The Kelly Pages: Additions to the Kellection!--Pt V :)

Hello Again!

Without further ado, here's the rest of the write-up (and more riveting revelations) from Silver Screen Annual 1960:

"Jack is a bug on togetherness. The pair are inseparable. At a recent press party Jack talked about their life together for about ten minutes. Then Donna quipped, 'That's my Kelly...the only entertainer who can do a single on Togetherness!'

The Kelly's are even working on a cookbook together. As do-it-yourself addicts, they've made a gem of the unpretentious little Valley house.

Jack met Donna when they were both at Columbia [Pictures]. 'As for me,' recalls Jack, 'I was always very fickle. I didn't have much interest in assuming the responsibilities of marriage. I felt that I worked too hard for a dollar to just hand it over to a wife. Too, I'd seen so many of my friends marry the wrong type of girl. Being Catholic, I wanted to be sure. I had to figure on marriage once and forever. But six weeks after our first date, I borrowed some money and we got married.'

With a happy marriage assured, now all Jack Kelly has to do is convince himself that there's room at the top for all the Warner television stars."

[B27: Unfortunately, it sounds like the people who really needed convincing were the idio...er, the ignor...er, I mean, the intelligent men who ran Warner's... >:-0 ]

NEXT TIME: What was cookin' with JK in '61--whoa, this might take a few chapters--and my favorite photo from these new additions. See you then! :->

The Kelly Pages: Additions to the Kellection!--Pt IV :)

Hello!

Today, in a lovely photo from Silver Screen Annual 1960, we see Jack Kelly and May Wynn reading a newspaper. (Probably Variety, with a good review of Maverick. :->)

The caption for this pic says, "Jack Kelly is not too happy with his TV career, but his marriage to May Wynn is togetherness, plus!"

The magazine explains why JK is "not too happy with his TV career":

Jack Kelly has a beautiful actress wife whose stage name is May Wynn but who is Donna Kelly to him. He has a top TV show as that smooth card sharp, Bart Maverick, stage brother to Jim Garner. And, he has a house in the San Fernando Valley and a weekend hideaway house in Palm Springs.

Yet handsome 32 year-old Jack isn't a truly happy guy. And the whisper over the grapevine is that Jack's brown eyes have turned a Kelly green because he hasn't been given a feature film, as have practically all the other guys in the Warner television stable.

Jack complains to his pals, 'Jim's getting feature films like the top-ranking Cash McCall; why not me?'

It's rumored, too, that Jack has refused to go out on personal appearances for the studio--for free--as he willingly did in the past. In order to corral more publicity he has hired not one, but two press agents, to ensure for himself the recognition his fans feel he so richly deserves.

One thing Jack does concede--he has a truly good marriage. In a town built on love, Jack and Donna are probably the most romantic couple in Hollywood. Married almost three years, Jack still brings Donna a present every Saturday night. It might be an Italian glass decanter, antique silver, an old painting, or it might be a ten-cent store potato peeler..." [B27 - What a sweetie!]

...TO BE CONTINUED!!! :->

The Kelly Pages: Additions to the Kellection!--Pt III :)

Howdy!

Sorry I couldn't post Pt. III sooner. My internet connection was acting up--grrr, I hate when that happens! It's behaving pretty well now, so on with the show! :)

Here's a wonderful pic of Jack Kelly from Silver Screen Annual 1959:



He's determinedly learning his lines for Maverick (the script is for the episode "Seed of Deception" ) as May Wynn and their pet poodle keep him company. The caption for this cozy scene is "Jack Kelly and May Wynn have just one rule for matrimonial success--be very very much in love."

The write-up reveals another factor JK thought was crucial for marital bliss:

"While Jack Kelly has no formula for a happy marriage, he has one concept which, he feels, has a good deal to do with how well two people can get along together. And this point of view dates back to an experience he had when he was 11 years old and one afternoon got the bright idea of how to get a bicycle he had wanted for so long.

In return for his promise to pay it off in weekly installments, he talked the owner of the bicycle shop where he worked after school into letting him have a shiny new two-wheeler.

Soon Jack realized he couldn't meet his payments. After worrying about it for a couple of weeks, during which he made himself and the rest of his family pretty miserable with his brooding, he had no choice but to give it back.

Even his father had turned down his request for financial assistance. 'He wanted to teach me a lesson about finances, and he certainly did,' Jack recalled. He said never get anything you can't afford. It causes nothing but trouble.'

