Jack Kelly - Breaking News! "Young Billy Young" on Hulu :)

Yep, it's the whole movie! JK plays a baddie, but he does a great job of it:

Jack Kelly: Oh, the Cowboy and the Funnyman Should Be Friends... :)

Howdy!

Our guest post is coming in the near future. In the meantime, I have another exciting Jack Kelly treat to share with you: screen captures from a TV special that we've all been "Hope"-ing to see: The Shoot-In at NBC.

Yup, it's the 1967 Bob Hope show which pits TV comics against TV cowboys.

The premise: The funnymen (everyone from Don Adams to Danny Thomas) are fuming because westerns are taking over TV and taking away their jobs. So, they declare war on the cowboys.

Which really doesn't make much sense, because I checked, and at the time the special aired there were actually 23 comedy series on TV and only 12 westerns. (Or 14, if you count Daniel Boone and Cowboy in Africa.) It would have been more logical to do this show in 1957. But, since this is a comedy special, I guess it doesn't need to make much sense.

Before all the feudin' commences, though, there's the intro, where all the comics and cowboys are announced. Here's JK:

After the intro, we have Bob Hope's monologue. It's full of then-topical jokes about Governor Ronald Reagan, smog ("It's exhaust from politicians"), and even Zsa Zsa Gabor (who's still in the news today).

And, about every five minutes, this mod chick in a white mini-dress pops up in commercials where people are suddenly struck by "Dodge Fever". This terrifying illness causes its victims to become mesmerized by ugly station wagons and drop whatever they're doing so they can go buy one. (I hope surgeons and airline pilots are immune.)

Then, there's Bobbie Gentry. She's neither a comic nor a cowboy, but she'd just had a monster hit with Ode to Billy Joe, and she appears throughout the show to comment on the action by crooning a parody of the High Noon theme song. She also sings a tune called Lazy Willie which sounds almost exactly like Billy Joe.

Okay, finally, JK shows up with Phil Carey, whose brother he'd played earlier that year on Laredo. Thankfully, JK is wearing a much nicer jacket than the drab brown number he wore in "Enemies and Brothers" and that dreadful ruffled shirt is nowhere in sight:

JK and PC appear in a silly segment with Bob Hope and Steve Allen, who are in a bar commiserating about the comics' (alleged) unemployment problem. (And I bet ol' Steverino was thrilled to see one of the Maverick brothers who used to outgun him in the ratings. ;->)

Although Maverick had been off the air for five years and JK was now an itinerant cowboy guest star, he brags to the bartender (Bill Dana), "My show just got a 60 rating--30 for me, 30 for my horse!" And, although Laredo had been canceled, PC boasts, "And my show just got picked up for another 20 years!" (Maybe he meant One Life to Live, although it hadn't actually started yet. ;->).

JK is still wearing his pinky ring, too:

....To be continued! :)

NEXT TIME: See how JK uses his head as more than just a place to wear his hat!

Jack Kelly - We Have A Winner! :)

Hello All!

And "thanks" to everyone who entered the guest blogger contest.

We have a winner:

Reader "Prof. Plum" has correctly identified Jack Kelly's mystery date as Cora Sue Collins.

JK and Ms. Collins, a former child actress, were an "item" at one time. Newspaper gossip columnists had them this close to announcing an engagement or an elopement. However, as we know, JK moved on to May Wynn, and the rest is history.

While still together, a beaming JK and CSC walked the red carpet at the premiere of JK's 1955 film To Hell and Back, where they were captured in our captivating contest photo.

And, JK's bandage? According to the caption on the back of the photo, it was there because JK burned his hand in a barbeque accident! (Poor baby!)

So, well done and congratulations, Prof. Plum. We're looking forward to reading your guest post. :->

Jack Kelly - Be My Guest...Blogger! :)

Howdy Everyone!

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at blogging? Would you like to review your favorite Jack Kelly movie or TV performance, or do you have an item of JK memorabilia you'd like to discuss here on The Tall Dark Stranger There?

Well, here's your chance to be a guest blogger! All you have to do is identify JK's mystery companion in the photo below:

A couple of hints: Obviously, the lucky lady is not May Wynn, although she is an actress. The toothsome twosome was snapped at a glamourous Hollywood event. (And, poor JK has a bandage on his hand!)

Please post your answer in the "comments" section. (And, to be fair, please don't post the correct answer on Facebook until after I've announced the winner here--thanks!)

The first person to correctly identify JK's mystery date will be my guest blogger. I'll contact you to confirm you're the winner. Then you can send me your Jack Kelly-related write-up--including photo(s), if you wish--and I'll post it here instead of my usual nattering. ;->

So, take a good look--and good luck! :)

Jack Kelly - Bundle From Britain :)

Hi Again!

Wow, it seems like we were just talking about Summer starting, and now it's practically August! Where does the time go...

Lately, I've been passing the time by reading an enchanting little book titled Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley. It's a novel about a lady who's launched on an adventure by an amazing collection of books. So, I thought we could enjoy a little adventure of our own with a couple of books which recently joined my Kellection. They're both from England and both have our boy Bart Maverick on the front.

