DeForest Kelley
Encyclopedia
Jackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
of the USS Enterprise
in the television
and film
series Star Trek
.
, the son of Clora (née
Casey) and Ernest David Kelley, who was a Baptist
minister. DeForest was named after the pioneering electronics engineer Lee De Forest
, and later named his Star Trek character's father "David" after his own. Kelley was delivered in their home by his uncle, a prominent local physician. Kelley had an older brother, Ernest Casey Kelley.
Kelley grew up in the Atlanta area and was a 1938 graduate of Decatur Boys High in Decatur, Georgia
. As a child, he sang in the church choir, where he discovered that he enjoyed singing and was good at it. Eventually, this led to solos and an appearance on the radio station WSB AM
in Atlanta, Georgia
. As a result of his radio work, he won an engagement with Lew Forbes and his orchestra at the Paramount Theater.
Kelley served in World War II
as an enlisted man in the United States Army Air Forces
between March 10, 1943, and January 28, 1946. After an extended stay in Long Beach, California
, Kelley decided to pursue an acting career and relocate to southern California permanently, living for a time with his uncle Casey. He worked as an usher in a local theater in order to earn enough money for the move. Kelley's mother encouraged her son in his new career goal, but his father disliked the idea. While in California, Kelley was spotted by a Paramount Pictures
scout while doing a United States Navy
training film.
Fear in the Night. The low-budget movie was a hit, bringing him to the attention of a national audience and giving Kelley reason to believe that he would soon become a star. His next role, in Variety Girl
, established him as a leading actor and resulted in the founding of his first fan club
Kelley did not become a leading man, however, and he and his wife, Carolyn, decided to move to New York City. He found work on stage and on live television, but after three years in New York, the Kelleys returned to Hollywood
. In California, he received a role in an installment of You Are There, anchored by Walter Cronkite
. He played ranch owner Bob Kitteridge in the 1949 episode Legion of Old Timers of the TV series The Lone Ranger
. This led to an appearance in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
as Morgan Earp
(brother to Burt Lancaster's Wyatt Earp). This role was a source for three movie offers, including "Warlock" with Henry Fonda
and Anthony Quinn
. He also appeared in episodes of the TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive, Boots and Saddles
, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
, Death Valley Days
, Lawman
, Bat Masterson
, and many others. He appeared in the 1962 episode of Route 66
, 1800 Days to Justice., and "The Clover Throne" as Willis.
For nine years, Kelley primarily played villains. He built up an impressive list of credits, alternating between television and motion pictures. However, he was afraid of typecasting
, so he broke away from villains by starring in Where Love Has Gone
and a television pilot called 333 Montgomery. The pilot was written by an ex-policeman named Gene Roddenberry
, and a few years later Kelley would appear in another Roddenberry pilot, Police Story (1967), that was again not developed into a series.
in which he utters the diagnosis "This man's dead, Captain" and "That man is dead" to Gregory Peck. Kelley appeared as Lieutenant Commander James Dempsey in two episodes of the syndicated
military drama, The Silent Service
, based on actual stories of the submarine
section of the United States Navy
. In 1962, he appeared in the Bonanza
episode entitled "The Decision", as a doctor sentenced to hang for the murder of a journalist. The judge in this episode was portrayed by John Hoyt
, who later portrayed Dr. Phillip John Boyce, one of Leonard McCoy's predecessors, on the Star Trek pilot "The Cage". In 1963, he appeared in The Virginian
episode " Man of Violence" as a "drinking" cavalry doctor with Leonard Nimoy
as his patient (Nimoy's character did not survive). Just before Star Trek began filming, Kelley appeared as a doctor again, in the Laredo
episode "The Sound of Terror." It is not clear whether these portrayals factored into his casting in Star Trek.
After refusing Roddenberry's 1964 offer to play Spock
, Kelley played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
from 1966 to 1969 in Star Trek
. He reprised the character in a voice-over role in Star Trek: The Animated Series
(1973–1974), and the first six Star Trek motion pictures (1979 to 1991). In one of the Star Trek comic books it was stated that Dr. McCoy's father had been a Baptist preacher, an idea that apparently came from Kelley's background. In 1987, he also had a cameo
in "Encounter at Farpoint", the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
, as by-that-time Admiral Leonard McCoy, Star Fleet Surgeon General Emeritus . Several aspects of Kelley's background became part of McCoy's characterization, including his pronunciation of "nuclear" as "nookeler
".
