DeForest Kelley
Acting
- Born:
- 1920-01-20
- Died:
- 1999-06-11
- Place of birth:
- Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Biography
Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999) was an American actor, screenwriter, poet and singer 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. Kelley was delivered by his uncle at his parents' home in Atlanta, the son of Clora (née Casey) and Ernest David Kelley, who was a Baptist minister of Irish and Southern ancestry. 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 had an older brother, Ernest Casey Kelley. As a child, he often played outside for hours at a time. Kelley was immersed in his father's mission in Conyers and promised his father failure would mean "wreck and ruin". Before the end of his first year at Conyers, Kelley was introduced into the congregation to his musical talents and often sang solo in morning church services. Eventually, this led to 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. In 1934, the family left Conyers for the community of Decatur. He attended the Decatur Boys High School where he played on the Decatur Bantams baseball team. Kelley also played football and other sports. Before his graduation, Kelley got a job as a drugstore car hop. He spent his weekends working in the local theatres. Kelley graduated in 1938. During World War II, Kelley served as an enlisted man in the United States Army Air Forces between March 10, 1943, and January 28, 1946, assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit. 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.
Known For
Filmography
Way of Tomorrow: The Evolution of Science Fiction Movies
Star Trek: Inside the Roddenberry Vault
The Pixar Story
40 Years of Star Trek
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
Trekkies
The Making of Star Trek Deep Space Nine Trials And Tribble-ations
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
William Shatner's Star Trek Memories
Virtuosity
William Shatner: Captain's Log
Star Trek: A Captain's Log
A Conversation with DeForest Kelley
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
The Star Trek Dream
Star Trek
Night of the Lepus
The Bull of the West
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Room 222
Ironside
Space Seed
Star Trek
Waco
Bonanza: Ride the Wind
Apache Uprising
Marriage on the Rocks
Laredo
A Man Called Shenandoah
Town Tamer
Black Spurs
Where Love Has Gone
Gunfight at Comanche Creek
The Fugitive
The Dakotas
The Gallant Men
The Merv Griffin Show
The Virginian
Cain's Hundred
Route 66
Stagecoach West
Assignment: Underwater
Coronado 9
Johnny Midnight
The Man from Blackhawk
Laramie
Riverboat
Bonanza
The Deputy
Warlock
Black Saddle
Rawhide
77 Sunset Strip
Bat Masterson
Lawman
The Donna Reed Show
Wanted: Dead or Alive
The Law and Jake Wade
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Raintree County
The Edge of Innocence
26 Men
Trackdown
Alcoa Theatre
Perry Mason
M Squad
Have Gun, Will Travel
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Silent Service
Tales of Wells Fargo
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Tension at Table Rock
State Trooper
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
The View from Pompey's Head
Matinee Theater
Illegal
Navy Log
Gunsmoke
House of Bamboo
Science Fiction Theatre
The Millionaire
The Wonderful World of Disney
Studio 57
Waterfront
The Lone Wolf
Duffy of San Quentin
Public Defender
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
City Detective
Revlon Mirror Theatre
You Are There
Taxi
Cavalcade of America
Death Valley Days
The Men
Speak No Evil
Malaya
The Lone Ranger
Duke of Chicago
Ambassador for Christ
Studio One
Canon City
Beyond Our Own
Variety Girl
Fear in the Night
Public Prosecutor
Time to Kill