Patsy Kelly

Patsy Kelly
Kelly in Topper Returns (1941)
Born	Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly January 12, 1910(1910-01-12) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	September 24, 1981(1981-09-24) (aged 71) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active	1929–1979
Website
http://www.patsykelly.com

Patsy Kelly (January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American stage and film comedic actress.

Early life and career

Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928. In 1930 and 1931, she performed for producer Earl Carroll in his popular Sketches and Vanities musicals. She also appeared with popular stage comic Frank Fay. During one performance she arrived at the theater late, and Fay was already on stage. Kelly explained to Fay and the audience that she had been at the beauty parlor. Fay ad-libbed, "You weren't waited on, were you?"

Kelly, like other New York actors, made her screen debut in a Vitaphone short subject filmed there. In 1933 producer Hal Roach hired Kelly to co-star with Thelma Todd in a series of short-subject comedies. (Kelly replaced ZaSu Pitts, who left Roach after a salary dispute.) The Todd-Kelly shorts cemented Patsy Kelly's image: a brash, wisecracking woman who frequently punctured the pomposity of other characters. Later entries in the series showcased Kelly's dancing skills. Thelma Todd died in 1935, and Kelly finished out the series, first with Pert Kelton, then with Lyda Roberti.

Patsy Kelly then moved into the more ambitious world of feature films, often playing working-class character roles in comedies and musicals. One of her memorable roles was as Etta, the cook, in the five Academy Awards-nominated 1938 comedy movie Merrily We Live.

Later years and death

Offscreen, Kelly's unabashed lifestyle resulted in loud ejections from cocktail lounges and restaurants. On occasion she would frankly disclose, in public and with typical candor, to being a "dyke". By 1943 movie producers had distanced themselves from loose-cannon Kelly, and she could find work only at Producers Releasing Corporation, the smallest and cheapest of the movie studios. Her last starring roles were in two PRC comedies, My Son, the Hero and Danger! Women at Work.

She eventually became a housekeeper and sporadic lover to Tallulah Bankhead, claiming that any man attracted to her must really be a "lesbo."

On television she appeared on top-rated shows like The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Wild Wild West, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, as well as many unsold pilots. She also made a memorable appearance as Laura-Louise in the film thriller Rosemary's Baby (1968), directed by Roman Polanski, alongside veteran actors Sidney Blackmer, Ruth Gordon, and Maurice Evans.

She returned to Broadway in 1971 in the revival of No, No, Nanette with fellow hoofers Ruby Keeler and Helen Gallagher. Kelly scored a huge success as the wisecracking, tap-dancing maid, and won Broadway's 1971 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress for her performance in the show. She matched that success the following year when she starred in Irene with Debbie Reynolds, and was again nominated for a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Kelly appeared as the housekeeper Mrs. Schmauss in the 1976 film Freaky Friday which starred Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris. Her final movie appearance came in the 1979 Disney comedy The North Avenue Irregulars, also co-starring Harris, along with Cloris Leachman, Edward Herrmann and Karen Valentine.

Kelly died in 1981 at the age of 71 in Woodland Hills, California of cancer. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6669 Hollywood Boulevard. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery in New York.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1931	The Grand Dame	Peggy O'Rourke	Short
1933	Air Fright	Peggy	Short
1934	The Countess of Monte Cristo	Mimi
1934	Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round	Patsy
1934	The Girl from Missouri	Kitty Lennihan
1934	One Horse Farmers		Short
1935	The Misses Stooge	Peggy	Short
1936	Kelly the Second	Molly Patricia Kelly	First starring feature film
1936	Pigskin Parade	Bessie Winters	Alternative title: Harmony Parade
1937	Nobody's Baby	Kitty
1937	Wake Up and Live	Patsy Kane
1937	"Ever Since Eve"	Sadie Day, aka Susie Wilson
1938	Merrily We Live	Etta
1938	There Goes My Heart	Peggy O'Brien
1938	The Cowboy and the Lady	Katie Callahan
1939	The Gorilla	Kitty - the Maid
1940	Hit Parade of 1941	Judy Abbott	Alternative title: Romance and Rhythm
1941	Topper Returns	Emily - the maid
1942	In Old California	Helga
1943	Danger! Women at Work	Terry Olsen
1955	Lux Video Theatre		Episode: "One Foot in Heaven"
1957	Kraft Television Theatre		Episode: "The Big Break"
1960	Please Don't Eat the Daisies	Maggie
1960	The Untouchables	Slapsie Sadie	Episode: "Head of Fire: Feet of Clay"
1962	Pete and Gladys	Katy	Episode: "The Case of the Gossipy Maid"
1963	Arrest and Trial	Catalina	Episode: "Call It a Lifetime"
1964	The Naked Kiss	Mac, the Head Nurse
1966	The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini	Myrtle Forbush
1967	C'mon, Let's Live a Little	Mrs. Fitts
1967	Laredo	Abbie Heffernan	Episode: "A Question of Guilt"
1968	Bonanza	Mrs. Neeley	Episode: "A Girl Named George"
1968	Rosemary's Baby	Laura-Louise McBirney
1969	The Pigeon	Mrs. Macready, the Landlady	Television movie
1970	Barefoot in the Park	Old Lady	Episode: Pilot
1976	Freaky Friday	Mrs. Schmauss
1979	The North Avenue Irregulars	Mrs. Rose Rafferty/Blarney Stone, Irregular	Alternative title: Hill's Angels
1979	The Love Boat	Mabel Hopkins	Episodes: "The Critical Success..." (Part 1) "The Critical Success..." (Part 2)

See also

• Pitts and Todd

External links

• Patsy Kelly official website
• Patsy Kelly at the Internet Broadway Database
• Patsy Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
• Patsy Kelly at the TCM Movie Database
• Patsy Kelly at Find a Grave