Consequently, when Jack, who plays Bart Maverick in the ABC-TV series, married actress May Wynn at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in 1956, he was so firmly convinced that the cornerstone of every successful marriage is to be free of financial worries that he and May agreed never to buy anything in installments. The only exception was their house, and even then they didn't put it in escrow till they had enough money in their bank account to equal the loan they took out on the property."

Hey, JK sounds like a regular Dave Ramsey! :->

Coming up next: What was so special about Saturday night at the Kelly's home? (No, it wasn't bath night.) ;->

The Kelly Pages: Additions to the Kellection!--Pt II :)

Greetings! :)

And off to the antiques show we go...

This particular show is held about four times a year and is especially well-attended during the holidays. I think that's because a lot of people are visiting from out of town and are looking for unique gifts.

Many dealers had vintage Christmas decorations for sale. One even had a silver tree with a rotating spotlight that projected colors onto it! (That brings back memories.)

My quest for JK memorabilia led me to a booth where a man was selling TV western DVDs. I asked if he had anything relating to Maverick. He said he wished he did, because he loved it. He'd taped the entire series from the Westerns Channel. I ended up buying two non-Maverick DVDs from him.

Back to the Kelly quest (Kwest?). I found a Saturday Evening Post containing an advertisement for Acme Golden Angus Boots (The most beautiful western boots ever created!). There's a very small pic of JK and James Garner and other Warner Brothers westerns stars at the bottom of the ad, because "Acme Boots are worn by stars and featured players of Warner Bros. western television and motion picture productions." Wow, the mens' boots could be had for only $16.95 a pair, and kids' boots ranged from $5.95 - $10.95. I guess grown-up cowgirls were out of luck, however. There are no boots shown in womens' sizes.

After more meandering up and down the aisles, I finally reached Valhalla. Or, at least its equivalent for the JK fan at an antiques show:

A booth with nothing...but...boxes...and...boxes...of...MOVIE MAGAZINES.

"Can I help you find something, hon?" the lady running the booth asked.

"Um...I like Maverick."

The lady's husband piped up: "Look under 'G' for 'Garner.'"

(See, these sellers categorized their magazines not by title, or year, or anything like that. They grouped them by what stars were inside. But, they didn't label each issue, so a magazine listed under "G" might have James Garner, or Greta Garbo. The mags were in snug plastic bags, too, so I couldn't skim the table of contents.)

Then, I threw the husband a curveball.

"Actually, I'm looking for Bart Maverick, you know, Jack Kelly?"

"Oooh, that's a toughie. I don't think we have anything with him. Gosh, we had a magazine with him, I think it had just him on the cover, too. But, look under 'K'. And, look under 'G' anyway, too, because he might be in there with James Garner."

O-kay.

I started thumbing through the "K"'s, but the filing system drove me Koo-Koo. I knew JK wasn't in a 1930 issue of Photoplay or a 1981 issue of Tiger Beat. I ditched the alphabetical method and let my instincts do the driving. I began looking for annuals and yearbooks from the Maverick era.

Passers-by probably wondered about the lady going though the magazines a mile a minute and pulling out titles like TV's Top Stars and Silver Screen Annual. But, I found six magazines with JK in them. :)

The sellers may have had an unorthodox filing method. However, they were very nice and even gave me a discount since I bought a bunch of magazines.

Now, here are some of the highlights from those JK magazines, starting with a small pic and blurb from Movieland and TV Time 1960 Annual (published in 1959):



Again, if the blurb doesn't read clearly, it says:

"Jack Kelly's real life started when he eloped with brunette actress May Wynn and married her, three years ago. That's what he says as he gazes romantically at May and thanks his lucky stars for the good fortune that has come his way.

His career boomed when he was cast in the already-going series Maverick. Catching up with James Garner's build-up was not easy, but Jack is doing fine.

He's a veteran actor who has played many types of roles and he's perfect as the casual, romantic, amusing Bart Maverick.

'Bart is Jack, playing himself', says May admiringly.

Among Jack's many hobbies are reading history, making model ships and cooking. When he gets outdoors, he is often found on the water sailing, or down below with his skin diving equipment. He also likes golf, riding and flying, too. Quite a busy man, this 'Maverick'!"

Wow, so many nuggets of JK knowledge gleaned from that little blurb! :)

Stay tuned for a glimpse of JK's unusual (and cozy) way of studying a script. ;->