Jack Kelly: Kings Row - The Rest of the Story Pt. II

Howdy Everyone!

I'm sorry for not posting Part II of the Kings Row photo feature sooner. I've been having some problems with my router. It appears the router problems have been routed for the time being, so let's go on with the show:

The natty gentlemen pictured above are
"Doctors Mitchell (L, Jack Kelly) and Tower (Victor Jory)" who
are enjoying "a light moment in the mail order romance
between a lonely small-town widower and a scheming young
woman in the Kings Row story to be presented on Warner Brothers Presents, Tuesday, November 15 (1955), 7:30 p.m., EST, over ABC-TV."

JK in a tense scene from "Lady in Fear".

Dr. Mitchell appears puzzled by the unusual present a
young couple receives in "Wedding Gift". That's Dennis Hopper
as "Tod" and Natalie Wood as "Renee".


This is dialogue for the scene shown above,
from the actual script of "Wedding Gift".

*****************************

Stay tuned for a birthday tribute to another talented member of the Kelly family.

Jack Kelly: Happy Saint Patrick's Day! :)

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

--watch out! ;->

Jack Kelly: Kings Row - The Rest of the Story - Part I

Hello All! As you may remember, I wrote a post in 2009 about Jack Kelly's short-lived (1955-'56) television series Kings Row. After purchasing a number of rare stills from the series online last summer, I'd planned to do a photo feature about it, as well. But, there are so many JK photos, only one Bartista, and so little time... I saw some of the same images from Kings Row reposted elsewhere today and they reminded me of my long-deferred photo feature. The photos in my Kellection have the original episode info on the backs, so I can provide answers to questions about the other actors and actresses in the photos. I also have some additional images from Kings Row, including one very special photo of JK with an "easy rider" and a beloved actress in the splendor of her youth.

The original caption for the photo above reads: "Jack Kelly (Parris), Peter Votrian (Tim), Adrienne Marden (Mrs. Brownton) in 'Warner Bros. Presents,' 'Kings Row' ('Two of a Kind') for ABC-TV. " Now, don't ask me what JK is doing with that bell:

I can tell you, however, that this is another still from "Two of a Kind". And, the lovely lady is Myrna Fahey, who would later appear in several episodes of Maverick, including "Duel at Sundown" and "Mano Nera".

Now, here's a very distinguished looking JK with winsome Nan Leslie, his King's Row co-star, in a still from the episode "Wedding Gift":

Stay tuned for more Kings Row stills--coming after a pause for Saint Patrick's Day in TDS. :)

Jack Kelly: TV's Reluctant Top Gun Sounds Off - Pt. II :)

Hello Everyone!

Here's Part Two of the 1960 TV Weekly article:

"'I [JK] banged my head against a wall for two years before the thing finally equalized itself. It wasn't anyone's fault. It's just a peculiarity of the audience that it picks out one guy in shows like this and makes him No. 1. Sort of the same situation exists this time, but I really hope the same condition doesn't arise.

'After all," Kelly went on easily, "we're both in the same show getting the same exposure. And I know how hard Roger is going to have to work. When this 'top gun' business comes up about two people who are working together...well, you know what can happen.'

Actually, of course, Kelly walked out on the show only a few steps behind Garner. Warner Brothers talked him into coming back, however.

'I'd have come back anyway,' he said. 'I came back because it was the smart thing for me to do. Jim? Well, I figure he knows what he's doing.'

The question now before Kelly, Moore, Warners, ABC, et al is whether the series will be as successful without Garner was it was with him.

'I hope it won't hurt us,' Kelly shrugged. 'It don't think it will if Roger and I hit it off as well as Jim and I did. We clicked together right from the start. That's why I say now, don't call me 'top gun'.'"

Incidentally, Roger Moore had debuted as "Beau" on September 18, 1960. And, after only about a month, this Maverick cousin hadn't clicked with one viewer. They wrote to TV Weekly:

"I think we should send the 'Bundle from Britain' (Roger Moore) back to the British. When are we ever going to get the Maverick situation straightened out? The program was so good, but it sure has slipped, especially since they dropped Bret."

The editor replied: "They didn't drop Bret. He dropped himself from the series. Let's give Moore a chance to fill the gap."

Of course, Roger Moore ultimately didn't fill the Maverick gap. JK ended up being the only "gun" during the series' final season, although brother Bret did appear in reruns.

Jack Kelly: TV's Reluctant Top Gun Sounds Off - Pt. I :)

Howdy All!

Just a few posts back, we saw Jack Kelly dubbed one of "TV's Top Guns" by the writer of a 1962 magazine article about television westerns.

However, JK actually shunned the title of top gun on Maverick. The following 1960 TV Weekly story explains why:

"'Don't call me a top gun,' asks Jack 'Maverick' Kelly

Being a 'top gun' can have its disadvantages--even if it's only in a TV series.

Which is why Jack Kelly, who inherited all rights to that title on ABC's Maverick show when Jim Garner decided to go looking for greener ranges, says 'It's something I can do without.'
The handsome, happy-go-lucky Kelly learned the hard way what it means to play second fiddle, or gun, to a co-star. For at least the first two years of Maverick it was commonly regarded as Garner's show, even though they alternated in the starring roles and shared equally high ratings.
He doesn't want his new co-star, Roger Moore, who was introduced in the series this season as long-lost [cousin] Beau Maverick, to have the same problems.
'I know from personal experience that it's terribly discouraging,' Kelly said, shaking his head. 'My problem was that Jim starred in the first six shows before I got on the air. So naturally, all the promotion was about him. The show came with a built-in star. When people thought of Maverick, they thought of Jim."
Don't miss Pt. II - plus, a TV Weekly reader's reaction to Maverick's newly discovered relative - next time in TDS. :->

Jack Kelly: Out of the Shadows :)

Hello All!

It will be a few weeks before Spring officially arrives. There's still some snow on the ground here. However, there are already buds on the maple tree in my front yard. The hostas are sending up some spiky shoots in the garden. It looks like the crocuses are starting to peek through the frozen soil, too. And, the days are getting longer. So, it won't be long before the world emerges from the shadows of winter.

With Linda Alexander's upcoming book, the Jack Kelly group on Facebook, and this blog, JK is starting to come out of the shadows, as well. But, we weren't the first to recognize that JK deserved greater visibility.

Way back in 1960, a reader of the now-defunct British publication Picturegoer wrote to the magazine and shined the light on "K. O. Kelly":

The reader, Patricia B. from Birmingham, UK, wrote:

"It is time that Jack Kelly of Maverick was brought out of the shadows. Clint Walker [of Cheyenne] and Robert Horton [of Wagon Train] have been getting all the publicity. Yet when it comes to Western heroes, I think Kelly can beat the lot with his looks and his acting talent."

Me too! :->

Jack Kelly: Happy Valentine's Day! :)

"Hello, Acme Florists?

Could you please deliver

four hundred dozen roses for me?

The card should read
'Happy Valentine's Day to:

Jo, Nicole, Linda, Sue, Janet,

Sharon, Julia,

Liz, Geri, Betty, Debbie

--are you getting all this?--

oh yes, and Cindy Lou, and Samantha,

and Clover, and Nancy, and Stella, and...'"

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

TO ALL JK FANS

EVERYWHERE

FROM LA BARTISTA :)