Brian Kelly (actor)
{{Short description|American actor (1931–2005)}}
{{other people|Brian Kelly}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Brian Kelly
| image = Flipper Brian Kelly 1966.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Kelly in c.1966
| birth_date = {{birth date|1931|2|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|2|12|1931|2|14|mf=y}}
| death_place = Voorhees Township, New Jersey, U.S.
| resting_place = New Jersey, U.S.
| alma_mater = University of Notre Dame (1953)
University of Michigan Law School
| occupation = Actor, producer
| yearsactive = 1958–1996
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Laura Devon|1962|1966|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Valerie Anne Romero|1973}}
}}
| children = 2
| parents = Harry F. Kelly
| relatives = Brian d'Arcy James (nephew)
}}
Brian Kelly (February 14, 1931 – February 12, 2005) was an American actor and producer widely known for his role as Porter Ricks, the widowed father of two sons on the NBC television series Flipper.
Early years
Kelly was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Republican Governor of Michigan Harry F. Kelly{{cite news |title=Ex-Lansing Lad Wins Top Role in TV Series |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33038243/lansing-state-journal/ |access-date=May 12, 2020 |newspaper=Lansing State Journal |date=September 23, 1961 |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}} (who was also chief justice of Michigan's Supreme Court).{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Bob |title=Brian Kelly Almost Flipped, But 'Flipper' Is Doing Fine |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33657729/st-cloud-times/ |access-date=May 12, 2020 |newspaper=St. Cloud Times |agency=Associated Press |date=October 23, 1964 |page=2A |via=Newspapers.com}} His nephew (sister's son) is actor Brian d'Arcy James.{{cite web |url=https://www.talkinbroadway.com/spot/james3.html |website=Talkin' Broadway |title=Spotlight on Brian d'Arcy James |access-date=March 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317011505/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9709/10/meredith.obit/ |archive-date=2022-03-17}} He was of Irish descent.
Kelly attended St. Mary High School and served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Kelly graduated in 1953 from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He attended the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor for a year before settling on acting. During his college years, Kelly modelled and acted in radio and television commercials in Detroit.
Acting career
Kelly headed to Hollywood in the late fifties after choosing acting as his career. Following minor roles in Adventures in Paradise, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Rifleman, Kelly starred in two television series, NBC's 21 Beacon Street (1959), with Dennis Morgan and Joanna Barnes,{{cite book| last1=Terrace| first1=Vincent| title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&q=flipper| date=January 10, 2014| publisher=McFarland| location=Jefferson, N.C.| isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0| page=352| edition=2nd| access-date=March 11, 2022}} and ABC's Straightaway (1961-1962) with John Ashley.{{r|etvs|page1=1024}}
File:Flipper Kelly Halpin Norden 1964 crop.jpg (left) and Luke Halpin (right) in Flipper, 1964]]
In 1964, Kelly took over the Chuck Connors role from the 1963 family film Flipper, playing Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve and recently widowed father of Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin) in the 1964 sequel Flipper's New Adventure. He continued the role in the family-oriented action and adventure television program Flipper that same year. In the TV series, Porter would also have a second son, Bud (Tommy Norden). Kelly was quoted at the time as saying that he loved the role because of its family-friendly qualities. The success of Flipper, which was filmed in Miami and the Bahamas, led to a brief movie career, including a lead in Around the World Under the Sea (1966).
In 1970, Kelly sought to change his image by playing the role of Robin Stone in The Love Machine, based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann. Just prior to filming, he was involved in a motorcycle accident which left his right arm and leg paralyzed. John Phillip Law took over the role.{{cite book |last1=Seaman |first1=Barbara |title=Lovely Me: The Life of Jacqueline Susann |year=2003 |publisher=Seven Stories Press |page=360}} Kelly—whom Susann had called "the perfect Robin Stone"—won a legal settlement in the case but the accident ended his acting career.{{cite news| title=Brian Kelly - Actor in Flipper| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/brian-kelly-6149845.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104034028/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/brian-kelly-6149845.html| archive-date=November 4, 2011| access-date=20 November 2012| newspaper=The Independent| location=London| date=25 March 2005}}
He used money from the settlement to build homes and then to produce films. He served as executive producer of Blade Runner (1982) and associate producer of Cities of the Wild (1996).
Marriages and death
In 1966, Kelly married actress Laura Devon{{cite news |title=Brian Kelly Not Complaining About '2nd Billing' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50767737/brian-kelly/ |first=Cynthia |last=Lowery |access-date=May 12, 2020 |newspaper=Sioux City Journal |agency=Associated Press |date=December 5, 1965 |page=1 Television and Radio Log |via=Newspapers.com}} In 1972, he married Valerie Ann Romero.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/brian-kelly-529810.html Brian Kelly obituary], Independent, March 25, 2005.
On February 12, 2005, two days before his 74th birthday, Kelly died of pneumonia in Voorhees, New Jersey. He was survived by his daughter, Hallie, and his son, Devon, and extended family including two brothers, two sisters, and a granddaughter.{{cite news |title=Kelly, Brian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lansing-state-journal-brian-kelly-lansin/63348666/ |access-date=June 16, 2023 |work=Lansing State Journal |date=February 23, 2005 |page=15|via = Newspapers.com}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |
| 1963
| Vincent Dodge | |
| 1964
| Porter Ricks | |
| 1966
| Around the World Under the Sea | Dr. Craig Mosby | |
| 1968
| Chad Stark | |
| 1982
| N/A | Executive Producer |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |
| rowspan="2"| 1958
| Panic! | Randy Burke | Episode: "Fingerprints" |
| Flight
| | Episode: "Mercy Commando" |
| rowspan="2"| 1959
| Brian | 13 episodes |
| Adventures in Paradise
| Captain Rivers | Episode: "The Haunted" |
| 1960
| Insight | Father Bergen | Episode: "Fisher of Men" |
| 1961–1962
| Scott Ross | Series regular, one season (26 episodes) |
| 1963
| 2nd Policeman / Officer Kelly | 2 episodes |
| 1964–1967
| Flipper | Porter Ricks | Nominated-TV Land Award for Favorite Pet-Human Relationship (2003) |
| rowspan="3"| 1970
| Drive Hard, Drive Fast | Mark Driscoll | TV movie |
| Company of Killers
| Nick Andros | TV movie |
| {{Interlanguage link|Berlin Affair (1970 film)|de|3=Affäre in Berlin|lt=Berlin Affair}}
| Paul Strand | TV movie, (final film role) |
{{Portal|Michigan|Los Angeles|California|New Jersey|Radio|Film|Television}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Brian Kelly (actor)|Brian Kelly}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0446223|name=Brian Kelly}}
- {{tcmdb name|id=100255|name=Brian Kelly}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/19990128201615/http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/8175/bk.htm Brian Kelly Fan Club]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Brian (actor)}}
Category:Film producers from New Jersey
Category:American male television actors
Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey
Category:People from Voorhees Township, New Jersey
Category:Male actors from Detroit
Category:Military personnel from Detroit
Category:United States Marine Corps officers
Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni
Category:University of Notre Dame alumni
Category:Film producers from Michigan
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:Military personnel from Camden County, New Jersey