Come Fly Away With JK! - Pt III

Hi Everyone!

Here's the third and final part of "A Pilot, On Stage and Off":

"For the past several years, Kelly has been playing in summer stock companies throughout the Midwest. Since many of these stops are off-airlines, he will frequently charter a plane for his wife*, himself and the large wardrobe that is required even when playing a 'modern' role.

"'I'll need at least five complete changes of suits on the road," he said, "in addition to what I wear offstage. You never know when or where you'll have a chance for cleaning and pressing. So, there's usually just room for a pilot, the two of us and our baggage when we charter a four-place. However, these short cross-country trips in various areas that are new to me give an excellent background for my own vacation flights.'

"Some of the actor's sensitivity to surroundings came to light when he was asked why he liked to fly. "I get a fantastic reaction to being off the ground. My mind crystalizes into clarity when I'm in the air and the earthbound problems disappear.

"Just as almost everyone else in the nation, I was glued to the TV set for two days after President Kennedy's assassination. Finally I became so depressed that I drove to the airport and took a Cessna up for two-and-a-half hours. For the short time I was in the air, the whole national tragedy seemed lifted from my shoulders.'

"Although he was born in New York City, Kelly is no stranger to southern California. He has spent a large part of his time there for the past several years, working in motion pictures, on TV and on the stage.

"Kelly had a clause in his contract that provided the option to drop out of a Broadway** show if the TV aviation film he was working on proved to be a success and was continued as a regular series.

'While I look forward to the Broadway assignment,' he said before leaving for the East, 'it would be most enjoyable to do a regular TV series patterned around aviation. In the trial film, 'Double Jeopardy', I play a happy-go-lucky, girl-chasing executive who uses a light aircraft for business transportation. In the original script, the author came up with a name for the proposed series--Pay the Piper.'

"'Naturally, the lead character's name in 'Double Jeopardy' is 'Mr. Piper'.

"And naturally, the aircraft used in 'Double Jeopardy' just happened to be a brand-new Piper Aztec C."

Bonus photo: JK not as a pilot, but as a passenger, along with wife Donna (May). The snipe on the back of this fabulous late 1950's TWA publicity photo says: "Idlewild Airport, N.Y. May 24--TV Star of Maverick, Jack Kelly and his attractive wife, actress May Wynn, look lovey-dovey on their arrival from Los Angeles. They will be with us a few days on business."  Incidentally, the book Donna is holding says "The Mainstream of America Series". This was a series of 20 books published by Doubleday between 1953 and 1966 which focused on American history.



Where will TDS and JK fly to next? Stay tuned and find out! :)
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*This interview apparently took place in 1964 when JK was still married to May Wynn.

**Probably a reference to The Family Way, which opened and quickly closed on Broadway in early 1965. Unfortunately, "Double Jeopardy" wasn't a hit, either, and Pay The Piper didn't become a regular series, although JK would play Fred Piper again in "One Embezzlement and Two Margaritas" on Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater in 1966.

Come Fly Away With JK! - Pt I :)

Hi!

I hope everyone's recovered from the party. :)

Now, fasten your seatbelts...because we're going flying with Jack Kelly!

An amazing article about JK finally landed (pun intended) in the Kellection the other day after I'd diligently searched for it for several years. When you read it, you'll agree it was worth the wait!

Published in an aviation magazine, this profile from the mid-1960s offers a fascinating look at JK's interest in flying. It also reveals information about his military service and about some of his appearances as an actor which involved aviation. Above all, it provides a different perspective on JK than the usual "fan" magazine story. It proves once again that he was far more than just a handsome face.

As an introduction, let's watch this clip from "Double Jeopardy", a 1965 episode of Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater in which JK starred as detective Fred Piper. The article explains how the flight scenes in this clip were filmed:

And, away we go:

"A Pilot, On Stage And Off
Written and photographed by
 Don Downie (c) The AOPA Pilot

Actor Jack Kelly enjoys flying as an avocation,
but he'd also like to be more closely involved with aviation in his television and screen activities.

"While filming a special television show for Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater, actor Jack Kelly shares the cockpit of a Piper Aztec with Fullerton, CA,  pilot J. Tom Brody." (Photo by Don Downie)
 

"It was quiet on the soundstage at Universal Studios near Hollywood, CA. In front of the cameras was a meticulous 'mock-up' of a new Aztec C. Actually, the motion picture prop was a production Piper fuselage from nose to baggage compartment, opened up like a sliced orange for proper camera angles.

"In the pilot's seat was Zsa Zsa Gabor, but her co-pilot knew a great deal more about flying than the Hungarian glamour girl. Flying right seat for Zsa Zsa was actor Jack (John A.) Kelly (AOPA 133779) who starred in the Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater TV film titled 'Double Jeopardy'. In addition to Kelly and Miss Gabor, the film included Lauren Bacall and Tom Poston.

"It would have been much more practical from a flying standpoint to have the roles in the cockpit reversed. Actor Kelly is an eager and active member of the Sky Roamers Flying Club of Burbank, CA, and an expert meteorologist.

"While he's working in Hollywood, Jack Kelly finds the Sky Roamers an ideal flying club for his purposes. 'There's everything a new pilot needs, including a Link trainer and lots of instruction,' he explained between takes of 'Double Jeopardy'.

"In this particular scene, which took 12 retakes, Kelly had to have a makeup artist remove Miss Gabor's lipstick each time. But Kelly is a professional actor who can switch quickly from camera capers to hangar flying.

"'I use the Sky Roamers' Cessna 172's and 175's to go golfing at Palm Springs or Borrego Springs, but I like to fly pretty high through Banning Pass,' he said.

"The basic idea for the script and lead character for 'Double Jeopardy' was Jack Kelly's.

"'I feel if we can keep private flying in the foreground of entertainment, we can influence more people to try it themselves,' he explained. 'At first, we kicked around the idea of having the lead character have the capability to fly himself. However, there seemed to be better plot opportunities to have him as an interested passenger involved with a great deal of flying and, of course, a great number of most attractive gals.'

"Even with his relatively brief experience in flying, Kelly doubled in brass as technical director on the set.

"'But what am I supposed to do, darlink,' asked Zsa Zsa, 'when I'm supposed to be piloting zis machine?' (Her on-camera accent is for real.)

"Kelly explained what the control movements would be to correspond with the rear projection color background that showed a landing at the Monterey, CA, Airport."

STAY TUNED FOR PART II and learn about JK's adventures (and misadventures) with military airplanes and some of his high-flying film roles!