Kelley became good friends with Star Trek cast mates William Shatner
and Leonard Nimoy
from their first meeting in 1964. During Treks first season, Kelley's was listed in the end credits along with the rest of the cast. Only Shatner and Nimoy were listed in the opening credits. As Kelley's role grew in importance during the first season he received a pay raise to about $2,500 per episode, and received third billing starting in the second season after Nimoy. Despite the show's recognition of Kelley as one of its stars he was frustrated by the greater attention that Shatner received as its lead actor, and Nimoy received because of "Spockamania" among fans. Nonetheless, Kelley was very proud of the fact that he was the only one of the three who stayed married, saying "I'm happy in the Valley
, with the very same wife."
Shy by his own admission, Kelley was the only cast member of the original Star Trek series program never to have written or published an autobiography; however, the authorized biography From Sawdust to Stardust (2005) was written posthumously by Terry Lee Rioux of Lamar University
in Beaumont
, Texas
.
After Star Trek, Kelley found himself a victim of the very typecasting
he had so feared. In 1972 he was cast in the horror film, Night of the Lepus
. Kelley thereafter did a few television appearances and a couple of movies but essentially went into de facto retirement other than playing McCoy. By 1978 he was earning up to $50,000 ($ today) annually from appearances at Star Trek conventions attended by Trekkie
s. Like other Star Trek actors Kelley received little of the enormous profits that the franchise generated for Paramount, until Nimoy, as executive producer, helped arrange for Kelley to be paid $1 million for Star Trek VI (1991).
In a TLC
interview done in the late 1990s, Kelley said one of his biggest fears was that the words etched on his gravestone would be "He's dead, Jim". Reflecting this, Kelley's obituary in Newsweek magazine began: "We're not even going to try to resist: He's dead, Jim." On the other hand, he stated that he was very proud to hear from so many Star Trek fans who had been inspired to become doctors as a result of his portrayal of Dr. McCoy. For his final film, Kelley provided the voice of Viking 1 in Disney's movie The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
.
Later in life, Kelley developed an interest in poetry, eventually publishing the first of two books in a series, The Big Bird's Dream and The Dream Goes On - a series he would never finish.
on June 11, 1999. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean
.
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
of the USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
in the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
series Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
.
Early life
Kelley was born in Toccoa, GeorgiaToccoa, Georgia
Toccoa is a city in Stephens County, Georgia, United States located approximately from Athens and approximately northeast of Atlanta. The population was 9,323 at the 2000 census...
, the son of Clora (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Casey) and Ernest David Kelley, who was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister. DeForest was named after the pioneering electronics engineer Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
, and later named his Star Trek character's father "David" after his own. Kelley was delivered in their home by his uncle, a prominent local physician. Kelley had an older brother, Ernest Casey Kelley.
Kelley grew up in the Atlanta area and was a 1938 graduate of Decatur Boys High in Decatur, Georgia
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
. As a child, he sang in the church choir, where he discovered that he enjoyed singing and was good at it. Eventually, this led to solos and an appearance on the radio station WSB AM
WSB (AM)
WSB — branded AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB — is a commercial radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia broadcasting a news/talk format. The station transmits with 50,000 watts of nondirectional power day and night, enjoying clear-channel status on its broadcast frequency according to the U.S...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. As a result of his radio work, he won an engagement with Lew Forbes and his orchestra at the Paramount Theater.
Kelley served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as an enlisted man in the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
between March 10, 1943, and January 28, 1946. After an extended stay in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, Kelley decided to pursue an acting career and relocate to southern California permanently, living for a time with his uncle Casey. He worked as an usher in a local theater in order to earn enough money for the move. Kelley's mother encouraged her son in his new career goal, but his father disliked the idea. While in California, Kelley was spotted by a Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
scout while doing a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
training film.
Early roles
Kelley's acting career began with the feature filmFeature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
Fear in the Night. The low-budget movie was a hit, bringing him to the attention of a national audience and giving Kelley reason to believe that he would soon become a star. His next role, in Variety Girl
Variety Girl
Variety Girl is an all-star movie musical produced by Paramount Pictures. Numerous Paramount contract players and directors make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bing Crosby...
