Gerard Kelly (born Paul Kelly; 27 May 1959 – 28 October 2010) was a Scottish actor who appeared in many comedies, including ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...

'', ''

Rab C Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character i ...

'', ''

Scotch and Wry ''Scotch and Wry'' is a Scottish television comedy sketch show produced by BBC Scotland and starring Rikki Fulton and a revolving ensemble cast which over the years included Gregor Fisher, Tony Roper, Claire Nielson, Juliet Cadzow and John B ...

'' and '' Extras''. He had more serious roles as well, including PC David Gallagher in ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over con ...

'' (1981), the villainous Jimmy in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' (1994) and the villainous Callum Finnegan in ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'' (1997–2000).

Career

Kelly had a small part in the critically acclaimed film '' Comic Strip Presents... Mr Jolly Lives Next Door'' (1987) and as the music video director in ''

More Bad News Bad News are a fictional English heavy metal band created for the Channel 4 television series '' The Comic Strip Presents...''. Its members were Vim Fuego (also known as "Alan Metcalfe"), vocals and lead guitar (played by Ade Edmondson); Den ...

'' (1987). In 1983 Kelly was featured in "Killer", the pilot episode of the crime drama series ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 19 ...

''. In 2005 and 2007 he appeared in the

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

comedy series '' Extras'' as Ian "Bunny" Bunton. From 2007 to 2010 he appeared regularly as Father Henderson, a camp ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''-loving priest, in the award-winning

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

comedy ''

Fags, Mags and Bags ''Fags, Mags and Bags'' is a Scottish radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Its first series was nominated for a Sony Radio Award. The writers, Sanjeev Kohli and Donald McLeary, received a Writers Guild Award in November 2008 for Radio ...

''. In 2011, after Kelly's death, reference was made in the series to Father Henderson's move to another parish and to the fact that the new priest can never replace him.

Stage performances

In 1994 Kelly played Felix Ungar in a Scottish touring production of ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'', relocated to modern-day

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, alongside

Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won a ...

as Oscar Madison. Kelly reprised the role at the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

in 2002, this time opposite his former ''City Lights'' co-star Andy Gray. In 2006 and 2007 Kelly directed and starred in a Scottish play, ''

Rikki and Me ''Rikki and Me'' was a stage show celebrating the life of comic actor Rikki Fulton, it starred Gerard Kelly and Tony Roper as Jack Milroy and Rikki Fulton. The show was a huge success all over theatres in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Coun ...

'', celebrating the life of the comedian

Rikki Fulton Robert Kerr "Rikki" Fulton, OBE (15 April 1924 – 27 January 2004) was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, ''Scotch and Wry''. He was also known for his appea ...

, in which he played the role of

Jack Milroy Jack Milroy, MBE (born James Cruden; 28 December 1915 – 1 February 2001), was a Scottish comedian. Born in Govanhill, Glasgow and educated at Shawlands Academy, Milroy is noted for his partnership with comedy actor Rikki Fulton as Francie ...

. Kelly played the Narrator in ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

'' in Edinburgh and Aberdeen from 21 June to 3 July 2010. He was due to revive this performance for one week at the

King's Theatre, Glasgow The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. ...

, from 8 to 13 November 2010. Kelly was well known for his appearances in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

at the King's Theatre. He headlined the show for 20 years and was crowned King of Panto. In 2008 he appeared in ''Cinderella'', and the following year (2009/2010) he starred in ''Aladdin'', his last pantomime.

Death and tribute

Kelly was due to star in the 2010/2011 King's Theatre production of ''Snow White'' in Glasgow, but died on 28 October 2010 at the

West Middlesex University Hospital West Middlesex University Hospital (WMUH) is an acute NHS hospital in Isleworth, West London, operated by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It is a teaching hospital of Imperial College School of Medicine and a designated aca ...

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

, after collapsing with a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...

. His funeral service took place in Glasgow on 12 November. On New Year's Eve 2010, BBC1 Scotland broadcast an hour-long tribute, ''Gerard Kelly: A Celebration''. In 2013, the

unveiled a bronze sculpture in tribute to Kelly. Kelly never married or had children and left his entire £145,000 estate to a friend of 18 years, English actor

Terry Kiely Terry Kiely (born September 1975 in Britwell) is an English actor. He is best known for his role in the Sky One series ''Dream Team'', where he played the popular character Karl Fletcher for eight years, despite initially only signing up for ...

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Scotsman''

Obituary in ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Gerard 1959 births 2010 deaths Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish male television actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male soap opera actors Male actors from Glasgow Deaths from intracranial aneurysm Place of death missing