Jack Kelly: This Morning at the Water Cooler :)

Jack Kelly: A Kornucopia of Kellectibles! :)

Hello Everybody,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did. I traveled to visit family. It was great sharing a meal and memories with them. Never seems to last long enough, though. 

 I drove home on Friday, but I didn't stop at any antiques stores along the way like I did last year. However, on Saturday (11/27) I attended the same antiques show as I did last November. It was crowded with both vendors and shoppers. There's always a little bit of everything at this show, and you just never know what you might see. The most amazing item I saw was a 1931 Ford sedan. A real one, not a model. (I'm still wondering how they got it into the building.) Of course, I was on a kwest for Kellectibles, not kars, so I kontinued up and down the aisles. Finally, I kame upon a booth kontaining kowboy komemoratives of all kinds. I spied momentoes of Hoppy, Gene, and Roy, and even a few of Paladin's cards. And, after a little bit of digging, I found this:

This is one of the more unusual Maverick Kellectibles I've encountered. It's sort of a coloring book, only the drawings are erasable (hence the name "Eras-O-Picture"). Alas, the erasable crayons and crayon sharpener are long gone, as is the clear "magic screen" that made it possible for kiddies to color pictures from "magazines, funnies, or picture books" without actually marking on them.

Luckily, all of the drawings in the book are intact and many of them look like they were never colored in. Naturally, most of the drawings are of Bret Maverick, but there is one drawing of Bart:

When I went to pay for this Kellectible koloring book, the vendor asked if I kollected Maverick memorabilia. I answered "Yes," and then he asked, "Haven't I sold you stuff before?"

I remembered that he'd sold me a picture of Bart a little over a year ago.

"That's right...and I had a puzzle with Bart and Bret on it that I wanted to show you then, but I didn't have it with me. Well, I brought it today. I know I stuck it one of these boxes--let me see if I can find it for you."

The vendor quickly looked through box after box, and at last he came up with this:

It's a "Jr. Jigsaw Puzzle" that's "not too hard--not too easy". And, it's "for boys and girls who want REAL puzzles" (and for fans who want a REAL picture of Bart on the box). ;->

Speaking of pictures, here's a close-up of our boys:

I believe this now completes the jigsaw puzzle portion of my Kellection. :) As I paid for my purchases, we got to talking about the Hopalong Cassidy and Gene Autry festivals, both of which I attended this year. In fact, he gave me some "inside" info about the 2011 Hoppy fest. I don't know if I should mention the name (I don't know if it's been announced officially), but one of the guests scheduled to appear next year is an actor who co-starred in popular TV westerns which begin with the letter "L". :->

Jack Kelly: Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! :)

Jack Kelly: At Home With JK! :)

Hello Again!

If you opened a copy of the latest New York Sunday News on this date (November 20) exactly 50 years ago, you would see this story:

AT HOME WITH JACK KELLY

The text reads:

"On ABC-TV, Bart Maverick roams the Wild West in search of a good card game with nary a thought of settling down with a wife in a permanent home. Though he has become identified with Bart, actor Jack Kelly doesn't share his love of a rover's life. Jack likes staying at home with his wife, actress May Wynn.

"Soon after their marriage in 1956, Jack and May moved into a three-room house in North Hollywood. Recently, their collection of paintings became too big for their living space and the couple were forced to move to a larger house in San Fernando Valley, a ranch-style home, naturally."

Here are some glimpses of the Kellys' new digs:

The caption:
"Jack likes the wide
open spaces, windows."
(And yes, May is wearing high heels.)

"Unique desk is cluttered with plans
of the Kellys' new homestead.
Discussion is interrupted by phone call."
(Probably scheduling a tee time? ;->)

I love the caption for this one:
"Pooches eavesdrop as May explains ideas
for decorating kitchen. Jack seems bored."
(Daydreaming about that golf game? ;->)

Jack Kelly: "Broken Hand Mystery" - SOLVED! :)

Hello All!

These days, I don't often get to see the Maverick episodes on Encore Westerns, since they air when I'm usually on the freeway, bound for work.

However, last week I had an unscheduled day off after my water heater sprung a leak and began making ominous noises. I tried to remember when it had been installed. When all I could come up with was "Uh, nineteen something?", I knew it was time to buy a new water heater.

While waiting for the home improvement store to open, I got to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with Bart, by way of "Dodge City or Bust". I thought I remembered reading on the Jack Kelly Facebook page that JK had injured his hand before filming this episode and had to wear a cast. The cast was removed so he could film his scenes in "DCOB" (what a trouper!) and then replaced when he was finished filming.

Poor JK seemed to be prone to accidents. His various mishaps (including a serious water skiing accident that badly scarred his leg) have been discussed on the JK FB page. JK's hand injury is particularly intriguing because the news stories about the cast being temporarily removed apparently didn't explain what caused the injury.

Well, I found the solution to the "Broken Hand Mystery". I was leafing through a February 1961 movie magazine from the Kellection this evening, and this item in Armand ("Army") Archerd's gossip column suddenly leaped out at me:

"We hopped over to Warner Brothers to find out what's cooking over there...Jack Kelly wasn't working--and we knew why. Jack had called us a couple of days earlier to report he had broken his hand at the party he gave at his house at which we were among the guests. It was Jack's first bash in the new mansion and after all had left and he was helping wife May straighten up the place, he tripped while carrying some plates. In order to prevent a fall on his face, he braced himself with his outstretched hand. Funny thing, he told us, the fracture wasn't discovered until two days later--after Jack played 18 holes of golf with Bob Newhart!"

Wow--talk about a dedicated golfer! :0

And, that's not all I found in this magazine. There's a photo of JK and Roger Moore at a costume party. You won't believe how RM is costumed. I'll show it to you--next time. ;->

Plus: I also have a 1960 pictorial showing JK and Donna/May moving into the new home mentioned above. It's coming soon! :)

(Oh, and I did get my water heater replaced. The new one has a 12 year warranty, so I guess I'll be in hot water for a while--the good kind of hot water, that is! ;->)

Jack Kelly: WHOOOA! Look What I Found :)

Howdy Everyone,

Look what I found on YouTube:

It's the opening of "Fly Me If You Can Find Me", the episode of Banacek where Jack Kelly plays "Lou Wayne", the owner of a chartered flight service whose airplane mysteriously goes missing. JK shows up at about 5:33 into the clip. I love it when he suddenly yells "WHOOOA!" when he's talking to the pilot on the phone. And, throughout the rest of the episode when he refers to the airplane as an "aeraplane". (Must of been that New York accent sneaking in.) Enjoy! :)

Jack Kelly: Remembering...