, established him as a leading actor and resulted in the founding of his first fan club
Fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
Kelley did not become a leading man, however, and he and his wife, Carolyn, decided to move to New York City. He found work on stage and on live television, but after three years in New York, the Kelleys returned to Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
. In California, he received a role in an installment of You Are There, anchored by Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
. He played ranch owner Bob Kitteridge in the 1949 episode Legion of Old Timers of the TV series The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
. This led to an appearance in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957 film)
The film was based on a real event which took place on October 26, 1881. It was directed by John Sturges and featuring a screenplay written by novelist Leon Uris, and the movie's supporting cast included Rhonda Fleming, John Ireland, Jo Van Fleet, Martin Milner, Dennis Hopper, Jack Elam, Lee Van...
as Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...
(brother to Burt Lancaster's Wyatt Earp). This role was a source for three movie offers, including "Warlock" with Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
. He also appeared in episodes of the TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive, Boots and Saddles
Boots and Saddles (TV series)
Boots and Saddles is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1958. The series was created by Robert A. Cinader.-Synopsis:...
, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.-Overview:Zane Grey Theatre was created by Luke Short and Charles A. Wallace...
, Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
, Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
, Bat Masterson
Bat Masterson (TV series)
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...
, and many others. He appeared in the 1962 episode of Route 66
Route 66 (TV series)
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
, 1800 Days to Justice., and "The Clover Throne" as Willis.
For nine years, Kelley primarily played villains. He built up an impressive list of credits, alternating between television and motion pictures. However, he was afraid of typecasting
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
, so he broke away from villains by starring in Where Love Has Gone
Where Love Has Gone (film)
Where Love Has Gone is a 1964 drama film made by Embassy Pictures , Joseph E. Levine Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Joseph E. Levine from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes based on the novel of the same name by Harold Robbins...
and a television pilot called 333 Montgomery. The pilot was written by an ex-policeman named Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
, and a few years later Kelley would appear in another Roddenberry pilot, Police Story (1967), that was again not developed into a series.
Star Trek
In 1956, years before being cast as Dr. McCoy, Kelley played a small supporting role as a medic in The Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, is a 1955 novel about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business. Tom and Betsy Rath share a struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle,...
in which he utters the diagnosis "This man's dead, Captain" and "That man is dead" to Gregory Peck. Kelley appeared as Lieutenant Commander James Dempsey in two episodes of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
military drama, The Silent Service
The Silent Service (TV series)
The Silent Service was a 1957–1958 syndicated anthology television series based on actual events in the submarine section of the United States Navy. The Silent Service was narrated by Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers, who retired from the Navy in 1949 after twenty-two years of service...
, based on actual stories of the submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
section of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. In 1962, he appeared in the Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
episode entitled "The Decision", as a doctor sentenced to hang for the murder of a journalist. The judge in this episode was portrayed by John Hoyt
John Hoyt
John Hoyt was an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life:Hoyt was born John McArthur Hoysradt. Before becoming an actor with Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre, the Yale University graduate worked as a history instructor, acting teacher and even a nightclub comedian...
, who later portrayed Dr. Phillip John Boyce, one of Leonard McCoy's predecessors, on the Star Trek pilot "The Cage". In 1963, he appeared in The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
episode " Man of Violence" as a "drinking" cavalry doctor with Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
as his patient (Nimoy's character did not survive). Just before Star Trek began filming, Kelley appeared as a doctor again, in the Laredo
Laredo (TV series)
Laredo is an NBC Western television series starring Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. The program premiered on September 16, 1965, and the final new episode was broadcast on April 7, 1967. The series was produced by Universal Television.-Synopsis:Laredo...
episode "The Sound of Terror." It is not clear whether these portrayals factored into his casting in Star Trek.
After refusing Roddenberry's 1964 offer to play Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
, Kelley played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
from 1966 to 1969 in Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
. He reprised the character in a voice-over role in Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
(1973–1974), and the first six Star Trek motion pictures (1979 to 1991). In one of the Star Trek comic books it was stated that Dr. McCoy's father had been a Baptist preacher, an idea that apparently came from Kelley's background. In 1987, he also had a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in "Encounter at Farpoint", the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, as by-that-time Admiral Leonard McCoy, Star Fleet Surgeon General Emeritus . Several aspects of Kelley's background became part of McCoy's characterization, including his pronunciation of "nuclear" as "nookeler
Nucular
Nucular is an ad hoc spelling of a metathetic mispronunciation of the word nuclear, representing the pronunciation or of that word instead of the standard pronunciation, ....
