Kelly Reno (born June 19, 1966) is a former

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

, rancher, and trucker. At age 11, he was cast in the role of Alec Ramsey, the young boy who is marooned on a deserted island along with an

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...

, in ''

The Black Stallion The Black Stallion, known as the Black or Shêtân, is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the Arab stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay. The series chronicles the story of a Sheikh's prized stallion a ...

'' (based on

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

Walter Farley Walter Farley (born Walter Lorimer Farley, 26 June 1915 – 16 October 1989) was an American author, primarily of horse stories for children. His first and most famous work was ''The Black Stallion'' (1941), the success of which led to many ...

Early life, family and education

Reno was born in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most populo ...

. His parents, Bud and Ruth, were cattle ranchers. He graduated from high school in 1984.

Career

After responding to an open casting call, he was cast at age 13 as the main character, Alec Ramsey, in ''The Black Stallion''. Directed by Carroll Ballard and co-starring Mickey Rooney and

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

, the film was made in 1979. Reno did nearly all of his own action scenes in the movie. He reprised the role in the 1983 film adaptation of Farley's ''

The Black Stallion Returns ''The Black Stallion Returns'' is a 1983 film adaptation of the book of the same name by Walter Farley, and is a sequel to ''The Black Stallion''. It is the only film directed by Robert Dalva. It was produced by Francis Ford Coppola for MGM/UA ...

'' much of which was filmed in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. He performed as an Alamo messenger who travels through time in "Alamo Jobe", a 1985 episode in Steven Spielberg's anthology TV series ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

''. After graduating high school, Reno was driving a pick-up truck that was hit by a

semi-truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

. The resultant injuries were severe, and the long recovery time squelched his acting career. After 20 years as a cattle rancher, Reno became a semi-truck driver.

Personal life

Reno married in 1986 and had three children Ryan, Raelyn, and Justin with Lynette Tuttle. They divorced in 1996. They were reported to be residents of the Pueblo, Colorado, area. He later married second wife Annette Crump in 1998 and divorced in 2005. He married his current wife, Dawn Hickey in 2007.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

Bibliography

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopedia from 1895 to 1995''. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 372–373.

External links

* 1966 births Living people American male child actors People from Pueblo, Colorado American truck drivers {{US-film-actor-1960s-stub