William Gregory Kelsall (1893-1967), known by the stage name Greg Kelsey, was an English born actor and entertainer who gained fame in the USA in the 1930s and 1940s.

Early life and education

William Gregory Kelsall, known to family and friends as "Greg," was born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

on 6 January 1894. He was the eldest son of William Kelsall (b. 1870) and Emma Kelsall (née Bowcock, b. 1867). His father William Kelsall was a professional vocalist1911 UK Census. and was subsequently to emigrate to Canada and New York to become an actor, taking the name of William Calvert.''Leek Post & Times,'' 11 April 1947. Greg was educated at St. Mary's Catholic Primary School in Leek, Staffordshire and took his first turn at acting under the tutelage of the nuns at the school. His first job after leaving school was as a potters warehouse assistant and he lived at 70 Lime Street

. He married May Harper in 1913, shortly before emigrating on his own to Canada.

Career

Kelsall departed for North America from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 8 May 1913 aboard "the Corsican" steamship, aged only 20 years. His occupation was listed as "labourer". The ship was bound for

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. After working initially in manual labour, Kelsall was introduced through his father to Mr Henry Duffy, one of America's leading producers, whose company he joined at

. He was then trained under

Henry Dixey Henry E. Dixey (born Henry E. Dixon; January 6, 1859 – February 25, 1943) was an American actor and theatre producer. Dixey was born on January 6, 1859, in Boston, Massachusetts. He made his stage debut in Boston in 1868, joining the variety ...

, a famous international comedian of the American stage. Around this time, he began to be known by his pseudonym "Greg Kelsey". After that he went into partnership, with his act being known as O'Neill and Kelsey. He left Canada in April 1925 via Niagara Falls with his wife and two children, destined for the New York Stage. Upon arrival in New York in 1925, Kelsey received an offer came from

Shubert Theatre (New York City) The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 225 West 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by ...

and as a result he signed a contract to play in the noted musical ''Blossom Time'' opposite Eugene Leontivich wife of

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...

, the Metro Goldwyn Mayer Director. Kelsey hit hard times during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the early 1930s. He was affected, as were many others, by the closure of a number of the Broadway shows. He was reputed to be working as a singing waiter in 1932 and was living away from home which was then at City Island, Bronx. As USA recovered under President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Kelsey returned to the Broadway stage. Between 1934 and 1946 he entertained President Roosevelt, broadcast with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and the Easy Access and made pictures in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. He was by this point under the management of Charles Colligan, patron of the Barclay Club of Barnstable, Massachusetts.US War Registration Records Kelsey was called up to serve in the US Army in 1942 in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His theatrical skills were put to good use as he received seven citations from the American Congress for work during the War. He appeared in special shows with such people as

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

, Una Plokin, sisters Vaughan-de-Leith and other prominent stars of the day. After the war he performed in the long-running stage hit "The Gay Nineties" which became one of the early television shows

The Gay Nineties Revue ''The Gay Nineties Revue'' was an American variety series that aired live on ABC Television from August 11, 1948 to mid-1949 on Wednesdays at 8pm ET. The host was songwriter Joseph E. Howard, who was reportedly age 71 at the time he hosted the sh ...

. During his career, Kelsey cultivated friendships with world renowned personalities on the screen including

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

, Peter Lorre,

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

, Jim Lurle Junior (star of the 1940s radio show "Can you Top this?"),

Jack Whiting John George Benjamin Whiting (19 February 1894 – 15 July 1975) was an English cricketer. Whiting's batting style is unknown, but he was a right-arm fast bowler. He was born in Stoke Goldington, Buckinghamshire. Whiting made his debut ...

, William Cargan,

Eddie Dowling Eddie Dowling (born Joseph Nelson Goucher; December 11, 1889Date and year of birth as per baptismal records of Precious Blood church, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where Dowling was christened — February 18, 1976) was an American actor, director, ...

and Harry Donnelly (writer of the song "Hink-a-dink-a-do", Jimmy Durante's theme song). He returned to England in 1945 and then in 1947 to visit family and to explore various offers in the nascent television industry. It is not clear whether he took up any of these offers. The last remaining record of his work was the publication of a play called "Check your Hat" in 1951.

Death

Kelsey died on 2 July 1967 at Memorial Hospital, New York. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery North Arlington.US Birth & Death Records.

Legacy

Kelsey's daughter Ena Kelsall married prominent Big Band jazz musician

Arthur Rollini Arthur Francis Rollini (February 13, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American jazz musician who played the tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet. His nickname was "Schneeze". Early life Born in New York City, Rollini came from an Italian d ...

, brother of

Adrian Rollini Adrian Francis Rollini (June 28, 1903 – May 15, 1956) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played the bass saxophone, piano, vibraphone, and many other instruments. Rollini is also known for introducing the goofus in jazz music. As ...

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelsey, Greg 1893 births 1967 deaths People from Stoke-on-Trent People from City Island, Bronx 20th-century American singers 20th-century American actors 20th-century English singers 20th-century English actors British emigrants to the United States