Remembering...

What About Jack? :)

Hello All!
 
Oh, the things one can find on YouTube...

You may have noticed a little item in Jack Kelly's filmography called What About Linda? This was an hour-long syndicated TV appeal for the 1961 March of Dimes campaign. It starred an adorable tyke named Linda Breese of Columbus, Ohio.

Its TV Guide listing says: "The March of Dimes sponsors this filmed show which features its 1961 poster child, Linda Breese. Linda gets lost on a Hollywood television set, and we see many stars, including Louis Armstrong, the Kingston Trio, John Raitt, Debbie Reynolds, the Crosby Brothers and Lee Marvin interrupting their acts to look for the little girl. Robert Cummings is host."

No, I didn't find the whole show, but I found the next best thing: the four-minute preview for the show. JK appears briefly, not as Bart Maverick, and not exactly as himself, either. And, he's a riot!

I hope someday his entire appearance can be found. Anyway, JK shows up at about 1:54. But, I suggest you fight the urge to fast-forward there the first time you watch it and just let the preview unreel from the start, because there are many other familiar faces I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing. :)

Love and Kisses--And Roses--For Sis! :)

Howdy Everyone!

Here's another rare pic of Jack Kelly with his older sister, Nancy Kelly, in 1964. The siblings are having an impromptu family reunion in Chicago. The reason? I'll let the caption explain:

"Nancy Kelly, star of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which opened at the Studebaker Theatre, was pleasantly surprised by her brother Jack. He flew to Chicago from Los Angeles via American Airlines to open in a new play, Love and Kisses, which will open at the Drury Lane Theatre, March 3. Jack Kelly played Bart Maverick on TV."

Incidentally, JK's stint in the play Love and Kisses led to him being cast in the film version, which was directed and co-written by Ozzie Nelson. JK played the reel-life father of Ozzie's real-life son, Rick Nelson. (Rick's real-life wife, Kristin, played his reel-life wife in the movie.)

And, in November 1964, Nancy Kelly earned the prestigious Sara Siddons award for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Ms. Kelly was the only person at the time to have won the Sara Siddons award twice. The first time was during the 1955-'56 season for her role in the play The Bad Seed.

Maverick: New, Young and Classic ;->

Howdy Partners!

I just found a couple of interesting videos on YouTube.

The first is a 1979 promo for the ABC-TV film The New Maverick, which originally aired in 1978. It introduced yet another member of the Maverick clan--Cousin Beau's boy, Ben. Jack Kelly appears:



But, I'm not thrilled that they gave him third billing at the end, after that upstart new Maverick. I mean, the announcer could have said, "Starring James Garner, Jack Kelly, and introducing Charles Frank as Ben Maverick". (Just sayin'.)

The second video is the intro for the short-lived 1979 TV series Young Maverick, which starred the aforementioned Mr. Frank as the aforementioned Ben Maverick, only he'd moseyed over to a different network (CBS). Neither JK nor JG appear here, but I do like the way the original Maverick theme and the gambling motif is used:



New Maverick? Young Maverick? No thanks--I'll just stick with the best: classic Maverick. :-)

"My Husband, Jack Kelly" - Pt. IV

Howdy All!

Here's the fourth and final part of "My Husband, Jack Kelly" by Mae (May) Wynn:

"Kelly is a very good and careful driver, who sticks to the speed limit to the letter. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who gets nervous if anyone but myself drives. And, I show it. His reaction the last time he slammed on his brakes because someone was cutting in front of us and I automatically went through the same motions on my side, was typical.

'Gee whiz, Mae, maybe I better have your brakes fixed.'

As could be expected, Kelly is a stickler for being on time. Not so Mrs. Kelly. I was even late for my wedding.

We were supposed to leave for Arizona at two in the afternoon. About one, Kelly called on the phone. 'Ready to go?'

'I'm not even dressed!' I cried out. 'I've got a million things to do yet...'

'Like what?'

Suddenly, I couldn't think of anything left to be done except pack.

I was just my usual self--late. 'I'll be ready in an hour,' I promised.

I wasn't ready to leave till seven that night! And he didn't get mad at me.

I was even late for our second wedding.

Because we had eloped the first time, we decided to get married again, in a church. The date was November 10, 1956; the time, 1:30; the place, St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Hollywood.

The groom was ready at 1:30 sharp.

I finally managed to get there by 2:45, and believe me, this time I tried to be on time. It just doesn't work. But again, and ever since, Kelly has been most gallant about the whole thing. He never utters a word of complaint.

Kelly is definitely not a typically domesticated male--for which I'd like to take some credit. I don't believe a man who works hard all week long should put on an apron and do the dishes or any other kind of housework when he comes home. Kelly couldn't agree more.

On the other hand, he is such a connoisseur of food that he can taste almost any dish and identify the ingredients. To just what extent was never more apparent to me than when we were in Hong Kong, starring in a picture shortly after we were married.

Chinese food didn't agree with Kelly at all. After he was ill several meals in a row, he went to the kitchen of the Carlton Hotel where we stayed, and showed the chef how to prepare all sorts of delicacies--from cabbage fried potatoes to mushroom sauce with wine! By the time we left, I'm sure the chef knew as much about non-Chinese dishes as the ones he was used to cooking all his life!

Kelly also has excellent taste in clothes--women's clothes. Not long ago we were invited to a formal party in honor of Dimitri Tiomkin. That afternoon I took an old evening gown I was going to wear out of the closet, and hung it on a wardrobe knob.

