DeForest Kelly: biography, filmography and interesting facts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

DeForest Kelly is a talented actor who left this world in 1999. Despite his departure, he continues to live in the roles played. As a child, he imagined himself as a doctor saving people. It is not surprising that his most famous character was Dr. Leonard McCoy, whose image Kelly embodied in the cult television project Star Trek. What is known about the celebrity?

DeForest Kelly: Childhood

The birthplace of the famous American is Georgia, where he was born in 1920. Deforest Kelly, at an early age, chose his uncle, a talented doctor who achieved great success in his profession, to play the role of his idol. The boy also intended to link his life with medicine. But the outbreak of the Great Depression rudely interfered with his plans. The parents did not have the means to pay for their son's education. It is also known that as a child, DeForest Kelly was a soloist in the church choir. The skills acquired in the Baptist parish were useful to him many times in life.

Youth years

After graduation, the future actor went to stay with relatives in Long Beach, intending to spend only a couple of weeks in California. However, unexpectedly for everyone, he decided to stay, finding a part-time job in an oil company. It was there that DeForest Kelly first became interested in theater. He joined an amateur troupe. The youth of the actor fell on the difficult years of World War II. He was forced to leave his job and go to the front, becoming a member of the American Air Corps.

Post-war years

It cannot be said that the actor's path to fame was long and winding. He got his first role in 1945. This happened a few months after Kelly returned from the front. The debut for a talented young man was the short film "A Time to Kill". Two years later, Kelly DeForest played the lead role for the first time. Unusual appearance allowed him to attract the attention of director Maxwell Shane. The master decided that the aspiring actor was ideally suited to embody one of the key characters in his new detective story Fear in the Night. The picture tells of a man who has a prophetic dream about being charged with murder. Critics and viewers approved of the tape.

Marriage

Even before the start of World War II, Kelly DeForest met a charming girl - Caroline Dowling. Young people met through an amateur theater in which they both performed. Caroline promised to wait for her lover from the front, and she kept her word. Alreadyin 1945, a wedding took place, which turned out to be modest due to the lack of funds from the newlyweds.

It is known that they even saved on registration by turning to a judge who did not charge for registration of marriages of front-line soldiers. The Indian rings that the newlyweds put on each other's fingers during the ceremony also looked original. Jewelry cost no more than 25 cents. The union, concluded in a hurry, turned out to be surprisingly strong, Caroline and Kelly were separated only by the death of the actor. After the wedding, the newlyweds settled in New York. Caroline did not seek recognition as an actress. She preferred to get a job as a manager in a large corporation. Her husband decided to continue his path to fame.

Movies and series

What does his biography say about future roles? DeForest Kelly, shortly after moving to New York, starred in the film You Are Here. The audience reacted to the dramatic story cool. However, the directors drew attention to a talented actor. His first significant success was an invitation to the film The Last Shootout in Corral County, where Douglas and Lancaster became his partners on the set.

It was thanks to the role of Ike Clanton, in the image of which Kelly organically fit during the filming of the above-mentioned film, that he was called to play the bad guys with enthusiasm for many years to come. Deforest often accepted such proposals, as evidenced by the westerns with his participation: "The Sorcerer", "County of Weeping Trees". However, the dream did not leave him to leave the bored role in the past. For this, Kelly agreed to embody the image of a romantic hero.in the drama Where Has Love Gone. Unfortunately, the film did not become popular.

Star Trek

As already mentioned, not only DeForest Kelly starred in successful films. Films with his participation often received negative reviews from critics. For example, you can recall the tape "Police Story", in which the actor was invited by Roddenberry. The project had high expectations that were not met. However, it was thanks to filming in this picture that Kelly got to the set of Star Trek.

Dr. Leonard McCoy - this is how DeForest will forever be remembered by thousands of viewers. His famous character is the ship's doctor, constantly inventing antidotes in his secret laboratory, protecting the heroes from various cosmic misfortunes. The actor had a chance to try on the image of Leonard McCoy in numerous continuations of the cult story. The audience would be outraged if a flamboyant character played by DeForest Kelly were cut from the plot. The best films with his participation are those that belong to the Star Trek epic. On this, critics are unanimous.

Interesting facts

Few people know that Kelly's favorite thing was gardening. The actor got the opportunity to indulge in his hobby when he made the difficult decision to retire. "Dr. McCoy's" favorite flowers were roses, which he enthusiastically grew on his property. But Kelly DeForest was not only interested in gardening. Since childhood, he could not imagine life without reading. The actor gave preference to poems that he tried to write himself. Unfortunately, he considered the fruits of his work unworthy of publication. Also from time to time he was captured by painting. However, these periods were infrequent. The reasons why Kelly and his wife did not have children remained unknown. The actor never agreed to answer this question when asked by reporters.

Death

The actor died in June 1999. His death came after a long illness. Therefore, his loved ones were already ready to part. "Dr. McCoy" lived in the world for 79 years. His body was cremated as he wished in his will.