Jack Kelly's Universal Appeal :)

Hello!

Jack Kelly and his pals definitely aren't practicing social distancing in the photo below. But, they have a good excuse--this pic was snapped in 1953:

The info on the back of the photo reads: "THEY"RE INTERNATIONAL--WITH A UNIVERSAL APPEAL! - It's a young people's movie world at Universal-International Studios, noted for development of young talent for the screen. Herewith is a mixed group of Hollywood hopefuls and winners of the second annual 'Miss Universe' bathing beauty contest, now under contract to U-I. Left to right: Lisa Gaye; Brad Jackson; Maxine Morgan ('Miss Australia'); Lance Fuller (currently in Taza, Son of Cochise); Alicia Ibanez ('Miss Uruguay'); William Leslie; Christiane Martel ('Miss Universe' and in costume for her first movie, Yankee Pascha); Jack Kelly; and Emita Arosemena ('Miss Panama')."

A close-up of Hollywood hopeful JK:

 

Of the other U-I contract players pictured above, few besides JK went onto notable careers, although Lance Fuller did appear in "The Island in the Swamp" and "The Cats of Paradise" episodes of Maverick, portraying a character ("Faro Jack Norcross") in the latter episode which spoofed Richard Boone's "Paladin" from Have Gun--Will Travel.

 

And, Lisa Gaye (sister of actress Debra Paget) appeared with JK in the 1961 Maverick episode "State of Siege", which also guest-starred Ray Danton:



Caption: "Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly, left), Soledad (Lisa Gaye), and Don Felipe (Ray Danton) make up a happy household before 'A State of Siege' hits their Spanish hacienda, forcing them to fight for their lives on MAVERICK."


Incidentally, JK was part of another line-up of talent in 1975, this time to publicize an episode of the Ellery Queen series in which he guest-starred:

 

Well, "hopefully" this post "appealed" to you. Please stay tuned for more fun with JK in TDS and please stay well. :)

 

JK Steps Out With The Queen...

...Ellery Queen, that is! :)

JK and his fellow guest stars (Anne Francis, Ida Lupino, Susan Strasberg, Don Ameche and Craig Stevens) stay in step with Ellery Queen stars Jim Hutton and David Wayne.

Yep, that's Jack Kelly smiling on the right in a star-studded cast portrait for "The Adventure of The Lover's Leap", an episode of the short-lived but fondly remembered Ellery Queen TV series which originally aired on Thursday, September 18, 1975. JK played lawyer and suspect "J. T. Latimer". He was reunited with two former co-stars, Anne Francis (from Forbidden Planet) and Don Ameche (from The Story of Alexander Graham Bell and A Fever in the Blood).

Yikes! It's hard to believe this photo and the show are over 40 years old now. I recall watching Ellery Queen. I especially liked the classy Elmer Bernstein theme music, and Ellery (Jim Hutton) playfully breaking the fourth wall to ask the viewer, "Have you figured it out yet?" The complete series was released on DVD in 2010 and is already out-of-print.

Well, Ellery Queen is timeless and so is JK. Here's a close-up of our guy in the 1970's rockin' that 1940's look:

Jack Kelly: JK on Upcoming DVD! :)

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to give you a "heads up" about the upcoming DVD release of the complete 1975-'76 Ellery Queen TV series on September 28. Jack Kelly guest-starred in the episode "The Adventure of the Lover's Leap" along with his Forbidden Planet co-star Anne Francis.

Click here for more info and a couple of preview videos for the 6-disc set.

Jack Kelly on TV - Your Christmas Bonus! :)

Hi!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas.

I found an extra present for you: Jack Kelly's appearance in (click here) "The Adventure of the Lover's Leap", a 1975 episode of Ellery Queen, the great retro mystery series starring the late Jim Hutton.

JK plays lawyer and suspect "J. T. Latimer", and he appears at 24:28 and again at 35:55. Interestingly, he's reunited with two former co-stars, Anne Francis (from Forbidden Planet) and Don Ameche (from The Story of Alexander Graham Bell and A Fever in the Blood).

Although I didn't remember this particular episode, I enjoyed watching Ellery Queen when it originally aired. I especially liked the classy Elmer Bernstein theme music, and Ellery playfully breaking the fourth wall to ask the viewer, "Have you figured it out yet?"

Of course, now that I've seen JK's episode, I like Ellery Queen even more! :) And, the entire series is reportedly coming to DVD in 2010.

"The Adventure of the Lover's Leap" comes from the same site that had the Maverick episodes which I posted about a few months back (the links on that post are now void). It has a few different Maverick episodes now, including the Bart starrers "Betrayal" and "The Brasada Spur", plus the Bret/Bart teaming "Duel at Sunset". The site also has the Rockford Files episode "The Becker Connection".

Incidentally, I noticed that the same person who maintains "The Curtis Files" also has a channel on YouTube called "The Gunsmoke Channel" that showcases mostly the older half-hour black-and-white GS episodes. Here's hoping "Jealousy" (JK's episode) gets there posted, too! :->