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DeForest Kelley Message Forum

Jackson DeForest Kelley was delivered at home in Atlanta, Georgia, by his uncle, a
prominent local physician. The son of Clara Casey Kelley and Rev. Ernest D. Kelley,
a Baptist minister, DeForest lived all over the South.

After singing in the church choir, DeForest discovered that he enjoyed singing and
was good at it. Eventually this led to solos and later performing on radio station WSB
in Atlanta. As a result of his radio appearances, he won an engagement with Lew
Forbes and his orchestra at the Paramount Theater. It was DeForest's first taste of
being an entertainer, and he liked it.

DeForest moved to Long Beach, California to live with his Uncle Casey. He saved
money working as an usher in a local theater until he had enough for the move.
DeForest found that he loved the sun, surf and excitement of Long Beach and told his
parents he was going to stay and get a job. Mopping floors soon gave way to
operating an elevator in a hotel near the ocean.

One day, DeForest was sitting in a restaurant when Rohn Hawke, who was doing
local theater, came over and asked if he had any acting experience. Hawke worked
with him to smooth out his Georgia accent, wanting DeForest to appear in a play he
was directing. He auditioned and won the part. During the run of the play, a talent
scout caught his performance and felt he had a future in acting. In the evenings, he
continued to appear with the Long Beach Theater Group to gain experience, while
operating an elevator and 'roughnecking' for Richfield Oil during the day. Sometime
later, DeForest and some friends from the group started writing and staging plays at a
local radio station. This led to other radio work for him.

He was tested for the baby-faced killer in This Gun for Hire and was assured, after 13
takes, that he had the role. Unfortunately, it ultimately went to Alan Ladd and
DeForest went back to the Theater Group.

In 1942, DeForest appeared as a beach bum in "The Innocent Young Man" with the
Long Beach Theater Group. His co-star was a blonde, blue-eyed beauty named
Carolyn Dowling. Toward the end of the play, Carolyn was to hand him a five dollar bill
and say, "Here, Bill, take this money and buy yourself a drink." Carolyn used her own
five dollars, with DeForest giving it back at the end of each performance. When the
play closed, DeForest "forgot" to return the money and called her from the bar where
he was having a drink. "I've got your five dollars, so you'd better come down here and
help me spend it, or it's all going to be gone."

Their budding romance was interrupted by war and DeForest went into the Army Air
Corps in New Mexico, where Carolyn visited often. Finally he was transferred to
Culver City to act in a Navy training film. That was when the couple decided to get
married. They found a judge that married servicemen free of charge, bought two Indian
rings for 25 cents and were married on September 7, 1945.

A Paramount talent scout spotted DeForest in the Navy film and it led to a three year
contract. His first film was a starring role in "Fear in the Night." It was a low-budge
project, but it caught the attention of the public and became a box-office sleeper -- a
real hit -- and DeForest was established as a respected actor. Shortly after that he
made "Variety Girl" and he was on his way.

A couple of years later the Kelleys decided to try their luck on the New York stage.
While DeForest sought work, Carolyn got a job in the main office of Warner Brothers.
While DeForest did find work on stage and live television, after three years they
returned to Hollywood. He landed a part in a You Are There episode. That part led to
another and another. His exceptional performance as Ike Clanton in the episode,
"Last Gunfight at OK Corral" was his first role as a heavy and it brought him three
movie offers.

For nine years DeForest primarily played heavies and found them interesting and
challenging. He built up an impressive list of credits, alternating between television
and motion pictures. Afraid of being type-cast, DeForest broke out of that mold by
doing "Where Love Has Gone" and a television pilot called "333 Montgomery." The
latter was written by an ex-cop named Gene Roddenberry. A few years later,
DeForest would appear in another Roddenberry pilot, "Police Story." That didn't sell
either, but it led to Star Trek and the unforgettable role of Dr. Leonard McCoy.

After Star Trek ended production, DeForest took a long, well-deserved vacation. He
made a few movies and did some television, but primarily went into retirement. He
says that nowadays, "Acting has become my hobby and my home has become my
heart." DeForest enjoys his garden, where he tends 50+ rosebushes, reads
biographies and works around the house. He also does some painting and writes
poetry; his poem, "The Big Bird's Dream" is a favorite with his fans and its sequel,
"The Dream Goes One" is destined for the same fame.

