JK on Screen - Around the World With Jack Kelly

Howdy Everyone!

Well, January's almost over, but it's still winter. Our thaw didn't last and the temps plunged back into the teens. Some other folks around the country are getting socked by snow and ice right now. And, I'm sure we've all got a touch of cabin fever.

So, I thought it would be fun to "travel" to different locales with Jack Kelly.

First stop: Hong Kong!

Hong Kong Affair was released in 1958. Although the poster called JK "That Bart Maverick Guy", the film was actually made before he joined the Maverick cast.

I haven't seen Hong Kong Affair yet, but The All-Movie Guide sums it up thusly: "In this thriller, shot on location in Hong Kong, the owner of a plantation that grows Iron Lady Buddha Tea, is perplexed when he cannot make a profit. He decides to go there and investigate the problem in person. There he encounters his British lawyer's Chinese secretary. He and she team up and after many false leads and blind alleys discover that the lawyer has been keeping the profits after he smuggles opium in with the tea shipments. The plantation owner puts a quick stop to the shyster's operation and turns him over to the authorities. "

JK's plays "Steve Whalen", the plantation owner, and his then-wife May Wynn plays the secretary, "Chu Lan". Reportedly, May got the part when it turned out the Asian actress originally cast as Chu Lan couldn't speak English well enough to say her lines.

Hong Kong Affair has a theme song. It's titled (uh huh):


Sample lyrics: "New lotus moon, starlight to wear, this was the start of it, my Hong Kong affair".

Here are some stills from Hong Kong Affair. I know the plot of the film involves tea, but somehow, these photos made me think of JK's cooking talents:

"Would you happen to have a good recipe for chicken,
General Tso?"

"Let's see - I need three pounds of chicken, some soy sauce, some garlic, some ginger root, some dried hot peppers, some cornstarch..."

"Hey, Popeye, this 'ginsu' knife you sold me couldn't cut Jell-o!"

"Imagine, having to take May to this cheesy restaurant instead of being able to treat her to one of my delectable dinners. All because of a stupid knife. That's the last time I buy anything from someone selling stuff out of a truck!"

Next stop on our itinerary? Keep watchin'! :)

The Maverick Report - "The Jeweled Gun" and JK's Lucky Redhead :)

Hello!

It's been difficult to catch Maverick since it was exiled to the early morning slot on Encore Westerns. But, if you can catch it, the episode on tomorrow (Monday) is one of my personal favorites, "The Jeweled Gun".

Jack Kelly's co-star is Kathleen Crowley, who would re-team with JK in several more Maverick episodes. I found a nice story about Ms. Crowley from 1961, when she was filming "Dade City Dodge" with JK.

Describing the shoot, she says, "Working with a professional like Jack is a real pleasure...It doesn't seem like there's been almost four years between my two Maverick shows. And the rehearsals for this one went just as smooth as the other; you'd think we were on-camera instead of just running through the lines and action."

Jack Kelly - January Thaw :)

Hi!

We're having a January thaw in our area. This megawatt smile should help raise the temp even more:

Happy Friday! :->

The Kelly Pages - A True West Moment? :)

Hi Everyone!

After a brief spell under the weather (I'm fine now), I'm back with one more Kellectible from last week's paper show.

The paper show isn't only for kellectors of old JK magazines. It also offers vintage books, postcards, photos, posters and much more.

One might even discover a rare old document, such as the newspaper story I found from 1876. Strangely enough, the names mentioned in the story sound very familar! It's very browned and fragile, so I'll transcribe it here:

"GA-GA GALS GANG UP ON GAMBLER

by Belle Boze Bobb

A roving gambler by the name of Bart Maverick was arrested and placed in our town's jail today. It was not for any crime for which Mr. Maverick was jailed. Rather, it was for his own protection, because Mr. Maverick's appearance anywhere in public provoked a stampede of frenzied females, as illustrated here:

The woman shown at left accosting Mr. Maverick was identified as a Miss Labartista. The other two ladies did not give their names. However, they may be members of a literary society, as they mentioned they often had their faces in a book, or some such thing.

All three ladies apologized to Mr. Maverick, explaining they were merely trying to see upon which finger he was wearing his 'pinky ring'. They also wanted to determine the color of his eyes and his height. Then, they asked if he'd seen a pair of bookends apparently belonging to Miss Labartista. The women also sought Mr. Maverick's culinary advice. They desired to know if they should bake their chicken with or without the skin, and wondered if Mr. Maverick had a recipe for potatoes.

Mr. Maverick thought perhaps his accosters had been out in the sun too long and declined to press charges against the ladies.

Surprisingly, Mr. Maverick had charges pressed against him. Magistrate Joe Wheelwright declared Maverick 'too handsome for his own good' and feared his sons (Moose, Henry and Small Paul) would never be able to find wives as long as Maverick was around. He charged Mr. Maverick with disturbing the peace and sentenced him to 20 years hard labor.

The magistrate mercifully suspended the sentence after Mr. Maverick volunteered to help find wives for the Wheelwright boys.

Mr. Maverick approached Miss Labartista and the 'face book' women about becoming Wheelwright brides. The three ladies laughed, saying they preferred living 'the maverick life' and declared they would settle for nothing less than a 'tall dark stranger' as far as matrimony is concerned.

Mr. Maverick then muttered something about his 'old Pappy' and continued with his matchmaking search."

Wow! That sounds like a real true west moment--or not? ;->

The Kelly Pages - "The Feeling Is Rapture"

Hi Again!

