Breakfast With Jack Kelly!

I was going to try to post a photo feature about Jack Kelly here today. I saved it as an easy-to-read PDF file and was all ready to upload it--only to find that Blogger doesn't "do" PDF files. Oh, well, back to the old scanner. I'll try to upload it as a JPG file.

Anyway, enough about PDFs and JPGs. We're here to talk about JK. So, here is a Quaker Oat Squares commercial I found featuring his voice. By the way, Jack Kelly stated in a 1988 Los Angeles Times article that he thought his voice had a "Max Von Sydow" quality, especially in these Quaker ads. The same article revealed that JK could potentially earn $100,000 per advertising voiceover session, which might last less than 30 minutes (hey, that's a pretty good payday!)

JK also said that another reason he enjoyed doing voiceover work is because "It's a niche where age and beauty have no importance."

Incidentally, when I was very little, I was scared to death of the Quaker Oats guy! Don't know why, but I used to run from the room whenever he appeared on TV. (Him, and Alfred Hitchcock.) Thankfully, I overcame my childhood fear. (Otherwise, I would have freaked out when I was posting JK's ads here!) In fact, I have oatmeal for breakfast almost every morning now. :)

And, speaking of breakfast--I got up early today to watch Bret Maverick on the Westerns Channel, because I knew Jack Kelly was going to be in this morning's episode. Actually, I could have slept almost another hour, because JK didn't show up until the very end--and I mean the very end--and the events leading up to his appearance were only mildly amusing.

I remember watching Bret Maverick when it originally aired. However, I didn't remember how mediocre it was. James Garner is dressed as Bret Maverick, but he's more or less playing Jim Rockford. The plot involves the kind of elaborate swindle that the Mavericks often perpetuated in the original series. However, this is no Shady Deal at Sunny Acres. Here, Bret Maverick isn't a laid-back gambler trying to retrieve his stolen money. He's more like a greedy con-man running a scam simply to get someone else's dough.
 

When Jack Kelly finally shows up, he looks somewhat more like "Uncle Bentley" in Pappy than Bart. Which isn't surprising, as nearly 20 years had passed since the last episode of the original Maverick aired. However, he's still good-looking and the Kelly charm is still very much in evidence. Too bad we only get to see it for about 30 seconds, in what amounts to little more than the punchline to a 50-minute joke.
 

"The Hidalgo Thing" turned out to be the final episode of Bret Maverick. I've read that Jack Kelly was offered the chance to reprise his role as Bart if a second season occurred, but since the series was canceled, this was not to be. It's just as well--JK deserved to be seen in something better than this anemic retread of a true television classic.
 

I must admit, though, Bret Maverick did have a great theme song, performed by one my favorite singer/songwriters, Ed Bruce (who was also a regular on the show):

 

The Kelly Pages: Don't Fret

I was going through some of my vintage movie magazines with pix of Jack Kelly. Here's one of my favorites (please excuse the clarity, these old mags sometimes don't scan so well). I love the dreamy expression on JK's face as he makes like Segovia, or perhaps like Willie Nelson (note the scarring on the body of the guitar):


Next time, I'm going to try to post an entire JK picture feature I found. :)

Jack Kelly Keeps You in Suspense!

Now, here's a real treat for your ears. Nearly a year before first appearing as Bart Maverick, Jack Kelly was heard as "Christopher Warner," a young man with a deadly traveling companion in "A Shipment of Mute Fate," an episode of the hair-raising radio series Suspense. This episode can be downloaded in MP3 format from the informative and entertaining "Escape and Suspense!" blog. (The link to JK's episode is below the last paragraph of the main text.) Trust me--the ending will give you goosebumps! :0

Jack Kelly: An Irresistible Special

Fritzankotter's Sandwich Factory, in Huntington Beach, CA, has a sandwich called the "Jack Kelly" listed on a section of their menu titled "Irresistible Specials". The Jack Kelly consists of a quarter-pound of roast beef, jack cheese, Ortega chilies, pickles, lettuce and tomato, on sourdough bread. It costs $5.25. An online reviewer gave a thumbs up to the JK. :)

The Maverick Report - "The Goose-Drownder"

"The Goose-Drownder" took me completely by surprise. Its goofy title (a colloquialism for a torrential downpour) and the presence of Gentleman Jack Darby (Richard Long) led me to assume it was a comedy. There are comic moments in "The Goose-Drownder". However, for the most part this tense episode surges with drama. 

The goose-drownder strands Bart and Darby in a decrepit hotel in Silverado, Nevada. The town's population of one consists of Boone Gillis, the hotel's elderly but spirited caretaker. Gillis watches in amusement as his two poker-playing guests--bored silly after being cooped-up for a week--start wagering on the chance to slug each other. Bart wins and almost collects on his bet, when a stagecoach suddenly arrives through the deluge. 

 A woman passenger anxiously asks for help for her ailing brother. After Bart helps the pair get settled in, he realizes that the man isn't just ill--he's been shot, and is bleeding badly. Plus, he's armed. The woman and another passenger tend to the wounded man, whom Gillis has recognized as The Arapaho Kid, a murderous bandit. 

