Donna Lee Custer
(formerly Donna Kelly, a.k.a. May Wynn)
1928 - 2021
Autographed candid snapshot of Donna and Jack snapped by a fan, dated May 1958.
Scanned from the La Bartista Kellection
Donna Custer, who acted professionally under the name "May Wynn" and was Jack Kelly's first wife, passed away on March 22, 2021, although her passing wasn't reported in the press until over a month later. She was 93 years old.
She was born Donle (later changed to Donna Lee) Hickey in New York City on January 8, 1928, into a family with ties to vaudeville. Her father, Ray Hickey, was a singer and dancer. Her grandmother, Gertie Black, was also a vaudevillian.
In her early teens, Donna worked after school in a real estate office and in a department store. She was later employed as a page and ground stewardess at LaGuardia Airport in NYC. According to a 1954 story in the Provo UT Daily Herald, young Donna designed an ensemble consisting of a navy blue suit and powder blue blouse which she wore to work at LaGuardia. The outfit was soon adapted as the official stewardess uniform of Pan Am airlines.
Donna performed as a showgirl at the Copacabana Club in New York City while still a teenager. She also won beauty contests and titles such as "Queen of the New York Press Photographer's Ball of 1950". The petite beauty was also a popular pin-up model, often pictured smiling in a swimsuit on the cover of such magazines as "Hit!" and "See".
She made her way to Hollywood in the early 1950's and played bit roles in movies. Her big break came in 1953, when she was cast as singer "May Wynn" in the feature The Caine Mutiny starring Humphrey Bogart. Columbia Pictures studio chief Harry Cohn insisted that Donna assume her character's name as her professional name. She did, but later told reporters that she hated being known as May Wynn.
Donna met JK during the filming of They Rode West in 1954 and they married in 1956, first in a civil ceremony in Quartzite, AZ, and then in a church ceremony a month later in Los Angeles, CA. Also in 1956, Donna played receptionist "Liz Clark" in the short-lived television series Noah's Ark (produced by Jack Webb), in addition to having a recurring role as "Jean Blackburn" in The Bob Cummings Show.
Donna as "Liz Clark", from the La Bartista Kellection
JK reportedly hated his wife's May Wynn moniker as much as she did and called her Donna, "Kukie" and "The Big M" during their marriage. The Kellys were very big on togetherness and made a pact to never be apart from one another for any great length of time. This even extended to their careers. Donna accompanied JK to Asia when he was hired for the starring role in Hong Kong Affair. She ended up playing the female lead when the actress originally cast reportedly had trouble speaking her lines in English.
In addition to Hong Kong Affair and They Rode West, Donna acted with JK in The Violent Men starring Glenn Ford and Taming Sutton's Gal. Her other feature films include The White Squaw, The Man is Armed and the cult horror film The Unknown Terror starring Paul Richards.
Donna (as "Concha") shows off her new dress
to "Pete" (Paul Richards)
in The Unknown Terror (1957)
- original vintage still scanned from the author's private collection
Donna made guest shots on a number of other TV shows including The Millionaire and Perry Mason. Her last listed acting credit is a 1960 appearance in the western series Shotgun Slade.
Although Donna never appeared on Maverick, it was reported that she and JK wrote a script for the show, which apparently was never filmed. They also formed a production company called "Majak" (guess how the name was formed?). And, Donna was frequently photographed visiting her hubby behind the scenes of Maverick:
Caption: "'Maverick' And Mate--Actress May Wynn visits husband Jack Kelly on the set of 'Shady Deal at Sunny Acres', on ABC-TV's Warner Bros. produced 'Maverick'..."--vintage original still scanned from the La Bartista Kellection
Another visit during the filming of "Shady Deal"
(vintage original still scanned from the La Bartista Kellection)
Even a Kelly kanine got into the act!
(Vintage original still scanned from the La Bartista Kellection)
The Kelly's union seemed to be a template for togetherness, so Hollywood and fans were shocked when it was announced in October 1964 that the loving couple who had acted, wrote, cooked and golfed in tandem for nearly a decade was permanently Splitsville.
Donna remarried and divorced once more. She worked in real estate and then spent 28 years as a beloved school aide (teaching public speaking and handwriting classes after school) at the Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach, the California city in which she resided. Sadly, her nephew Brian Hickey was among the NYC firefighters who died in the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Rest in peace, Donna, and deepest condolences to your family, friends and fans from TDS.
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