Jack Kelly on TV - "Claws"!?

Hey, look what I just found on Hulu--an episode of The Bionic Woman guest-starring Jack Kelly! He plays a baddie, but he looks good. And, this episode is better than that other BW he did (where he's dressed like Elmer Fudd and gets "kidnapped" by a UFO!) ;->

Incidentally, the lion's owner is portrayed by Tippi Hedren, who founded a real-life animal sanctuary and is the mother of actress Melanie Griffith.

Happy Friday! :)

The Maverick Report - "The Savage Hills"

Howdy!

One of this evening's Encore Maverick episodes was "The Savage Hills", wherein Bart meets the charming con artist, Samantha Crawford (Diane Brewster), who'd already bamboozled brother Bret (in the episode "According to Hoyle").

This time, Samantha gets Bart entangled with some stolen treasury plates and the tenacious agent who is hot on their trail.

Sneaky Samantha isn't one of my favorite Maverick characters. Talented Diane Brewster does well with the role, however, and she and Jack Kelly have some sweet scenes together in "The Savage Hills". There's one in particular where Bart and Samantha are on the lam out in the wilderness. Bart's noggin is hurtin', and Samantha soothes it by gently rubbing his temples as he lies with his head in her lap. (Lucky lady! :->)

Then, Bart tries to get Samantha to admit what she's planning to do with the stolen plates. She says she plans to turn them back in to the government. Bart's not buying it, however.

Samantha claims she's been thinking of things she hasn't before, and Bart chimes in, "Like a rose-covered cottage and the patter of tiny feet?" Samantha says yes, and concedes it sounds rather ridiculous in her case. Bart thinks it sounds like a good idea, though: "It'd be cheaper to have you in the family!"

But, come the dawn, there's no cottage, no plates, and no Samantha. There's just Bart waking up to the realization that he's been fooled by a lovely face--again. ;->

Breakfast with Jack Kelly--Part II

Hi!
I found a longer version of one of the "Quaker Oat Squares" commercials with Jack Kelly's hearty voiceover:

Also, when I was at the grocery store the other day, I wondered if Quaker still made Oat Squares. I moseyed down the cereal aisle and there was the familiar blue box. Only now, the cereal is called "Quaker Oatmeal Squares". I bought a box and brought it home to the breakfast table: (Irish breakfast tea has long been my customary breakfast beverage, and it does fit right in with Mr. Kelly. ;)

I'd never had Quaker Oatmeal Squares before, so this was something new for me. They're just as JK described them: "...the rich, nutty taste of toasted whole grain oats with a hint of brown sugar...crunchy little squares that stay crunchy in milk and sure taste good!" :)

Jack Kelly - "Happy Friday!"

Howdy!

At the place where I work, there's a "Happy Friday" tradition:

• The guy who works behind the counter in the cafeteria wishes everyone "Happy Friday!"
  
• The lady grabbing a cup of coffee in the break room wishes me "Happy Friday!"
  
• The managers heading back from a meeting wish each other "Happy Friday!" as they depart the elevator.

Now, how and when this friendly tradition started, I don't know. And, I have yet to hear anyone wish me "Happy Monday!"

Well, however, whenever--whatever! I'm wishing you "Happy Friday!" with this smokin' hot pic of Jack Kelly. :->

The Maverick Report - "The Jeweled Gun"

Howdy! The first Maverick being shown tomorrow evening on Encore Westerns is one of my favorite episodes, "The Jeweled Gun". Here's a publicity pic showing guest star Kathleen Crowley getting the drop on poor Bart, who's been posing as her husband. Will he escape her treacherous scheming? Tune in tomorrow! :)

Jack Kelly on TV--and Your Computer

Hey! :)

How would you like to watch Jack Kelly in Maverick, right here on your computer?

Now you can!

Just go to this website:

http://thecurtisfiles.com/rockford_filesmaverick_page.htm

And scroll down to the Maverick section.

There aren't a lot of episodes here, but there are (slightly edited) JK fan favorites such as "Witch of Hound Dog", "Prey of the Cat", "Trail West to Fury", "Maverick and Juliet" and "Duel at Sundown". Enjoy!

Jack Kelly - "Fore!" (or is it "Fur"?)

Hi!

I noticed a discussion on the Jack Kelly Facebook page about JK's love for golf.

Coincidentally--very coincidentally, I assure you--I'd been planning to post an entry here about the same subject, because I recently obtained a very unusual photo of Jack Kelly playing golf.

When I first saw this 1963 United Press newsphoto, I wondered why JK's golf bag was featured so prominently in the foreground while he was relegated to the background. Was it an "artistic" pic? Was it actually an ad for golf bags?

Then, I read the caption (always a good idea!). It says: "Actor Jack Kelly of the television series Maverick relaxes with a game of golf on 8/14/63 between a busy summer theater rehearsal schedule in Anderson, Indiana. Yes, the golf mitts are real mink."

JK's golf club covers were made of mink! (Yikes, I wonder if he worried about them being stolen. ;->)

And, here's a closer look at the ol' duffer himself:

Yes, Jack Kelly's love of the links is legendary. When I first started reading about him, most of the magazine stories made at least a passing reference to his golf game. This touched my heart, because my late dad was an avid golfer, as well.

But, maybe Jack Kelly loved golf too much at one point. In a 1961 fan magazine article, his wife May Wynn told an interviewer that their marriage was threatened, not by another woman, but by the golf course:

"Our life is different, I realize from the average couple's. Kelly, when he is acting, might work 14 hours a day for days at a time. Then he'll be home for a month...but it was getting to the point where he seemed to have no life besides work and golf...

"...A break came in Kelly's schedule and he was due to be home for about a month. Every morning, he'd wake up, have a quick breakfast, and rush out to the golf course after giving me a hurried imitation of a kiss...

"I started to keep a diary...at the end of two weeks, I cornered Kelly...Honestly, he didn't have the vaguest idea what I was talking about when I told him we had a problem...Then, I brought out my [diary] and made him look through it. Out of the two weeks he'd been home he'd spent 10 whole days on the golf course! Day after day read the same--'Golf today, golf today, golf today'..."

Well, JK reformed (slightly), and although his marriage to Ms. Wynn eventually ended, his enthusiasm for golf never waned. In fact, when he left city government for a spell in Huntington Beach, CA, in 1988, his farewell present was a golf bag: "This is one gift I don't have to report."