Theatre Register

Patsy Kelly

Shows · Patsy Kelly

Actor 1910–1981 On stage 19271973

Patsy Kelly (born Bridget Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly; January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of comedy shorts produced by Hal Roach in the 1930s. Kelly continued to appear in similar roles after Todd's death in 1935. After her film career declined in the mid-1940s, Kelly returned to New York, where she worked in radio and summer stock. She also became a lifelong friend and personal assistant of Tallulah Bankhead. Kelly returned to the screen after 17 years with guest spots on television and sporadic film roles. Kelly returned to the stage in the 1971 revival of No, No, Nanette, fo…

On stage 7 productions, 46 years

1927 Harry Delmar's Revels Shubert Theatre · Original 112 perf.
1928 Three Cheers Globe Theatre · Original · directed by Dave Bennett 210 perf.
1929 Earl Carroll's Sketch Book [1929] Earl Carroll Theatre · Original · directed by Edgar MacGregor 392 perf.
1931 The Wonder Bar Nora Bayes Theatre · Original · directed by William Mollison 76 perf.
1932 Flying Colors Imperial Theatre · Original · directed by Howard Dietz 188 perf.
1971 No, No, Nanette 46th Street Theatre · Revival · directed by Busby Berkeley 861 perf.
1973 Irene Minskoff Theatre · Revival · directed by Gower Champion 594 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Worked with more than once5 names

Tom Mclaughlin 2 productions
Ron Schwinn 2 productions
Pat Trott 2 productions
Kate O Brady 2 productions
Frances Ruth Lea 2 productions

Both names in the same cast list, more than once. It is not evidence of a partnership — a long-running company puts the same forty people together every night — but it is where one would start looking. 5 of these names are not links because we hold no record behind them; the name is set from the identifier and its punctuation may be wrong.

In the literature8 passages

  • His funeral at Forest Lawn brought out Hollywood comedy legends Buster Keaton, Hal Roach Jr., Patsy Kelly, and Alan Mowbray, among others, but at the request of Stan’s wife, I delivered the eulogy, which I began by stating what to me was the obvious: “Laurel and Hardy are together again—and the halls of heaven must be ringing with divine…ebooks/Dyke, Dick Van/My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business_ A Memoir - Dick Van Dyke.txt
  • Cast: Clifton Webb, Charles Butterworth, Tamara Geva, Patsy Kelly, Philip Loeb, Vilma & Buddy Ebsen, Larry Adler, Imogene Coca, Monette Mooreebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Ruby Keeler, Jack Gilford, Bobby Van, Helen Gallagher, Patsy Kelly, Susan Watson, Roger Rathburn, Loni Ackermanebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Irene. Debbie Reynolds and Patsy Kelly singing “Mother, Angel, Darling.” (Friedman-Abeles)ebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Patsy Kelly, George S. Irving, Monte Markham, Ruth Warrick, Janie Sell, Carmen Alvarezebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Tallulah’s costar and intimate friend Patsy Kelly noted, “Back before the whole McCarthy mess, you wouldn’t have imagined Lillian Hellman would become so very admired, outside of on Broadway. It took that backtracking Congress we got after Roosevelt to make Hellman look like a victim.… If she’d been a smarter cookie, she’d have stayed on…ebooks/Hadleigh, Boze/Broadway Babylon - Boze Hadleigh.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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