".
Kelley became good friends with Star Trek cast mates William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
and Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
from their first meeting in 1964. During Treks first season, Kelley's was listed in the end credits along with the rest of the cast. Only Shatner and Nimoy were listed in the opening credits. As Kelley's role grew in importance during the first season he received a pay raise to about $2,500 per episode, and received third billing starting in the second season after Nimoy. Despite the show's recognition of Kelley as one of its stars he was frustrated by the greater attention that Shatner received as its lead actor, and Nimoy received because of "Spockamania" among fans. Nonetheless, Kelley was very proud of the fact that he was the only one of the three who stayed married, saying "I'm happy in the Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, with the very same wife."
Shy by his own admission, Kelley was the only cast member of the original Star Trek series program never to have written or published an autobiography; however, the authorized biography From Sawdust to Stardust (2005) was written posthumously by Terry Lee Rioux of Lamar University
Lamar University
Lamar University, often referred to as Lamar or LU, is a comprehensive coeducational public research university located in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar confers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and is classified as a Doctoral Research University by the Carnegie Commission on Higher...
in Beaumont
Beaumont
-Canada:* Beaumont, Alberta* Lushes Bight – Beaumont – Beaumont North, Newfoundland and Labrador* Beaumont, Quebec- France :The following communes:* Beaumont, Ardèche* Beaumont, Corrèze* Beaumont, Gers* Beaumont, Haute-Loire* Beaumont, Meurthe-et-Moselle...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Later career
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
he had so feared. In 1972 he was cast in the horror film, Night of the Lepus
Night of the Lepus
Night of the Lepus, also known as Rabbits, is a 1972 American science fiction horror film based on the 1964 science fiction novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit. Released theatrically on October 4, 1972, it focuses on members of a small Arizona town who battle thousands of mutated, carnivorous killer...
. Kelley thereafter did a few television appearances and a couple of movies but essentially went into de facto retirement other than playing McCoy. By 1978 he was earning up to $50,000 ($ today) annually from appearances at Star Trek conventions attended by Trekkie
Trekkie
A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...
s. Like other Star Trek actors Kelley received little of the enormous profits that the franchise generated for Paramount, until Nimoy, as executive producer, helped arrange for Kelley to be paid $1 million for Star Trek VI (1991).
In a TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
interview done in the late 1990s, Kelley said one of his biggest fears was that the words etched on his gravestone would be "He's dead, Jim". Reflecting this, Kelley's obituary in Newsweek magazine began: "We're not even going to try to resist: He's dead, Jim." On the other hand, he stated that he was very proud to hear from so many Star Trek fans who had been inspired to become doctors as a result of his portrayal of Dr. McCoy. For his final film, Kelley provided the voice of Viking 1 in Disney's movie The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars is the name of both a children's book by Thomas Disch, as well as the film made from same. Both are sequels to the book and film versions of The Brave Little Toaster. The movie was distributed by Walt Disney Home Video. It was released in 1998...
.
Later in life, Kelley developed an interest in poetry, eventually publishing the first of two books in a series, The Big Bird's Dream and The Dream Goes On - a series he would never finish.
Death
Kelley died of stomach cancerStomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
on June 11, 1999. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Filmography
- 1947 Fear in the Night
- 1947 Variety GirlVariety GirlVariety Girl is an all-star movie musical produced by Paramount Pictures. Numerous Paramount contract players and directors make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bing Crosby...
- 1948 Canon CityCanon City (film)Canon City is an American film noir written and directed by Crane Wilbur. The drama features Scott Brady, Jeff Corey, Whit Bissell and others.-Plot:...
- 1949 Duke of ChicagoDuke of ChicagoDuke of Chicago is a 1949 61-minute short film released in the United States by Republic Pictures and starring Tom Brown, Audrey Long and DeForest Kelley...
- 1949 MalayaMalaya (film)Malaya is a 1949 war film set in colonial Malaya during World War II, starring Spencer Tracy and James Stewart. The movie was directed by Richard Thorpe.-Plot:...