The woman is familiar to Bart, as well. She is Stella, a dance-hall girl he met in Abilene only months before. They spent some meaningful time together. Not that meaningful to Stella, perhaps--she absconded with Bart's watch and his $350. 

When Bart gently confronts Stella about his watch, she pretends not to remember him from Abilene. Then, she 'fesses up, but refuses to return the watch. Later, Stella admits to Bart that the man she's caring for isn't her brother, but someone who rescued her from the saloon. She tells Bart her life story. Bart urges Stella to give her story a happy ending by leaving the abusive gunslinger she's entangled with. Blinded by her foolish love for the bandit, she contemptuously calls Bart a "boy" who could never measure up to a "real man" like the Arapaho Kid. 

Meanwhile, Darby has learned why the Kid and his crew were on the stage in the first place--to steal its cargo, the payroll of a local mine. He also learns that the stage driver is an imposter, and discovers the murdered body of the real driver in the floodwaters. 

Back inside the hotel, Bart is forced to operate on the increasingly delirious Kid. Bart successfully removes the bullet, but the dying Kid turns on him and orders Stella to shoot Maverick. Stella hesitates. Bart tenderly begs her to save his life, and her own, by not committing murder. He admits he has deep feelings for her, but won't try to hold on to her if she feels nothing for him.

The Kid sneers at Bart's heartfelt declaration and tries to kill him and Stella. Maverick beats him to the draw. Darby glibly congratulates Bart on his lifesaving "performance" with Stella. Bart promptly decks him. "Just collecting a debt," Maverick insists. But, Darby wonders if there was something more to that punch. The rain subsides and Stella leaves on the next stage to find a new life. Bart watches her go, and then he and Darby prepare to move on. Until the rain starts again... 

Jack Kelly expertly shows us several sides of Bart's personality in "The Goose-Drownder". One minute, Bart is bantering with Darby; the next he's reminiscing with Stella; then, he must perform makeshift surgery on a half-crazed outlaw; finally, he has to plead for his life. Since Stella has caused almost nothing but trouble for Bart, we (like Darby) wonder if he is merely to trying to save his own skin when he earnestly professes his love for her at gunpoint. The truth is never revealed, only hinted at when Bart--with his face hauntingly framed in the rain-fogged window--sadly gazes at Stella as she prepares to leave on the stage.

Stella is played with refreshing realism by Fay Spain. Stella isn't the hackneyed dance-hall girl with a heart of gold. Nope, she is one tough cookie, and at times it's hard to tell if she has a heart at all. The rest of the cast of "The Goose-Drownder" is top-notch as well, especially venerable Will Wright as Gillis.

JK on Screen - "And Starring ??? As Jack Kelly"

There's been some fun discussion on the JK Facebook page about who might be able to play Jack Kelly if a movie was made about his life.

I gave the matter some thought, and my choice is:

No one.

Because, like all true stars, JK is an original and can't be duplicated. :)

And, they just don't make guys like Jack Kelly anymore. No modern actor could do him justice. :(

However, if it was announced tomorrow that Jack Kelly's life story was about to go before the cameras and someone had to play him, I would choose:

Ashton Kutcher. :0

I know, I know...that doesn't seem like a likely choice. One day, though, I stumbled upon What Happens in Vegas starring AK while channel surfing. I was surprised because it was better than I thought it would be. I was also surprised to notice that Mr. Kutcher reminded me of Mr. Kelly in certain ways.

I'm not saying there's a spot-on likeness, but there are similiarities in their smiles and especially in their eyes. And, Ashton Kutcher can play straight roles as well as convey the same kind of sweet silliness that JK sometimes displayed as Bart Maverick.

Maybe it's just me. Oh well, here are some photos where JK and AK kind of look like each other:





Actually, I prefer factual documentaries to scripted biopics. For instance, I was very disappointed in Walk the Line. I thought Joaquin Phoenix captured Johnny Cash's mannerisms, but not the man himself. I'd have much rather watched actual footage of Cash.

Therefore, I'd love to see a documentary made about Jack Kelly's life. Too bad the Biography Channel shows almost everything but biographies these days...that would be a great place for a JK documentary. Or, maybe Turner Classic Movies.

The Kelly Kollection - From the Telly to the Cinema

Although my interest in Jack Kelly dates back only a few months, one corner of my desk is already precariously piled with JK kollectibles. (Don't panic - I'm going to find a proper place for them.)

One of the items I've found is a set of British lobby cards advertising a film called Ellie. Now, if you glance at any of Jack Kelly's filmographies, you probably won't find a movie by that title. I didn't. But, the info on the lobby cards made me wonder if this was originally a TV production. Sure enough, Ellie is actually an episode of JK's short lived Kings Row series that was released as a feature film in English cinemas. I did some sleuthing, and the plot involved a fearful older lady who keeps her daughter near by pretending to be ill and broke.

It's doubtful that Ellie will be appearing on a TV screen or theatre near you any time soon, but here's a look at how Jack Kelly appeared in the episode as psychiatrist "Parris Mitchell":

I'm wondering about this picture -- is she trying to figure out if he likes butter?


This one is my favorite.

I think JK looks very Humphrey Bogart-ish here.

Smilin' Jack!