Jack Kelly - Have a GREYt Fourth of July! :)

Hi Everyone!

We usually associate the Fourth of July with the colors red, white and blue. However, I noticed that someone on the JK Facebook page said they wanted to see more photos of Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick wearing the grey coat he sometimes donned instead of his customary black jacket. Well, it just so happens that some pictures of a grey-coated Bart have recently joined the Kellection. I hope these "suit" you. ;->

Have a GREYt and safe 4th! :)

JK, ready to start the day! :)

Hey, big spender! ;->


"What happened to my money?"

Jack Kelly - Road Trip! :)

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday, I made like Willie Nelson and went on the road again. This time, the Bartistamobile breezed down rustic two-lane roads flanked by cornfields to reach historic Hardin County, OH.

My destination? The 17th annual Gene Autry Days festival, which took place at the Hardin County Fairgrounds. It honors the legendary singing cowboy who was namesake to cast iron cap guns which helped Kenton, OH, survive the tough economic times of the Depression.

This good-natured gathering seemed slightly more "homey" and intimate than the Hopalong Cassidy Festival I recently attended. Housed in the Community Building, Gene Autry Days featured dozens of tables spread with vintage western collectibles and festival souvenirs. I bought a commemorative mug and another Maverick jigsaw puzzle.

I also chatted with some of the very nice memorabilia vendors. I was wearing a t-shirt with the Maverick logo and the man from whom I bought the puzzle asked me if I collected only Maverick memorabilia or James Garner items in general.

"Actually, I collect Jack Kelly."

"Jack Kelly? Hmm...I don't think I have much with him. He's not worth as much as Garner." [!]

I answered gently, "To some people Jack Kelly is worth quite a lot." (And I didn't mean in just the monetary sense.)

I explained that I maintained a blog about JK. The seller seemed genuinely interested and said he would look it up. So, if he sees this: Howdy! :)

I spoke with another vendor who had attended a western film festival in Memphis, TN, earlier this month which included a panel discussion with Clint "Cheyenne" Walker, Will "Sugarfoot" Hutchins, and Ty "Bronco" Hardin. (Wow, wish I could have gone to that festival, too!) He said Clint Walker was very nice and Will Hutchins was hilarious. He also showed me a leather Maverick toy holster he'd just bought. It was etched with a portrait of Bret Maverick. I wondered if it had Bart's likeness, too. Nope. But, the vendor did say he appreciated JK and had just seen him in a "space movie" (Forbidden Planet).

Another vendor saw me strolling by and said he liked my shirt. :)

At one end of the building was a makeshift stage. Entertainers performed as visitors milled about the tables. I was privileged to arrive at the festival just in time to hear Johnny Western sing. He was in Gene Autry's band for a while. And, if you don't recognize Johnny Western's name, I guarantee you recognize his signature song--The Ballad Of Paladin from the immortal TV western Have Gun--Will Travel.

Mr. Western, resplendent in his silver-spangled black cowboy clothes, finished his set with The Ballad of Paladin in a voice that was as full and firm as ever.

A cowboy look-a-like contest then took over the stage, emceed by an affable "Gabby Hayes" who I thought looked a bit more like Arthur Hunicutt (another grizzled actor). There was also a Roy Rogers, an Annie Oakley, a Cat Ballou, a Lash LaRue, a James Arness/Marshal Dillon, a John Wayne (plus "a John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn"), and, of course, a Gene Autry. The plain John Wayne looked eerily like the real deal and won hands down.

After enjoying a home-cooked chicken sandwich and a piece of the best pecan pie I've ever tasted, I bid this fun festival "Adios" and visited more sights in Kenton, including the Hardin County Historical Museum and the striking Gene Autry mural and monument: Then, I moseyed over to nearby Mt. Victory and visited a few antiques stores. Before leaving Mt. Victory and heading home, I ate supper at the famous and friendly Plaza Inn. In addition to a scrumptious buffet, they also have an airstrip out back in case you drive a Cessna instead of a Chevy! :)

Jack Kelly - Bart Maverick's Greatest Hits! :)

Wow! Look what I just found on YouTube--an original Maverick commercial starring "that rambling gambling man BART MAVERICK"!!! :->

Jack Kelly - It's Summer (Stock) Time! :)

Hello Everyone!
Well, it's officially summer now. However, it's felt like summer for a month here. I remember when it never used to get really hot until August. This year, it got hot in May and has stayed that way. It was 90 degrees when I was driving home from work this evening and 83 degrees when I took my dog for a walk later. But, there was a nice breeze blowing so it wasn't unbearably warm.

I don't know if they do this much any more, but another thing I remember about summer is television actors hitting the straw hat circuit. In my hometown, the now-defunct Kenley Players presented big-name TV talent in summer stock vehicles such as The Sound of Music, Camelot and Mame. Further west, in cities like Indianapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee, other homegrown Huroks hosted stars in venues ranging from dinner theaters to canvas tents where audiences could see their favorite TV stars acting outside of the box.

When Maverick ended in 1962, Jack Kelly swapped his Stetson for a straw hat to tour for three months in summertime productions of The Moon is Blue, Under the Yum Yum Tree and The Music Man. Since I own a program and several production stills from JK's The Moon is Blue, I'm going to focus on this play.

In June of 1962, JK arrived in Indianapolis, IN, to star in The Moon is Blue at the Avondale Playhouse.


