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Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of Bart Maverick in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962. Kelly shared the series, rotating as the lead from week to week, first with James Garner as Bret Maverick (1957-1960) then with Roger Moore as Beau Maverick (1960-1961) and Robert Colbert as Brent Maverick (1961; for two episodes) before becoming the only Maverick (alternating with reruns from the Garner era) in the fifth season.
Kelly later became a politician, serving as mayor of Huntington Beach, California from 1983 to 1986.
“The only thing we're guilty of here is hasty good intentions,”
Jack Kelly
Jack Kelly was a handsome actor of rugged films and TV, a child performer on radio and stage. Best remembered trading quips with James Garner's Bret Maverick, as less laidback brother Bart in the late 1950s TV series.
Jack Kelly
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John A. Kelly Jr.
16 September 1927, Astoria, New York
7 November 1992, Huntington Beach, California
Kelly was born in Astoria, Queens, New York. He came from a prominent acting family. His mother, Nan Kelly, had been a popular stage actress and John Robert Powers model. His sister, Nancy Kelly, was a major leading lady in the 1930s, appearing in thirty-six films between 1926 and 1977.
Kelly made his film debut in an uncredited role in the 1939 biopic The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, opposite Don Ameche and Loretta Young. After appearing in several films and television series, Kelly landed his first starring role in a television series in 1955 with a one-season effort based on the 1942 feature film Kings Row. Kelly played Dr. Parris Mitchell, a young psychiatrist coping with the narrow-minded environment of his small town. The series was one-third of the Warner Bros. Presents wheel series, hosted by Gig Young. It rotated at the scheduled hour of 7:30 Eastern on Tuesday with a similar television version of the popular movie Casablanca as well as the new western series Cheyenne starring Clint Walker.
After the series ended in 1956, Kelly went on to appear in Forbidden Planet (1956) and She-Devil (1957), along with guest roles on Fireside Theater, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, and Lux Video Theatre.
The various anti-heroic Mavericks were dapper professional poker-players roaming the Old West with the benefit of superb scripts. The series had an enormous cultural impact during a time when there were only three television networks and most cities had only three TV channels to choose from.
Maverick's demanding filming schedule had caused production to lag behind early on. The producers decided to give Bret Maverick a brother so more episodes could be filmed. Thus, Kelly was introduced as Bart Maverick in "Hostage!", the eighth episode of the series. While he may not have matched Garner's popularity on Maverick, Kelly did have his enthusiastic admirers. Possessing a deep voice, a John Barrymore-like profile and an easy-going screen presence, Kelly enjoyed an attentive following among female viewers of the series.
Kelly shared the lead with James Garner in one of the show's most-discussed episodes, "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres", on which the first half of the 1975 movie The Sting appears to be based. The pair also co-starred in the famous "Pappy" episode in which Garner played the brothers' much-quoted father Beauregard "Pappy" Maverick, in addition to his regular role of Bret. Aided by trick photography, Bret and Pappy play cards together in one scene (Kelly had a dual role in the episode as well, playing Bart and elderly Uncle Bentley Maverick). Bart also rescued Bret at the climax of "Duel at Sundown", in which Garner fist fought guest star Clint Eastwood.
Although the "solo" episodes in which Bart appeared tended to be somewhat more dramatic than the Bret episodes, Kelly displayed his comedic skills in lighter Maverick outings such as "Hadley's Hunters" and "The People's Friend". Kelly actually appeared in more episodes of Maverick than James Garner, who left the show following a contract dispute in 1960. Kelly appeared in 75 episodes; Garner in only 55.
When Maverick ended in 1962, Kelly continued acting with roles in a number of films and television shows. In 1962, he played the lead in Red Nightmare (also known as The Commies Are Coming, the Commies Are Coming in its derisive 1985 video re-release incarnation) a Cold War film narrated by Jack Webb in which Kelly's character wakes up one morning to discover that America has been taken over by Communists. He also co-starred in Commandos (1968) opposite Lee Van Cleef, and as a villain in Young Billy Young (1969) with Robert Mitchum. From 1969 to 1971, Kelly hosted the NBC daytime game show Sale of the Century. He was replaced by Joe Garagiola. He was also briefly a series regular in Get Christie Love! (1974) and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1978).
Kelly's acting roles became less frequent in the late 1970s as he became more involved in real estate and local politics in Huntington Beach, California, where he resided. In 1977 Kelly appeared in two Rockford Files episodes. The first appearance was in the season 3 episode, "The Becker Connection," and the second appearance was the first show of season 4, "Beamer's Last Cast." In 1978, he was again paired with James Garner in the TV-movie The New Maverick and in Garner's TV series Bret Maverick (1981; Kelly appeared briefly in the final episode of the show and would have become a regular had it been renewed). Kelly also showed up on a 1983 episode of The Fall Guy, costumed as Bart but basically playing himself in a storyline that rounded-up many classic TV cowboys.
During the 1980s and early 1990s he served as city councilman and mayor in Huntington Beach, campaigning with the slogan "Let Maverick Solve Your Problems." In 1991, he reprised the role of Bart Maverick one last time in the TV movie The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw.
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