DeForest and Carolyn share their home with Myrtle, an octogenarian turtle.

51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, The
Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, The
Trekkies
Hollywood Commandos
William Shatner's Star Trek Memories
Star Trek: Judgment Rites
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
"Star Trek"
aka "Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, The"
aka "Star Trek: The Animated Adventures"
aka "Star Trek: The Animated Series"

Night of the Lepus
"Star Trek"
Waco
Apache Uprising
Town Tamer
Marriage on the Rocks
Black Spurs
Where Love Has Gone
Gunfight at Comanche Creek
aka Gun Fight at Comanche Creek

Warlock
Law and Jake Wade, The
Raintree County
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Tension at Table Rock
Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The
House of Bamboo
Illegal
View from Pompey's Head, The
aka Secret Interlude
Taxi
Men, The
aka Battle Stripe

Duke of Chicago
Malaya
aka Alien Orders
aka East of the Rising Sun
Canon City
Variety Girl
Fear in the Night

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) playing "Dr. Leonard McCoy" in episode: "Trials and Tribble-ations" (episode # 5.6) 11/2/1996
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) playing "Admiral Leonard H. McCoy, ret." in episode: "Encounter At Farpoint" (episode # 1.0) 9/26/1987
"Littlest Hobo, The" (1979) playing "Prof. Hal Schaffer" in episode: "Runaway" (episode # 2.15) 2/12/1981
"Strike Force" (1981) in episode: "Judge, The"
"Cowboys, The" (1974) in episode: "David Done It" (episode # 1.1) 2/6/1974
"Police Story" (1973) in episode: "Pilot" (episode # 0.1) 3/20/1973
"Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law" (1971) in episode: "Make no Mistake" (episode # 1.5) 10/14/1971
"Room 222" (1969) in episode: "Suitable for Framing"
"Bold Ones: The New Doctors, The" (1969) in episode: "Giants Never Kneel"
"Ironside" (1967) in episode: "Warrior's Return"
"Laredo" (1965) playing "Dr. David Ingram" in episode: "Sound of Terror" (episode # 1.28) 4/7/1966
"Man Called Shenandoah, A" (1965) in episode: "Riley Brand, The" (episode # 1.23) 2/21/1966
"Bonanza" (1959) in episode: "Ride The Wind (part two)" (episode # 7.18) 1/23/1966
"Bonanza" (1959) in episode: "Ride The Wind (part one)" (episode # 7.17) 1/16/1966
"Death Valley Days" (1952) playing "Gambler" in episode: "Lady of the Plains" 1966
"Virginian, The" (1962) in episode: "Man of Violence" (episode # 2.14) 12/25/1965
"Fugitive, The" (1963) playing "Charlie" in episode: "Three Cheers For Little Boy Blue" (episode # 3.6) 10/19/1965
"Slattery's People" (1964) in episode: "Question: Which one has the privilege?" (episode # 1.12) 12/7/1964
"Slattery's People" (1964) in episode: "Which One has the Privilege"
"Route 66" (1960) in episode: "1800 Days to Justice" (episode # 2.8) 11/17/1963
"77 Sunset Strip" (1958/I) in episode: "88 Bars" (episode # 6.7) 11/1/1963
"Dakotas, The" (1963) in episode: "Reformation at Big Nose Butte" (episode # 1.13) 4/1/1963
"Virginian, The" (1962) in episode: "Duel at Shiloh" (episode # 1.15) 1/2/1963
"Bonanza" (1959) in episode: "Decision, The" (episode # 4.12) 1962
"Gallant Men, The" (1962) in episode: "Taste of Peace, A"
"Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Peter Thorpe" in episode: "Case of the Unwelcome Bride, The" (episode # 5.14) 12/16/1961
"Bonanza" (1959) playing "Captain Johnson" in episode: "Honor of Cochise, The" (episode # 3.3) 10/8/1961
"Stagecoach West" (1960) in episode: "Big Gun, The" (episode # 1.29) 4/25/1961
"Bat Masterson" (1958) in episode: "No Amnesty for Death" (episode # 3.25) 3/30/1961
"Deputy, The" (1959) in episode: "Means and the End, The" (episode # 2.25) 3/18/1961
