26, 2016), professionally known as Tommy Kelly, was an American child actor. He played the title role in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1938 based on Mark Twain's novel of the same name.

Early life and career

Kelly was born in the Bronx, the son of Nora and Michael Kelly, a fireman, in humble circumstances.[2] He had twelve siblings.[3] Kelly's grandparents, all four, were from Ireland.[3] He began his acting career at the age of twelve when he was selected to play Tom Sawyer in the 1938 movie The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the first Technicolor adaption of Mark Twain's classic 1876 novel.[2] Approximately 25,000 boys had auditioned for that role and it is said that famous producer David O. Selznick handpicked Kelly for the role.[4] Despite Kelly's earning good critical reviews for his performance, the film was only a poor financial success. He also played the lead role in Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus later that year as Bill Peck.[5]

In 1939, Tommy Kelly had a small but memorable part in Gone with the Wind as the boy crying in a band playing "Dixie" in Atlanta while the death lists are given out. He played the notable supporting role of Willie in Archie Mayo's musical film They Shall Have Music (1939) followed by a leading role as a young cadet in the B movie Military Academy (1940). As he reached adulthood, Kelly's roles in movies were minor and he was often uncredited.[6] He appeared in The Magnificent Yankee[7] in 1950, which turned out to be his last of 19 films before ending his acting career.[6]

As with many other stars, the war years found Tommy in the U.S. Army; he served in the infantry rather than the USO, as did some other child stars. He fought in the European theater, participating in the critical campaign for the bridge at Remagen.

Personal life and death

After his Hollywood days, Tommy Kelly earned a Ph.D. from Michigan State. He worked as a high school teacher and counselor in Culver City and later as an administrator in the Orange County, Florida school system. He worked in Liberia as an administrator for the Peace Corps towards the end of the 1960s.[4] He afterwards served as superintendent of international schools in Liberia and Venezuela.[8] He eventually returned to the United States and worked in an important position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington.[9] Ever conscious of the value of education, in his thesis he focused, among other things, on the relative advantages of children who were educated in U.S. military dependent schools abroad. "Dr. Kelly" served as an International Relations Advisor in the International Organization Affairs (IOA) unit of the Office of International Cooperation and Development (OICD) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he prepared positions for the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, with personal responsibility for OECD, and United States delegations to the governing boards of United Nations Organizations concerned with Food and Agriculture, a position he held until his retirement from federal service.

Kelly was generally reticent about his years as an actor after retiring from Hollywood at the age of 25.[6] He married Sue Kelly in 1948; they were married for 67 years, until his death.[10] [11] Kelly died on January 26, 2016, in Greensboro, North Carolina, at age 90 from congestive heart failure.[9] [10] He was survived by his wife, six children, twelve grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.[10]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesref
1938The Adventures of Tom SawyerTom Sawyer[12]
Peck's Bad Boy with the CircusBill Peck
1939They Shall Have MusicWillieMusical film directed by Archie Mayo.
Gone with the WindBoy in band[13] [14] [15] [16]
1940Curtain CallFred "Freddy" MiddletonComedy film directed by Frank Woodruff.[17]
IreneMichael[18] [19] [20]
Military AcademyTommy Lewis
Gallant SonsHarwood "Woody" Hollister[21] [22]
1941Nice Girl?Ken AtkinsAmerican musical film directed by William A. Seiter.[23]
Double DateHodges
Life Begins for Andy HardyChuck Curss
1942Mug TownSteveDirected by Ray Taylor.[24]
1947The Beginning or the EndMack[25] [26]
The Fabulous TexanLee Kilrain[27] [28] [29]
1948He Walked by NightYoung hoodlum aka Redhead[30] [31] [32]
1949Adventure in BaltimoreStudentDrama directed by Richard Wallace.[33]
BattlegroundCasualtyAmerican war film that follows a company in the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as they cope with the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.[34] [35]
1950The West Point StoryCadet[36] [37]
The Magnificent YankeeSecretaryAmerican biographical film adapted by Emmet Lavery from his play of the same title, which was in turn adapted from the book Mr. Justice Holmes by Francis Biddle.[38] [39] [40]

