Claire Kelly

Claire Kelly
Kelly (right) with Leigh Snowden (left) and Mike Connors in a promotional picture for Tightrope
Born Claire Ann Green
(1934-03-15)March 15, 1934
San Francisco, California, US
Died July 1, 1998(1998-07-01) (aged 64)
Palm Springs, California, US
Nationality American
Occupation Actress
Spouse(s) George DeWitt (1951–1955)
Perry Lopez (1960–1961)
Robert Kenaston (1961–1963)
Robert Murphy (?–1998; her death)
Children Nicholas Christopher DeWitt
(d. 1954)

Claire Kelly (March 15, 1934 – July 1, 1998)[1] was an American actress.

Early life

Born Claire Ann Green, the daughter of a wealthy California rancher, she was trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. Kelly started out as a model in Miami, and appeared several times on the cover of McCall, continuing her modelling career throughout the 1950s. She made the cover of Picture Week in 1956, and was a 1958 Deb Star.[2]

Career

Kelly went on to roles in films such as The Badlanders (1958), Party Girl (1958), Ask Any Girl (1959) and A Guide for the Married Man (1967). In The Badlanders, a western remake of the film noir The Asphalt Jungle, she played "the Angela role immortalized by Marilyn Monroe" [3] in the original film. In 1959 she was publicized as "the screen's most exciting discovery since Rita Hayworth".[1] In 1964-65 she appeared in several episodes of the television series Burke's Law.

Personal life

From 1951 to 1955 Kelly was married to singer-comedian George DeWitt, using the name Claire DeWitt in Son of Sinbad, after which she was seen publicly with Lance Reventlow, son of wealthy heiress Barbara Hutton, singer Frank Sinatra, hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr., and actor Perry Lopez, whom she briefly married in 1960-1961, after which she married wealthy banking heir Robert Alan Kenaston Jr. (d. 1995), son of actress Billie Dove, in 1961-1963, followed by wealthy Robert Murphy.[1] She once dismissed Prince Aly Khan as "gauche" and Elvis Presley as "a mere child".[1]

On November 6, 1954, Kelly's 3-year-old son Nicholas Christopher DeWitt died after fighting for three days in an iron lung at Variety Children’s Hospital in Miami, Florida, the victim of a rare anesthetic hazard, which happened after he was bitten on the lip by Duke, a cocker spaniel owned by former featherweight champion Willie Pep, and his heart stopped beating as doctors repaired the damage with 25 stitches.[1]

Filmography

Film

Television

  • The Bob Cummings Show (1955)
    • −Season 2, Episode 12: "The Wolf Sitter" (as Miss Kelly)
  • The People's Choice (1956)
    • −Season 1, Episode 14: "Aunt Gus Leaves Sock" (as Melinda)
  • King's Row (1956)
    • −Season 1, Episode 7: "Carnival" (as Little Egypt)
  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957)
    • −Season 1, Episode 1: "The Mickey Farmer Case" (Unnamed role, uncredited)
  • The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1957)
    • −Season 4, Episode 10: "Frontier Angel" (unnamed role)
  • Love That Jill (1958)
    • −Season 1, Episode 1: "Tonight's The Night" (Unnamed role)
  • Northwest Passage (1959)
    • −Season 1, Episode 16: "The Killers" (as Lucy)
  • Tightrope! (1960)
    • −Season 1, Episode 21: "Three to Make Ready" (as Linda Costain)
  • Bachelor Father (1960)
    • −Season 3, Episode 25: "Kelly and the College Man" (as Laura Evans)
  • The Texan (1960)
    • −Season 2, Episode 34: "Lady Tenderfoot" (as Gail Henshaw)
  • Surfside 6 (1961)
    • −Season 1, Episode 23: "Ghost of a Chance" (as Pat Wheeler)
  • Burke's Law (1964)
    • -Season 2, Episode 4: "Who Killed the Horne of Plenty?" (as Samantha)
  • Burke's Law (1965)
    • −Season 2, Episode 21: "Who Killed the Fat Cat?" (as 2nd Lingerie Model)
  • The Monkees (1967)
    • −Season 1, Episode 29: "Monkees Get Out More Dirt" (as Dr. Sisters)
  • The F.B.I. (1969)
    • −Season 5, Episode 6: "Gamble with Death" (As Secretary)
  • Love Story (1972)
    • −Season 9, Episode 9: "Night of the Tanks" (as Landlady)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com
  2. ↑ www.imdb.com
  3. ↑ Schwartz, Ronald (1 January 2001). Noir, Now and Then: Film Noir Originals and Remakes, (1944-1999). Greenwood Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-313-30893-2.
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