"Stagecoach West" (1960) in episode: "Image of a Man" (episode # 1.17) 1/31/1961
"Route 66" (1960) playing "Sweet Thing" in episode: "Clover Throne, The" (episode # 1.15) 1/27/1961
"Riverboat" (1959) in episode: "Listen to the Nightingale" (episode # 2.13) 1/2/1961
"Two Faces West" (1960) in episode: "Fallen Gun" (episode # 1.6) 11/21/1960
"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Calico Bait" (episode # 4.26) 3/31/1960
"Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1957) in episode: "Fine Art of Murder, The" (episode # 3.34) 1/25/1960
"Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1957) in episode: "Adjuster, The" (episode # 3.28) 12/7/1959
"Black Saddle" (1959) in episode: "Apache Trail" (episode # 2.8) 11/20/1959
"Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958) in episode: "Hostage, The" (episode # 2.6) 10/10/1959
"Trackdown" (1957) in episode: "Quiet Night in Porter" (episode # 2.38) 9/23/1959
"Trackdown" (1957) in episode: "Blind Alley" (episode # 2.37) 9/16/1959
"Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1957) in episode: "Limping Man, The" (episode # 3.14) 5/24/1959
"Trackdown" (1957) in episode: "Hard Lines" (episode # 2.25) 3/11/1959
"Rawhide" (1959) playing "Slate Prell" in episode: "Incident at Barker Springs" (episode # 1.7) 2/20/1959
"Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958) in episode: "Secret Ballot" (episode # 1.24) 2/14/1959
"Northwest Passage" (1958) in episode: "Death Rides the Wind" (episode # 1.19) 1/23/1959
"26 Men" (1957) in episode: "Trail of Revenge" (episode # 2.15) 1/13/1959
"Laramie" (1959) in episode: "Gun Deal, The"
"Rough Riders, The" (1958) in episode: "Nightbinders, The" (episode # 1.8) 11/20/1958
"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Accuser, The" (episode # 3.4) 10/30/1958
"Trackdown" (1957) in episode: "Jailbreak, The" (episode # 1.29) 5/2/1958
"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Shadow of a Dead Man" (episode # 2.25) 4/11/1958
"Donna Reed Show, The" (1958)
"Lawman" (1958) in episode: "Squatters, The"
"Boots and Saddles" (1957) in episode: "Marquis of Donnybrook, The" (episode # 1.14) 12/26/1957
"Trackdown" (1957) in episode: "End of an Outlaw" (episode # 1.9) 11/29/1957
"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Village of Fear" (episode # 1.22) 3/1/1957
"M Squad" (1957) in episode: "Diamond Hard"
"Silent Service, The" (1957) in episode: "Gar Story, The"
"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Stage to Tucson" (episode # 1.7) 11/16/1956
"Science Fiction Theatre" (1955) playing "Dr. Milo Barton" in episode: "Survival In Box Canyon" (episode # 2.64) 10/12/1956
"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Will Bailey" in episode: "Indian Scout" (episode # 1.23) 3/31/1956
"You Are There" (1953) in episode: "Rescue of the American Prisoners from Santo Tomas (February 3, 1945), The" (episode # 4.4) 10/9/1955
"Science Fiction Theatre" (1955) playing "Captain Hall, M.D." in episode: "Y.O.R.D." (episode # 1.5) 5/6/1955
"Millionaire, The" (1955) in episode: "Millionaire Iris Miller"
"Lineup, The" (1954) in episode: "Chloroform Murder Case, The"
"Lone Ranger, The" (1949) playing "Dr. Barnes" in episode: "Death in the Forest" (episode # 3.39) 6/4/1953
"Lone Ranger, The" (1949) playing "Sheriff Buck McCall" in episode: "Gold Train" (episode # 1.27) 3/16/1950
"Lone Ranger, The" (1949) playing "Bob Kittridge" in episode: "Legion of Old Timers, The" (episode # 1.4) 10/6/1949

Biography taken from The Star Trek Continuum
Filmography and TV Appearnces listings from The Internet Movie Database

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