Paul Michael Kelly (August 9, 1899 – November 6, 1956) was an American actor. His career survived a manslaughter conviction, tied to an affair he was having with the victim's wife, that caused him to spend time in prison in the late 1920s. In the course of his career, and relatively short life, it has been estimated that Kelly worked on stage, screen, and television in over four hundred roles.
Career and imprisonment Kelly alternated between stage and screen as an actor. He was a handsome and popular male lead or costar in Broadway plays from the late 1910s and throughout the 1920s.
On April 16, 1927, a drunk Kelly confronted fellow actor Ray Raymond over his affair with and love for Raymond's wife, actress Dorothy Mackaye. Raymond, who was also drunk, was no match for Kelly, who was considerably larger than him. During their confrontation, Kelly hit him several times and left him on the floor.
Mackaye denied in court that she had been romantically involved with Kelly before Raymond's death, but Kelly's love letters to her were introduced as evidence. She was charged with felony conspiracy for the attempted coverup, and sentenced to one to three years, but served less than 10 months. Kelly was sentenced to up to 10 years, but served only 25 months in San Quentin prison. (Decades later, he played San Quentin Warden Clinton Duffy in the 1954 film Duffy of San Quentin.) Conditions of his release included that he must not marry for 18 months after his release, and that he would have to take a job as a clerk for $30 per week.Gene Coughlin, "Tragedies of the Stage", Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph (September 12, 1948), p. American Weekly, p. 7. Kelly found working as a clerk untenable, and convinced the supervisors of his parole to allow him to return to acting on Broadway, with the condition that he continued to be limited to an income of $30 per week.
Kelly made his talking film debut in 1933's Broadway Through a Keyhole. In 1948, Kelly won a Best Actor Tony Award for his role in Command Decision. Clark Gable later played the same role in the film version of the play. Kelly shared the award with Henry Fonda for Mister Roberts and Basil Rathbone for The Heiress.
Personal life Kelly and Mackaye married in 1931, shortly after the expiration on Kelly's parole condition prohibiting him from marrying. They performed on Broadway, and then returned to California, where Mackaye's daughter Valerie Raymond was apparently adopted by Kelly and became known as Mimi Kelly. Mimi would later have her own modest Broadway career.
Dorothy Mackaye's account of her experiences, Women in Prison, became a film, Ladies They Talk About (1933), with Barbara Stanwyck, and was remade as Lady Gangster in 1942.
Mackaye was in a 1940 auto crash, when her car swerved and rolled into a ditch. She walked home, and, seeking to assuage Kelly's concerns, insisted that she was not seriously hurt. Her doctor, however, insisted that she go to a hospital, where she died three days later due to a ruptured bladder she suffered in the accident.
Kelly married Claire Owen a year later. He died of a heart attack at 57 on November 6, 1956, in Beverly Hills, California.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1919 Fit to Win Hank Simpson Anne of Green Gables Gilbert Blythe 1920 Uncle Sam of Freedom Ridge Young Sam1921 The Great Adventure Another Leek Son The Old Oaken Bucket The Youth 1926 The New Klondike Bing Allen1927 Slide, Kelly, Slide Dillon Special Delivery Tuck, another detective (scenes deleted) The Poor Nut Spike Hoyt Uncredited 1932 The Girl from Calgary Larry Boyd 1933 Broadway Through a Keyhole Frank Rocci1934 School for Girls Garry Waltham The Love Captive Dr. Norman Ware Side Streets Tim O'Hara Blind Date Bill Lowry Death on the Diamond Jimmie Downey The President Vanishes Chick Moffat1935 When a Man's a Man Phil Acton Star of Midnight Jim Kinland Public Hero No. 1 James Duff Speed Devils Martin Gray Silk Hat Kid Tim Martin It's a Great Life Rockie Johnson1935 Saga of the West Phil1936 My Marriage Barney Dolan Here Comes Trouble Duke Donovan Song and Dance Man Hap Farrell The Country Beyond Sgt. Cassidy Women Are Trouble Bill Blaine Murder with Pictures I. B. McCoogin The Accusing Finger Douglas Goodwin1937 Join the Marines Philip H. 'Phil' Donlan Parole Racket Police Lieutenant Tony Roberts It Happened Out West Richard P. Howe The Frame-Up Mark MacArthur Fit for a King Briggs Navy Blue and Gold Tommy Milton (varsity coach)1938 Island in the Sky Johnny Doyle Torchy Blane in Panama Steve McBride The Nurse from Brooklyn Jim Barnes The Devil's Party Jerry Donovan The Missing Guest 'Scoop' Hanlon Juvenile Court Gary Franklin Leading role opposite Rita Hayworth Adventure in Sahara Jim Wilson Starring role1939 Within the Law Joe Garson The Flying Irishman Butch Brannan Forged Passport Dan Frazer 6,000 Enemies Dr. Malcolm Scott The Roaring Twenties Nick Brown Invisible Stripes Ed Kruger1940 Queen of the Mob Tom Webster Wyoming General Custer The Howards of Virginia Captain Jabez Allen Alternative title: The Tree of Liberty Girls Under 21 Johnny Cane Flight Command Lieutenant Commander "Dusty" Rhodes1941 Ziegfeld Girl John Slayton I'll Wait for You Police Lieutenant 'Mac' McFarley Parachute Battalion Sgt. Tex McBride1942 Mr. and Mrs. North Lieutenant Weigand Call Out the Marines Jim Blake Not a Ladies' Man Robert Bruce Tarzan's New York Adventure Jimmy Shields Tough as They Come Dan Stevens The Secret Code Dan Barton 15-chapter serial; leading role Flying Tigers Hap Davis 1943 The Man from Music Mountain Victor Marsh1943 Texas Legionaires Victor Marsh1944 The Story of Dr. Wassell Murdock Dead Man's Eyes Dr. Alan Bittaker Faces in the Fog Tom Elliott1945 Grissly's Millions Joe Simmons China's Little Devils Big Butch Dooley Allotment Wives Major Pete Martin San Antonio Roy Stuart1946 The Glass Alibi Max Anderson The Cat Creeps Ken Grady Deadline for Murder Lt. Jerry E. McMullen Strange Journey Lucky Leeds1947 Fear in the Night Cliff Herlihy Spoilers of the North Matt Garraway Crossfire Mr. Tremaine Adventure Island Captain Donald Lochlin1950 The File on Thelma Jordon Miles Scott Guilty of Treason Tom Kelly The Secret Fury District Attorney Eric Lowell Side Street Captain Walter Anderson Frenchie Pete Lambert 1951 The Painted Hills Jonathan Harvey Alternative titles: Lassie's Adventures in the Goldrush, Lassie's Christmas Story1952 Springfield Rifle Lieutenant Colonel John Hudson1953 Gunsmoke Dan Saxon Alternative titles: A Man's Country, Roughshod Split Second Bart Moore1954 Duffy of San Quentin Warden Clinton T. Duffy The High and the Mighty Donald Flaherty Johnny Dark William H. "Scotty" Scott The Steel Cage Warden Clinton T. Duffy 1955 The Square Jungle Jim McBride 1956 Storm Center Judge Robert Ellerbe1957 Curfew Breakers Police Lieutenant Lacey Bailout at 43,000 Colonel Hughes last film role Television Year Title Role Notes 1950 The Ford Theatre Hour 1 episode 1952 Robert Montgomery Presents 1 episode1954–1955 Fireside Theater 2 episodes Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Joe Tierney / Bunter 3 episodes 1955 Cavalcade of America 1 episode
References
Bibliography John Holmstrom, The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 13–14.
External links