- 1950 The Men
- 1953 Taxi
- 1955 House of BambooHouse of BambooHouse of Bamboo is an American color film noir shot in CinemaScope format. The film was directed by Samuel Fuller.The film is a loose remake of The Street with No Name , by the same screenwriter and cinematographer as in the original.-Plot:In 1954, a military train guarded by American soldiers...
- 1955 Illegal
- 1955 The View from Pompey's HeadThe View from Pompey's HeadThe View from Pompey's Head is a novel by Hamilton Basso which spent 40 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List after it was published by Doubleday in 1954....
- 1956 Tension at Table RockTension at Table RockTension at Table Rock is a 1956 Technicolor Drama directed by Charles Marquis Warren, starring Richard Egan and Dorothy Malone. Wes Tancred is publicly vilified after killing a famous gunslinger who was a public hero.-Cast:...
- 1956 The Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, is a 1955 novel about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business. Tom and Betsy Rath share a struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle,...
- 1957 Gunfight at the O.K. CorralGunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957 film)The film was based on a real event which took place on October 26, 1881. It was directed by John Sturges and featuring a screenplay written by novelist Leon Uris, and the movie's supporting cast included Rhonda Fleming, John Ireland, Jo Van Fleet, Martin Milner, Dennis Hopper, Jack Elam, Lee Van...
- 1957 Raintree CountyRaintree County (film)Raintree County is a 1957 Technicolor film drama about the American Civil War. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin....
- 1958 The Law and Jake WadeThe Law and Jake WadeThe Law and Jake Wade is a 1958 western released by MGM, based on the 1956 novel by Marvin H. Albert and directed by the legendary John Sturges. The title name, Jake Wade is a now reformed town sheriff marshal with a past that will soon catch up with him...
- 1959 WarlockWarlock (1959 film)Warlock is a 1959 film, released by Twentieth Century Fox and shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. It is a Western adapted from the novel by Oakley Hall...
- 1964 Gunfight at Comanche Creek
- 1964 Where Love Has GoneWhere Love Has Gone (film)Where Love Has Gone is a 1964 drama film made by Embassy Pictures , Joseph E. Levine Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Joseph E. Levine from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes based on the novel of the same name by Harold Robbins...
- 1965 Black Spurs
- 1965 Marriage on the RocksMarriage on the RocksMarriage on the Rocks is a 1965 film comedy with Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, and Dean Martin about a businessman's wife who ends up divorced by mistake and then married to his best friend by an even bigger mistake. The film was written by Cy Howard and directed by Jack Donohue.Marriage on the...
- 1965 Town Tamer
- 1966 Apache Uprising
- 1966 Johnny RenoJohnny RenoJohnny Reno is a 1966 American western film made by A.C. Lyles Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by R.G. Springsteen, produced by A.C. Lyles, with a screenplay by Andrew Craddock, Steve Fisher and A.C...
- 1966 WacoWaco (1966 film)Waco is a 1966 western film starring Howard Keel and Jane Russell. The film was directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by Max Lamb, Steve Fisher, and Harry Sanford...
- 1972 Night of the LepusNight of the LepusNight of the Lepus, also known as Rabbits, is a 1972 American science fiction horror film based on the 1964 science fiction novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit. Released theatrically on October 4, 1972, it focuses on members of a small Arizona town who battle thousands of mutated, carnivorous killer...
- 1979 Star Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
- 1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
- 1984 Star Trek III: The Search for SpockStar Trek III: The Search for SpockStar Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV:...
- 1986 Star Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
- 1989 Star Trek V: The Final FrontierStar Trek V: The Final FrontierStar Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
- 1991 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
- 1998 The Brave Little Toaster Goes to MarsThe Brave Little Toaster Goes to MarsThe Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars is the name of both a children's book by Thomas Disch, as well as the film made from same. Both are sequels to the book and film versions of The Brave Little Toaster. The movie was distributed by Walt Disney Home Video. It was released in 1998...
Television
- 1949 The Lone RangerThe Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
(as Bob Kittredge in episode "Legion of Old Timers") - 1953-54 City DetectiveCity Detective (TV series)City Detective is a half-hour syndicated crime drama starring Rod Cameron as 43-year-old Bart Grant, a tough 1950s New York City police lieutenant. The first of three consecutive Rod Cameron series, City Detective aired between January 1, 1953 and May 10, 1955...