The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis by David J. Bodenhamer and Robert Graham Barrows states the Avondale Playhouse was regarded as "one of the Midwest's top professional summer stock theaters" and it "contracted nationally recognized stage and screen personalities to headline casts composed largely of local talent." The "playhouse" was actually a candy-striped tent situated at a shopping center. Plays were presented "in the round" inside the tent, which could seat 1200 people.

In the racy comedy The Moon is Blue, JK portrays "Donald Gresham", a playboy architect who falls in lust with "Patty O'Neill", a highly moral young actress he meets on the observation deck of the Empire State Building.

(Here's the one Mama warned you about! ;->)

Donald wines and dines Patty, but she will not compromise her virtue.

Finally, Donald realizes there's only one way to get Patty, and that's to go back to the Empire State Building and propose to her.

(Note the pinky ring and the "JAK" monogram on his shirt cuff. :->)

Other stops in The Moon is Blue's orbit included Traverse City, MI, where this autographed program came from.

Remembering Dads on Father's Day

Hello Everyone,

I was thinking about my dad today. Actually, I think about him (and my mom) every day, but, today, on Father's Day, he was especially on my mind.

Dad passed away in June 2002, only a couple of days after Father's Day. The anniversary of his passing always falls around (and sometimes on) Father's Day. And, my older brother, who was also a dad, is gone now, too. So, the third Sunday in June is always bittersweet for me.

This year, as I watched the US Open on TV, I thought about how much Dad loved to play golf. The last Father's Day gift I gave him was a book about golf.

Yesterday, I found another of Dad's golf books. As I was looking through a box of some old family photos, I came across a little (3" x 4") booklet with a battered green front cover.

GOLF GUIDE, the title read. I thumbed through the book's now-yellowed pages. It's sort of a golfer's pocket-sized "bible", with rules, regulations, golfing tips, statistics, and more.

I noticed Dad's distinctive printing at the top of the title page:


I thought, "That has to be a golfing instruction", because Dad was never in the middle on anything else--you always knew on which side he stood! :)

While sifting through those old photos, I'd hoped to find one of Dad playing golf, or at least standing near his clubs, to share here. I know we have old home movies and videos of Dad with his clubs, but, I couldn't find any still photos.

So, instead, here's a photo of another avid golfer: JK. The caption on the back says, "Jack Kelly and wife May Wynn check scores on course at Rogers Sports Center in San Fernando Valley near Chatsworth [CA]."

Of course, JK later became a father with his second wife, Jo.

So, here's to all of our dads, whether they're still with us, or whether they're walking the Heavenly green above.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts we're about to receive.
May the fairway of life rise to meet you;
May the wind ever be at your back;
May His grip sustain you and a Heavenly green await you;
May you be a thousand years in Heaven before
the Devil knows what your score really was."

--"Prayer for Golfers" by Monsignor S.J. McGovern,
Spring Valley, N.Y.
(from the Golf Guide)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming up: A look at JK in his King's Row TV series and his adventures in summer stock. :)

Jack Kelly - More "Lost" Maverick Episodes! ;->

Hi Everyone!

I did some additional research and discovered there are actually more "lost" episodes of Maverick.

I wondered why these episodes have never been shown on the Encore Westerns Channel. Well, according to the book Maverick: A Definitive History of The Beloved TV Classic Starring James Garner and That Other Guy by Burl Robertson, these episodes featured the Pappy Roy character and it was felt that he was meant to be quoted and not seen. Thus, these episodes were shown only once when the series originally aired and weren't included in the rerun package. Their current whereabouts remains a mystery.

However, I found the titles and plot descriptions of these missing episodes in old issues of TV Guide:

"Bret's Not in This Episode So Just Turn It to 'Ed Sullivan'" - Pappy Roy gets mad when Bart's episodes get bigger ratings than Bret's.

"The Maverick Conspiracy" - Bart uncovers a sinister plot to make Bret the only Maverick.

"Pappy Roy Doesn't Know Jack" - Pappy Roy must run for his life and become a fugitive when the Facebook Ladies and La Bartista take the Wayback Machine to 1959.

"Bart Has the Last Laugh" - Bart wins a mine in a poker game and drops a load of coal on Pappy Roy.

Jack Kelly - A 'Lost' Maverick Episode! ;->

Hello!
The existence of a hitherto-unknown Maverick episode, "Pappy Roy Likes Me Better", was recently brought to light by one of the fabulous JK ladies on Facebook:

"In one memorable episode, 'Pappy Roy Likes Me Better', Garner appears at least 8' tall and Kelly about 4'7". Kelly reportedly did not resent this, telling one interviewer: 'Jim may be taller, but not that much taller. And I'm cuter. All the Facebook ladies say so'".

Armed with this amazing new info, I drove 150 miles, paid $20 admission, and dug diligently through 200 stacks of disorganized photos at the Chubby Johnson Memorial Western Film Festival held in Walgreen Corners, Ohio, this weekend. Eureka! I managed to find a publicity still from the "lost" Maverick episode, along with the original caption:

"SIZE MATTERS: The powers that be didn't think 8' tall James Garner ('Bret Maverick') looked tall enough, so they ordered 4' 7" Jack Kelly ('Maverick's brother') to hunker down some more for this scene from 'Pappy Roy Likes Me Better', an upcoming episode of the Maverick TV series. Kelly is pictured shooting at guest star Billy Barty (not shown)."