David Patrick Kelly (born January 23, 1951) is an American actor, musician and lyricist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is best known for his role as the main antagonist Luther in the cult film The Warriors (1979). Kelly is also known for his collaborations with Spike Lee, in the films Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994), and Chi-Raq (2015), and with David Lynch, appearing in Wild at Heart (1990) as well as Twin Peaks (1990–91) and its 2017 revival.
Kelly's other credits include roles in 48 Hrs. (1982), Commando (1985), The Crow (1994), The Funeral and Last Man Standing (both 1996), The Longest Yard (2005), as President Harry S. Truman in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and a recurring role in The Blacklist (2015).
Early life Kelly was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Margaret Elizabeth (Murphy) Kelly (1915–2010) and Robert Corby Kelly Sr., an accountant.Weddings: Margaret Elizabeth Murphy and Robert Corby Kelly, The New York Times. Accessed December 22, 2017.GrossePointeNews.com ; accessed December 22, 2017. His father received a Bronze Star Medal for service during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. His maternal grandfather, Daniel Murphy, was from Lisnashearshane, Duhallow, County Cork, Ireland. His great-granduncle was Father William Corby, chaplain of the Irish Brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg. Father Corby eventually became president of the University of Notre Dame.Corby, William (1992). Memoir of Chaplain Life: 3 Years With the Irish Brigade. Internet Archive.
Kelly was given a mandolin on Saint Patrick's Day 1964 by his mother and considers that to have been the greatest influence on his artistic life."Luther from 'The Warriors' plays the dad in the Broadway musical Once. Entertainment Weekly. March 17, 2012.
As an undergraduate student, Kelly wrote the lyrics and music for four musicals produced in Detroit. These four productions were Lysistrata (by Aristophanes), The World from My Window (based on a book of children's poems), a project based on Gulliver's Travels (in the land of horses) and Home for Silent Clowns, a mime show with songs.
Kelly graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Detroit, and was a student of Marcel Marceau and Mira Rostova."Juliana Francis and David Kelly". The New York Times. August 14, 2005.
Career Film In his debut role of Luther in Walter Hill's 1979 cult film The Warriors, Kelly's character was the psychotic leader who shot Cyrus (Roger Hill) and screeches the famous line, "Warriors... come out to play-ee-ay!" which was not in the script and which he improvised in collaboration with Walter Hill who asked him to come up with something. For the 1982 film 48 Hrs., starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy, Hill rewrote a role for Kelly and again named the character "Luther"..
Kelly's film credits include Commando (as Sully), The Crow, Crooklyn, Hammett, Dreamscape, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Last Man Standing, Songcatcher, K-PAX, The Longest Yard, Flags of Our Fathers, John Wick (reprising his role as Charlie in John Wick: Chapter 2), and Chi-Raq. Kelly played Dropshadow in David Lynch's film Wild at Heart, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990. He appeared in the 1996 video game Ripper.
Television Kelly's television guest appearances include Twin Peaks, Miami Vice, Moonlighting, Spenser: For Hire, Ghostwriter, Third Watch, Hack, Kidnapped, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Gossip Girl, Louie, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, Feed the Beast, and Only Murders in the Building.
Stage He performed in a few off-off-Broadway theater productions during the 1970s and 1980s. These included Wilford Leach's C.O.R.F.A.X. (Don't Ask), produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in 1975,La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: C.O.R.F.A.X. (Don't Ask) (1975)". Accessed July 18, 2018. and Ireneusz Iredyński's An Altar to Himself, as adapted by Michal Kobialka and Liz Diamond and directed by Virlana Tkacz at La MaMa in 1989.La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: An Altar to Himself (1989)". Accessed July 18, 2018. He also appeared in the April 1974 production of Mr. Jello, written and directed by George Birimisa, and then performed a song for which he wrote the music from Mr. Jello, at a benefit hosted by La MaMa to honor H.M. Koutoukas, called "For the Benefit of Harry", also in 1974.La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Special Event: 'For the Benefit of Harry' (1974)". Accessed July 18, 2018. In 1976, he performed in La MaMa's "Cracker Club Country Fair Gala" in segments from Paul Foster's Silver Queen and Leonard Melfi's Horse Opera.La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Special Event: 'Cracker Club Country Fair Gala' (1976)". Accessed July 18, 2018.
In 1998, Kelly played the role of Feste in the Lincoln Center production of Twelfth Night directed by Nicholas Hytner.. Kelly originated the role of Da in Once on Broadway, which was awarded the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical. Kelly sang and played mandolin on the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack for Once.
Kelly has frequently appeared at the Hartford Stage Company in Hartford, Connecticut, starring in the title roles in Georg Büchner's Woyzeck and Molière's Tartuffe. He played Iago in Othello and Hoss in Sam Shepard's Tooth Of Crime. At the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he played the title role in Luigi Pirandello's Enrico IV and starred in an adaption of the Yuan dynasty classic Snow in June.
He has appeared in four plays by avant-garde playwright Richard Foreman: Pearls for Pigs, The Mind King, Film Is Evil/Radio Is Good, and The Cure.McGrath, Sean (January 3, 1998). "Fourteen Years of "Mind Attacks" With David Patrick Kelly". Playbill.Theater listings compiled by Ruth Gilbert (January 6, 1992). New York, p. 74. In 2015, he appeared as Michaud, alongside Keira Knightley, in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Thérèse Raquin in the Studio 54 space.Thérèse Raquin . Roundabouttheatre.org. Accessed December 22, 2017.