(episodes "Crazy Like a Fox" and "An Old Man's Gold") - 1955 Science Fiction TheatreScience Fiction TheatreScience Fiction Theatre is an American science fiction anthology series that aired in syndication from April 1955 to April 1957. It was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv.-Overview:...
(As Captain Hall in episode "Y..O..R..D..") - 1956 GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
(appeared in various episodes) - 1957 M SquadM SquadM Squad is an American police drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC. Its format would later inspire the creation of spoof TV show Police Squad! Its sponsor was the Pall Mall cigarette brand; Lee Marvin, the program's star, appeared in its commercials during the...
(Appeared in the Episode "Pete Loves Mary") - 1958 Wanted, dead or alive (as sheriff Steve Pax)
- 1959 Mackenzie's RaidersMackenzie's RaidersMackenzie's Raiders is an American Western television series starring Richard Carlson that aired in syndication from 1958 until 1959. The series was narrated by Art Gilmore.-Synopsis:...
(as Charles Barrons in episode "Son of the Hawk") - 1959 Mikey Spillane's Mike Hammer (as Eddie Robbins in episode "I Ain't Talkin'")
- 1959 26 Men26 Men26 Men is a syndicated American western television series about the Arizona Rangers, an elite group commissioned in 1901 by the legislature of the Arizona Territory and limited, for financial reasons, to twenty-six active members. Russell Hayden was the producer of the series and the co-composer of...
(appeared in episode "Trail of Revenge" with Leonard Nimoy) - 1959 State TrooperState Trooper (TV series)State Trooper is a half-hour television crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada State Troopers. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959...
(as Graham in "The Patient Skeleton") - 1960 Two Faces WestTwo Faces WestTwo Faces West is a 39-episode half-hour syndicated television western series set in Gunnison in southwestern Colorado, which aired from October 17, 1960, to July 31, 1961. It stars Scottish native Charles Bateman in the dual roles of twin brothers, Rick January, M.D., and Marshal Ben January...
(as Vern Cleary in "Fallen Gun") - 1960 Johnny MidnightJohnny Midnight (TV series)Johnny Midnight is an American crime drama that aired for one season in syndicated from January to December 1960. The series stars Edmond O'Brien as the title character.-Synopsis:...
(as David Lawton in "The Inner Eye") - 1960-61 Coronado 9COronado 9Coronado 9 is a syndicated crime drama set in San Diego, California, starring Rod Cameron as Dan Adams, a former United States Navy intelligence officer turned private detective. Coronado 9 is Adams's address; the numeral 9 on a rock shown near his front door in the opening credits denotes the...
(as Frank Briggs in "Loser's Circle" and Shep Harlow in "Run, Shep, Run") - 1961 Perry MasonPerry MasonPerry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
(appeared in various episodes)
- 1961 ShannonShannon (1961 TV series)Shannon is an American crime drama series that aired in syndication from September 1961 to June 1962. The series stars George Nader as the title character.-Synopsis:...
(as Carlyle in "The Pickup") - 1961-66 BonanzaBonanzaBonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, (appeared in various episodes) - 1962 Have Gun, Will Travel
- 1962 The Bull of the West
- 1965 The FugitiveThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
- 1966 Death Valley DaysDeath Valley DaysDeath Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
- 1966 I happened
- 1966 LaredoLaredo (TV series)Laredo is an NBC Western television series starring Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. The program premiered on September 16, 1965, and the final new episode was broadcast on April 7, 1967. The series was produced by Universal Television.-Synopsis:Laredo...
(as Dr. David Ingram in "The Sound of Terror") - 1966 Ride the WindRide the WindRide the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson is the story of Cynthia Ann Parker's life after she was captured during the Comanche raid on her family's fort. In 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia was kidnapped by Comanche Indians. This is the story of how she grew up with them, mastered their...
- 1966-69 Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
- 1970 IronsideIronside (TV series)Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
(appeared in various episodes) - 1973-74 Star Trek: The Animated SeriesStar Trek: The Animated SeriesStar Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
(voice) - 1981 The Littlest HoboThe Littlest HoboThe Littlest Hobo is a Canadian television series based upon a 1958 American film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for a popular second run on CTV from October 11, 1979 to March 7, 1985.All three productions...
(as Professor Hal Schaffer in "Runaway") - 1987 Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
(Admiral Leonard McCoy, in initial episode "Encounter at Farpoint") - 1996 Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
(Archival footage)