Here's another Jack Kelly klipping (from Movie Stars - TV Close Ups, 2/59) to fan the flames on a frosty night:



The text says: "Jack Kelly's idea of a romantic evening with his beautiful wife May consists of sitting on the floor in front of their fireplace, sipping wine and watching the flames play hide and seek around the logs.

"'Sure we like to go to the movies and parties--but nothing compares to the coziness of our own home,' he's convinced.

"Jack admits he's having one heck of a time pleasing his wife with gifts. 'She doesn't like jewelry, so that's a problem. She has more clothes than she can wear. In fact she's got just about everything she can use. My only solutions are gag gifts--like the loving cup I brought home the other day on which was inscribed, 'You're the greatest.' It's not really a gag--she is.'

"For reasons of his own, he refuses to comment on present conflicts between them, insisting, 'I find it prudent to keep my fat mouth shut on rendering an opinion at this time.' However, generally speaking, he says he and May look on disagreements as a blessing, 'because it's the only way to learn each other's heart, and the more we learn, the more solid will be our lives together.'

"He also won't confess how they make up after a quarrel, grinning only, '....but the feeling is rapture.'"
;->

Here's a better view of the photo of JK and May shown above (I think the other JK photo is probably already familar :->):



NEXT TIME: Another true west moment with Bart Maverick! :)

The Kelly Pages: More New Kellectibles! :)

Hello!

Here are some more klippings from the new Kellectibles to help warm up a winter night:

This pic of an older, more serious Jack Kelly comes from the November 1971 issue of TV Dawn to Dusk, a magazine devoted to daytime television. The article is titled "From Rogues to Riches" and it describes JK as "the debonair quizmaster of Sale of the Century", although by this time I think he'd already left SOTC to return to acting full-time. It also calls him "the former irrepressible bandit-gambler Bart Maverick" (not sure about the "bandit" part...?)

Anyway, the story repeats much of the early Kelly lore most fans are already familiar with (JK appeared in a soap ad at the age of 2 weeks, he acted on Broadway and radio as a child, he served in the Air Force, he achieved TV stardom on Maverick, etc.) However, it also looks at his later hosting duties on SOTC, and some of his off-duty activities:

"In September 1969, after a successful Hollywood career, Jack lassoed in on New York to emcee Sale of the Century. It's a toss-up as to which is a bigger audience drawer--those delicious bargains auctioned off on the show or witty and personable Jack himself. According to the Nielsen ratings, the two are a winning combination.

"Personableness is one quality Jack doesn't have to manufacture from his virtuoso acting ability. He truly measures up to a well-deserved reputation as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. His good-natured Irish humor often smoothes over many difficult situations on the show. And as Christmas time approaches, he is the master Santa Claus, preparing his gift list almost three months in advance and spending weeks on elaborate wrappings.

"In whatever spare time Jack can manage to sandwich in between segments of the quiz show, he spends on outdoor sports--sailing, golfing, camping, to name just a few. Co-owner of a large, luxurious cabin cruiser, Jack often journeys to California for some salmon and striped bass fishing. He's also one of the star golfers on celebrity golf tournaments, including the Bob Hope Desert Classic and the Bing Crosby Tournament. Cooking, be it outdoors or indoors, is another one of Jack's specialties. He often passes out recipes from his original collection that would tickle the palate of any discriminating gourmet.

"Despite his duties as master of ceremonies, acting hasn't left Jack's system, and in the summertime he often stars in stock productions to which he lends his vocal and thespian talents. Among the plays Jack has toured with on the straw hat circuit are The Moon is Blue, Under the Yum Yum Tree, The Music Man, Come Blow Your Horn, Guys and Dolls, Cactus Flower, and The Odd Couple."

Strangely, I don't remember watching JK in SOTC, although I do remember watching Hollywood Squares, which evidently came on right after SOTC. (I think Squares was always on when I came home for lunch in grade school.) And, SOTC never made it to the Game Show Network because, according to Wikipedia, "The original 1969-1973 series is believed to have been destroyed by NBC as per network practices of the era. Only nine episodes are known to exist, held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive." What a waste--and what a loss for JK fans.

Incidentally, at the paper show yesterday, I visited a booth where a couple was selling autographed summer stock programs. The gentleman asked me if I was looking for any actor in particular. I mentioned Jack Kelly. Remarkably, the gentleman recognized the name (I often get blank stares at these shows) and asked me to send him an e-mail so he could look for any JK items he might have. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he finds some. :)

NEXT TIME: What was JK's idea of a romantic evening? ;->

The Kelly Pages: Brrrr--Paper Show Day! :)

Hi All!

I risked frostbite to attend the semi-annual paper (ephemera) show today. See, the parking lot was full, meaning I had to park a few blocks away and walk in 11-degree weather to reach the show's venue, which also hosted a bridal show and a graduation ceremony today (why parking spaces were at a premium).

Don't worry--I was bundled-up, and the wintry walk was well worth it, because I found kwite a few Jack Kelly Kellectibles! :)

Such as a very nice copy of the book Poker According to Maverick, with a great color photo of JK and James Garner on the front cover, for just $1!

Plus, a few movie magazines with JK inside. For example, the Hollywood Secrets Yearbook (published 1961) with this hot shot of JK and wife May Wynn:

The caption says: "It's no casual peck on the cheek for head of the Kelly house when he sets off to work. May Wynn kisses her Jack as though she means it."

Yes, that definitely helped chase the chill away! ;->

Stay tuned--more new Kellectibles next time.