In 2022, Kelly played the Narrator and the Mysterious Man in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at Encores! and later at the St. James Theatre on Broadway and on the 2023 national tour.
In 2024, Kelly played King Sextimus the Silent in Once Upon a Mattress at Encores!
Kelly played Morten Kiil in Amy Herzog's new adaptation of An Enemy of the People at Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway, directed by Sam Gold.
Music As a composer and musician, Kelly participated in New York's rock and cabaret scene, playing such venues as Max's Kansas City, Reno Sweeney's, CBGB, and The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club. He wrote the music for the titular song of George Birimisa's Mr. Jello, which was produced at La MaMa in 1974.La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Mr. Jello (1974)". Accessed July 18, 2018.
In May 2008, he released an album of his original music titled David Patrick Kelly: Rip Van Boy Man, which contained new songs and live recordings from his club days in 1975.
In 2024 he had a cameo as a cop on Warriors, a concept album by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis based on the 1979 movie The Warriors, in which he starred.
Awards Kelly received a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for his performance in Tartuffe at Hartford Stage, and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for his performance in Nathan Louis Jackson's When I Come To Die at LCT3 in Manhattan. In 1998, Kelly received an Obie Award for sustained excellence for his theater work in classics, new plays, and the avant-garde.
Personal life Kelly married theater actress and writer Juliana Francis at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery in Manhattan on August 14, 2005. Their daughter Margarethe Jane Kelly was born in 2008.
Kelly has practiced the martial art seido (karate) and three forms of tai chi for more than 35 years; he is a second-degree black belt in seido.
Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes 1979 The Warriors Luther 1982 Hammett The Punk 1982 48 Hrs. Luther Kelly 1984 Dreamscape Tommy Ray Glatman 1985 Commando Sully 1987 The Misfit Brigade The Legionnaire 1988 Cheap Shots Arnold Posner 1989 Penn & Teller Get Killed The Fan 1990 Wild at Heart Dropshadow 1990 The Adventures of Ford Fairlane Sam 1992 Malcolm X Mr. Ostrowski 1993 Exterior Night Biff short film 1994 Crooklyn Tony 'Tony Eyes' / Jim 1994 The Crow T-Bird 1995 Heavy Grey Man In The Hospital 1995 Cafe Society J. Roland Sala 1996 Flirting with Disaster Fritz Boudreau 1996 The Funeral Michael Stein 1996 Last Man Standing Doyle 1997 Trojan War Bagman 1999 In Too Deep Rick Scott 2000 Songcatcher Earl Giddens 2001 K-PAX Howie 2002 Personal Velocity: Three Portraits Peter 2003 Justice Marty 2005 The Longest Yard Unger 2006 Flags of Our Fathers President Harry S. Truman 2007 Gardener of Eden Pa Harris 2014 John Wick Charlie, The Cleaner 2015 Chi-Raq General King Kong 2016 To Keep the Light Brackett 2017 John Wick: Chapter 2 Charlie, The Cleaner 2018 O.G. Larry 2019 VFW Doug McCarthy 2020 The Return of Tragedy John Katebush short film 2022 Asking for It Morrill
Television Year Title Role Notes 1979 Sanctuary of Fear Audience Member Television film 1982 American Playhouse Copyboy Episode: "Working" 1984 Tales from the Darkside Richard Hall Episode: "Slippage" 1985 Miami Vice Jerry Episode: "The Home Invaders" 1985 Moonlighting McBride Episode: "Somewhere Under the Rainbow" 1985 Our Family Honor Terry Jurow Episode: "The Casino" 1987 Spenser: For Hire Kevin Harley / Ned Lloyd 2 episodes 1988 ABC Afterschool Special Unknown Episode: "Date Rape" 1989 CBS Summer Playhouse Langley Episode: "B-Men" 1990–1991 Twin Peaks Jerry Horne 9 episodes 1993 Ghostwriter 'Double-T' 5 episodes 1998 Mad About You Cabbie With Chicken Episode: "Season Opener" 2002 Hack Eddie O'Daniel Episode: "Favors" 2005 Third Watch Danny McGowan Episode: "Forever Blue" 2007 Kidnapped Kurso Episode: "Acknowledgement" 2008 Law & Order Josh Perlberg Episode: "Political Animal" 2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Bo Levy Episode: "Reunion" 2008–2011 Gossip Girl Noah Shapiro 3 episodes 2010 Louie Therapist 2 episodes 2010 Madso's War Danny Driscoll Television film 2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Orville Underwood Episode: "Possessed" 2011 Bored to Death Jerry Episode: "Nothing I Can't Handle by Running Away" 2015 Blue Bloods Donald Berry Episode: "Bad Company" 2015 The Blacklist Heinrich Gerst 4 episodes 2016 Feed the Beast Ziggy Woichik 8 episodes 2017 Twin Peaks Jerry Horne 7 episodes 2018–2023 Succession Paul Chambers 2 episodes 2022 Ray Donovan: The Movie Matty Galloway Television film 2025- Only Murders in the Building Miller the Trash Guy 3 episodes 2025 Sheriff Country Mitchell 1 episode
Video games Year Title Role Notes 1996 Ripper Joey Falconetti Interactive movie
Theatre