DeForest Kelley

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DeForest Kelley, 1988

DeForest Kelley (* 20th January 1920 in Toccoa , Georgia as Jackson DeForest Kelley ; † 11. June 1999 in Woodland Hills , California ) was an American actor . His most famous role was that of Dr. Leonard "Pill" McCoy in the Star Trek universe.

Life

Kelley was born the son of the pastor Ernest D. and the housewife Clara Casey Kelley. He finished high school at the age of 16 and decided to become a singer. He moved to Long Beach and initially made a living doing temporary jobs. Rohn Hawke of the local theater approached him at a restaurant, and Kelley became a member of the Long Beach Theater Group . It was here that a talent scout became aware of him, and Kelley was invited to some auditions, but received no roles. He continued to appear with the theater company and met his future wife Carolyn Dowling in 1942. Kelley was drafted into the United States Army Air Forces in New Mexico and starred in a Navy training film in Culver City . Kelley and Dowling were married on September 7, 1945. They used two Indian rings for 25 cents as wedding rings.

Kelley's star on the Walk of Fame

Through his involvement in the Navy film, a talent scout became aware of him again. He was accepted into a young talent program and received a contract with Paramount Pictures . Kelley had his first small successes, but after the contract expired his career stalled again. He moved to New York with his wife and worked in the theater and on live broadcasts. After three years in New York, they moved back to Hollywood, where Kelley received new offers and appeared in many westerns and series. But his most famous role became that of Dr. Leonard McCoy (originally nicknamed Bones , in German translation Pille ) in Star Trek . He embodied this in the original series and the first six films, but he also had a guest appearance in the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Originally, Kelley was supposed to play the role of Mr. Spock , but was turned down. He later said: “I would not have come anywhere near Leonard Nimoy . He is wonderful. "

After Star Trek , Kelley took a break. He made a few films and had guest appearances in series, but by then had actually retired from acting. On December 18, 1991, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and shortly before his death the Golden Cowboy , which honored his previous work in westerns .

In early 1998, Kelley was diagnosed with stomach cancer . Around 18 months later, on June 11, 1999, he died at the age of 79 as a result of the disease. His body was cremated and the ashes scattered across the Pacific. His wife Carolyn died on October 12, 2004.

Filmography (selection)

Voice actor

In the role of Dr. McCoy in the series Starship Enterprise , for which Kelley is best known, four voice actors replaced one another:

literature

  • Terry Lee Rioux: From Sawdust to Stardust: The Biography of DeForest Kelley, Star Trek's Dr. McCoy. Pocket Books, 2009, ISBN 0-7434-5762-5 .

Web links

Commons : DeForest Kelley  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Terry Lee Rioux, pp. 3-10
  2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from June 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.filmcritic.com
  3. ↑ http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/DeForest_Kelley
personal data
SURNAME Kelley, DeForest
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kelley, Jackson DeForest
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Toccoa , Georgia , United States
DATE OF DEATH June 11, 1999
Place of death Woodland Hills , California , United States