DeForest Kelley
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
141
Gender
Male
Birthday
1920-01-20
Day of death
1999-06-11 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
DeForest Kelley
Biography
Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999) was an American actor, screenwriter, poet and singer known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek. Kelley was delivered by his uncle at his parents' home in Atlanta, the son of Clora (née Casey) and Ernest David Kelley, who was a Baptist minister of Irish and Southern ancestry. DeForest was named after the pioneering electronics engineer Lee De Forest, and later named his Star Trek character's father "David" after his own. Kelley had an older brother, Ernest Casey Kelley. As a child, he often played outside for hours at a time. Kelley was immersed in his father's mission in Conyers and promised his father failure would mean "wreck and ruin". Before the end of his first year at Conyers, Kelley was introduced into the congregation to his musical talents and often sang solo in morning church services. Eventually, this led to an appearance on the radio station WSB AM in Atlanta, Georgia. As a result of his radio work, he won an engagement with Lew Forbes and his orchestra at the Paramount Theater. In 1934, the family left Conyers for the community of Decatur. He attended the Decatur Boys High School where he played on the Decatur Bantams baseball team. Kelley also played football and other sports. Before his graduation, Kelley got a job as a drugstore car hop. He spent his weekends working in the local theatres. