Brian Kelly (February 14, 1931 – February 12, 2005) was an American actor widely known for his role as Porter Ricks, the widowed father of two sons on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

'' Flipper''.

Early years

Kelly was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, the son of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor of Michigan Harry F. Kelly (who was also chief justice of Michigan's Supreme Court) and the former Anne Veronica O'Brien. Kelly had three sisters and two brothers, one of whom was his fraternal twin. His nephew (sister's son) is actor Brian d'Arcy James. He was of Irish descent. Kelly attended St. Mary High School and served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Kelly graduated in 1953 from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He attended the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

in Ann Arbor for a year before settling on acting. During his college years, Kelly modelled and acted in radio and television commercials in Detroit.

Acting career

Kelly headed to Hollywood in the late fifties after choosing acting as his career. Following minor roles in '' Adventures in Paradise'', ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

'', and ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'', Kelly starred in two television series, NBC's ''

21 Beacon Street ''21 Beacon Street'' is an American detective television series that originally aired on NBC from July 2 to September 10, 1959. Produced by Filmways, the summer replacement series for ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'' consisted of 11 black-and- ...

'' (1959), with Dennis Morgan and

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, and ABC's '' Straightaway'' (1961-1962) with John Ashley. Flipper Kelly Halpin Norden 1964 crop

In 1964, Kelly took over the

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

role from the 1963 family film ''Flipper'', playing Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve and recently-widowed father of Sandy Ricks ( Luke Halpin) in the 1964 sequel ''

Flipper's New Adventure ''Flipper's New Adventure'' (known in some countries as ''Flipper and the Pirates'') is a 1964 American feature film released on June 24, 1964 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, written by Art Arthur, and directed by Leon Benson. It was a sequel to the 1963 ...

.'' He continued the role in the family-oriented action and adventure television program ''Flipper'' that same year. In the TV series, Porter would also have a second son, Bud ( Tommy Norden). Kelly was quoted at the time as saying that he loved the role because of its family-friendly qualities. The success of ''Flipper'', which was filmed in Miami and the Bahamas, led to a brief movie career, including a lead in '' Around the World Under the Sea'' (1966). In 1970, Kelly sought to change his image by playing the role of Robin Stone in '' The Love Machine'', based on the novel by

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. Just prior to filming, he was involved in a motorcycle accident which left his right arm and leg paralyzed.

John Phillip Law John Phillip Law (September 7, 1937 – May 13, 2008) was an American film actor. Following a breakthrough role as a Russian sailor in ''The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming'' (1966), Law became best known for his roles as gu ...

took over the role. Kelly—whom Susann had called "the perfect Robin Stone"—won a legal settlement in the case but the accident ended his acting career. He used money from the settlement to build homes and then to produce films. He served as executive producer of ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'' (1982) and associate producer of ''Cities of the Wild'' (1996).

Marriages and death

Kelly was married to actress Laura Devon from 1962 until their 1966 divorce. In 1972, he married Valerie Ann Romero, with whom he had a daughter (Hallie Kelly Star) in 1975, and a son (Devin Kelly) in 1980. Kelly died two days shy of his 74th birthday on February 12, 2005, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

Voorhees Township, New Jersey Voorhees Township is a township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,131, reflecting an increase of 1,005 (+3.6%) from the 28,126 counted in the 2000 census. Voorhee ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Notes

External links

* *
Brian Kelly Fan Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Brian (actor) 1931 births 2005 deaths Film producers from New Jersey American male television actors United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey People from Voorhees Township, New Jersey Male actors from Detroit Military personnel from Detroit United States Marine Corps officers University of Michigan Law School alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Film producers from Michigan 20th-century American male actors Military personnel from New Jersey