The first book from across the pond is Maverick - Boss of the Rocking H Ranch. And, by "Maverick", they mean Bret Maverick. You see, this is the British edition of the Whitman Maverick book by Charles I. Coombs and Bart isn't in it at all. But, at least we get Bart (in his grey suit!) on the British cover:

A bookplate from the Flintshire Education Committee reveals that a previous owner was awarded this book because they displayed "commendable industry in school work during the school year ended July 31, 1962". Wow! Almost 48 years ago to the day. (And, I think the only end-of-school year award I ever won was a free cheeseburger from McDonald's for getting all A's on my report card in 6th grade! :->)

Our next bookish bundle from Britain is another Maverick "Television Story Book", or annual:

I have several of these annuals, and poor Bart is only partially shown on all the covers. I guess that's better than no Bart at all, but I think the way he's drawn here makes him also look like he's half-asleep. :-(

Anyway, this annual is filled with nifty stories like "Showdown at Powder Springs" (starring Bart, shown below; the caption reads, "They were at the coffee stage before she finished relating the story"):

It also has factual articles about riverboats ("Agents for opening the west") and luxury sternwheelers ("Just as Bart and Bret Maverick traveled aboard the 'river queens', so did thousands of people who desired comfortable transportation to western adventure, without the bump and roll of the stagecoach"). Funny, I don't remember American comic books being so educational. ;->

There are also comic strips starring the Maverick boys, including one where they help a newspaperman get elected mayor of a small town. (Hmm, why does that sound familiar?)

Incidentally, I recently stumbled upon another old book which is now in the Kellection. It's not from Britain, but it's about a famous (and infamous) figure from America's wild western days. The strange thing is, I found interesting facts about another "legend of the west" by reading it. Like, a family tree often has deep roots which influence how some of the branches grow. And, that's all I'm gonna say about it for now. ;->

Jack Kelly - This "Way" For JK! :)

Hello Everyone!

Hope you're ready to do some time travelin'. And, be sure to dress warmly, because the Wayback Machine is set for December 1964. Location: The historic Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, PA.

A new comedy is having a try-out in Philly before heading on to Broadway. It stars an erstwhile TV gambler and a young actress who had recently played an important role in a now-legendary film.

As we take our seats, we glance at the cover of the Playbill we were handed as we entered the theater. Wow! :)


It's Jack Kelly and Collin Wilcox in The Family Way. (Well, that's the name of the play, anyway. ;->)

Our tickets were a bargain:

(The highest ticket price listed is $6.50, for New Year's Eve. )

The Playbill has a nice biography of JK, and to pass the time before the curtain rises, we read all about our favorite Maverick. Hmm...he's no stranger to the stage, that's for sure. JK debuted on Broadway at age nine in Swing Your Lady, then went on to School House on the Lot, Stopover, St. Helena, and Ghost of Yankee Doodle. As a grownup with five seasons of Maverick under his belt in 1962, he performed in summer stock and on Broadway in Sidney Kingsley's Night Life.

There's lots more interesting info in JK's bio, but the play is starting...

A couple of hours pass and it's time to go back to 2010. I'm sure we enjoyed watching JK on stage as "Phil Brennan", an agent who becomes romantically involved with a widowed actress (Willcox) whose precocious young son wants his mommy to be in "the family way" so she'll get a new husband and he'll get a new daddy.

Unfortunately, though, the play wasn't exactly Neil Simon, and, not surprisingly, the critics didn't think much of The Family Way.The production made it to Broadway in early 1965. However, it lasted a mere five performances at the Lyceum Theater. The New York Times attributed its swift demise to "negative reviews".

One of those reviews came from the Times itself. It begins:
"The story of The Family Way takes place in Los Angeles, and it's a pity it didn't stay there."

But, a review in the Los Angeles Times was scathing as well. It described The Family Way as "a sniggering attempt at comedy" and "a dim-witted, blatant and tasteless charade". (Ouch!)

In an interview years later, Ms. Wilcox (who passed away in 2009) described The Family Way as "an awful play".

Which is mystifying, because it involved a lot of talent. Besides Jack Kelly and Collin Wilcox, there was playwright Ben Starr (whose curriculum vitae includes episodes of just about every classic TV show) and director Michael Gordon, who'd helmed successful film comedies such as Pillow Talk with Doris Day.

Well, sometimes plays just don't gel, no matter how skilled the personnel.
 
And while The Family Way was stinkeroo, the Playbill is still boffo for JK fans. It's full of wonderful, quirky little details. A credit reads, "Mr. Kelly's accessories from Countess Mara and Arden for Men". Another credit states, "Scotch courtesy of J & B Rare Scotch. Gin courtesy of Old Mr. Boston Gin. Bourbon courtesy of Heaven Hill Bourbon. Champagne courtesy of Eugene Cliquot." (I wonder if these potent potables were used on-stage, or off-stage to help cast and crew forget the bad reviews? ;->)

There's also a lengthy article in the Playbill titled "The Insiders Speak Out", which presents "some fundamental facts about the day-to-day economics of Broadway." One of the industry "insiders" quoted in the article says, "Since World War II, the audience for serious plays has diminished to a considerable extent in New York." His name? Warren Caro, who was the Executive Director of the Theatre Guild-American Theatre Society--and Jack Kelly's brother-in-law at the time.

Lots of photos from The Family Way here--enjoy! :)

Jack Kelly - Coming Attactions! :)

Hi All!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Actually, I'm hard at work on some nifty Jack Kelly photo features that I hope you'll enjoy. Stay tuned for:

• Bart Maverick goes on the town!


• The play was a flop--but the Playbill is boffo! ;->


• Next stop: King's Row, where JK meets
  an easy rider
  
• Who's the boss of Rocking H Ranch?