When Kelly came home he took one look at the dress and decided it was too old. Without letting me know what he was up to, he left the house again, went to an exclusive dress shop on Ventura Boulevard, and returned with a beautiful black and white lace gown--which fit to perfection. Although I still don't know how he managed, it didn't surprise me. By now I'm used to the fact that I married a most unusual man." :)

(From Silver Screen, December 1959)

Well, that wraps up this amazing article, but stay tuned...there's more fun comin' up in TDS:

• Stop and smell the roses with JK and...?




• JK turns up the heat in a cold climate




• And some surprises ;-)
  
  

"My Husband, Jack Kelly" - Pt. III

Happy Wednesday!

Here's the third part of "My Husband, Jack Kelly" by Mae (May) Wynn:

"This feeling dates back to an unhappy experience as a boy. He had always wanted a new bicycle of his own, but was unable to save enough out of his allowance to afford one. One day, he told me, he got a bright idea that would solve his problem: get a job in a bicycle shop to earn the money he needed.

Upon Kelly's pleadings, the owner of the store agreed to let him have the shiny two-wheeler after it was only half paid for, but warned him that he might not be able to keep him employed much longer. 'That's all right,' Kelly had said. 'In that case I'll just get myself another job...'

But when it happened, he couldn't find one. And the bicycle had to be returned.

It certainly taught him a lesson. Except for the house and one or two other expenditures which were too high to be paid for in cash, he would never buy anything on time--or let me get anything that way!

Caption: "The Kellys have to pay bills, too, and here
they go over their monthly bookkeeping. Poodle seems
unconcerned with such matters." :)

Come to think of it, it was his aversion to gambling that caused our only big argument in three years of marriage.

When I say he doesn't like to gamble, I don't mean he stays away from all card games. He enjoys a good game of poker--but he knows the odds and plays accordingly. It is almost like a business venture with him.

Not with me. I always liked to play cards simply for the pleasure I got out of it. And one night I somehow accomplished the impossible--by losing $150 in a nickel and dime game.

After our guests had left, Kelly turned to me disgustedly. 'You played stupidly,' he exclaimed.

'What do you mean?' I shot back.

'You don't know when to quit! You stay in the game with every hand till the last card is played...'

That did it! 'I played poker before I met you. Don't tell me how to play. Besides, I don't care whether I win or lose...!!'

Kelly stared at me disbelievingly. 'In that case, why don't you just give away $150?'

Before I had a chance to answer he had gotten up, walked out of the house, and sat down on the front steps to cool off.

By the time I had a chance to reason things out for myself, I couldn't help agreeing that Kelly was right. So now when we get in a game, I play to win, just as he does.

Incidentally, this was one of the very few times that I have seen my husband lose his temper. Generally, it's next to impossible to even make him mad and, believe me, there are times when I've given him good reasons! Like with my backseat driving."

STAY TUNED FOR PART IV! :)

"My Husband, Jack Kelly" Part II :)

Hello All!

Here's Part II of "My Husband, Jack Kelly" by Mae (May) Wynn:

"Having been an actress myself, I knew the tensions, the conceit, the egotism and antagonism that invariably seems to go with the job. Consequently, I was certain of only one thing about my personal future--that I would never marry an actor. But, Kelly's attitude toward his career was so different than anything I had ever experienced before, that it no longer presented a handicap.

We agreed that whoever got a lucky break first would set the pace for the years to come. In short, if my series Noah's Ark had been successful, Kelly would never have accepted the Maverick show. Instead, he would have done features, to enable us to stay together through most of the year. Since my series turned into a flop, and his was successful, I gave up my career altogether.

Kelly is not only different from most actors, he is different from most men.

For one thing, he is a stickler for honesty and correctness, to the extent that it almost becomes an obsession with him.
I don't mean to imply most men are liars. But, let's face it--it seems to be the general consensus of opinion that a little white lie never hurt anyone and probably does a lot of good under certain circumstances.

That's not Kelly's way of thinking at all. I will never forget one of our first dates. Since we were going to some gala affair, I took great pains selecting a beautiful dress for the evening. Since he didn't comment on it when he picked me up at my apartment, I asked him point-blank how he liked it.

'I don't,' he came back, matter-of-factly. Who does he think he is, I thought, putting on an act like this. No person is that frank, especially after he just met a girl.

Kelly is. And once I realized it wasn't an act, I loved it.

Even people who have known him for a long time are still surprised by his correctness and meticulosity.

A couple of weeks ago, a writer who must have done a dozen stories with Kelly called him while we were having dinner. He had but one question to ask Kelly for a symposium story. I think it was about the 'most frightening' experience he ever had.

'I'd like to think about it for a while. Why don't you call me back in the morning?' Kelly suggested.

'All I need is one little anecdote,' the writer persisted. 'If it isn't the most frightening incident, give me any one that comes to you mind. I'm sure it'll be all right.'

'I'd rather think about it and give you the specific information you want...'

'But...'

'...please, if you don't mind--call me in the morning.'

A bit unhappy at first about the delay, the writer was most appreciative when he got exactly what he wanted.

Mostly I have always been surprised at my husband's lack of gambling ambitions. This runs not only counter to the attitude of most actors who feel their profession consists of nothing but taking chances, but specifically the character he plays on TV, Bart Maverick."

Watch for Part III of "My Husband, Jack Kelly"! :)