Notes and References

  1. News: Tommy Kelly, Who Played a Hollywood Tom Sawyer, Dies at 90. The New York Times. 2016-02-12. Fox. Margalit.
  2. News: Poor boy from Bronx is chosen for star role of Tom Sawyer... . . June 27, 2013 . June 7, 1937 . Times Publishing Company.
  3. Web site: Tommy Kelly USA. February 10, 2016. The Moving Picture Boy. 2009-06-07.
  4. Web site: Local history: Child film stars take city by storm in 1938. Times-Shamrock Communications. The Scranton Times-Tribune. June 27, 2013.
  5. Web site: Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus. YouTube. June 27, 2013.
  6. Web site: Tommy Kelly. Classic Movie Kids. 27 June 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131115022452/http://www.classicmoviekids.com/kelly_tommy.htm. 15 November 2013.
  7. Web site: The Magnificent Yankee Cast and Crew | TVGuide.com . Movies.tvguide.com . February 9, 2016.
  8. Web site: Tommy Kelly. February 10, 2016. Daily Herald. Paddock Publications.
  9. Web site: Tommy Kelly Dead: 'Tom Sawyer' Star Was 90 . The Hollywood Reporter. December 31, 1969. February 9, 2016. Prometheus Global Media.
  10. Book: 1093. 978-0520079083. American Film Institute. 1993. University of California Press. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931-1940, 3 Volume Set.
  11. News: Obituary. The New York Times. February 14, 2016. Fox. Margalit.
  12. Book: Memo from David O. Selznick. registration. Rudy Behlmer. Viking Press. 1972. 168. 978-0573606014. Rudy Behlmer.
  13. Book: Friedrich, Otto. City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s. 1986. University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. 978-0-520-20949-7. 17–21.
  14. Web site: The Book Purchase. Gone With The Wind Online Exhibit . University of Texas at Austin. Harry Ransom Center. https://web.archive.org/web/20140602124241/http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/web/gwtw/book . June 2, 2014 . February 10, 2016.
  15. Web site: The Search for Scarlett: Chronology . Gone With The Wind Online Exhibit . . Harry Ransom Center. https://web.archive.org/web/20140602124241/http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/web/gwtw/scarlett. June 2, 2014 . February 10, 2016.
  16. Web site: Gone with the Wind (1939) – Notes. TCM database. Turner Classic Movies. February 10, 2016.
  17. Web site: Curtain Call (1940). mrqe.com. February 10, 2016.
  18. Book: Variety. Film review. April 24, 1940. 16. 978-0-8240-5205-8. Garland Publishing.
  19. Book: 978-0-913616-17-8. Harrison's Reports. Film review. April 27, 1940. 66 . Harrison . P. S. . Hollywood Film Archive .
  20. Richard. Jewel. RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951 . 14 . 1. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television . 1994. 55. 0143-9685.
  21. Web site: Gallant Sons (1940) - Overview - TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies. February 10, 2016.
  22. News: Movie Review - A Dispatch from Reuters - THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Four New Films Open Here: 'Third Finger, Left Hand,' With Myrna Loy--A Dispatch From Reuters, 'Moon Over Burma' and 'Gallant Sons'. The New York Times. February 10, 2016. 1940-12-12. Crowther. Bosley.
  23. Web site: Nice Girl? (1941). February 10, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20121201023745/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/103861/Nice-Girl-/overview. dead. Movies & TV Dept.. The New York Times. Hal Erickson. Hal Erickson (author). 2012. December 1, 2012.
  24. Web site: MUG TOWN(1942). February 10, 2016. TCM database. Turner Classic Movies.
  25. Web site: Notes: The Beginning or the End (1947). TCM database. Turner Classic Movies. February 10, 2016.
  26. Web site: Thompson. Nathaniel. Articles: The Beginning or the End (1947). TCM database. Turner Classic Movies. February 10, 2016.
  27. Web site: The Fabulous Texan (1947) - Overview. TCM database. Turner Classic Movies. February 10, 2016.
  28. Web site: T.M.P.. Movie Review - The Fabulous Texan - At the Gotham. The New York Times. December 26, 1947. February 10, 2016.
  29. Web site: The Fabulous Texan. Afi.com. February 10, 2016.
  30. Book: Crazy Like A Fox. New York Magazine. Jun 9, 1986. 179. 0028-7369. New York Media. LLC.
  31. Book: Alvarez, Max. Man Continues to Fight Police Despite Wounds'. December 21, 1946. 978-1496801036. 285. Univ. Press of Mississippi .
  32. Web site: Labor - And A Whole Lot More web site, "Too Crazy To Kill". Meister. Dick. February 10, 2016.
  33. Book: Richard. Jewell. Vernon. Harbin. The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York. Arlington House Publishers. 1982. 236. 9780517546567.
  34. Book: The Eddie Mannix Ledger. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 12. 2. 127–144. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Los Angeles. 1992. 978-1-4391-0791-1. 10.1080/01439689200260081. Glancy. H. Mark.
  35. Book: Eyman, Scott. Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. registration. 978-0743269179. Simon & Schuster. 2005. 418.
  36. Web site: Brenner. Paul. The West Point Story > Overview. Allmovie. February 10, 2016.
  37. News: Fresh treatment and new twists to the musical formula make The West Point Story worthwhile entertainment.. Variety. 1950. February 10, 2016. Penske Media Corporation.
  38. Book: 1992. The Eddie Mannix Ledger. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 12. 2. 127–144. 978-1-4391-0791-1. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Los Angeles. 10.1080/01439689200260081. Glancy. H. Mark. .
  39. Book: Lovell, Glenn. Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges. University of Wisconsin Press. 2008. 64. 978-0299228347.
  40. David Raksin at MGM (1950-1957). David Raksin. 2009. Bettencourt. Scott. CD online notes. Film Score Monthly. 12. 2. en.

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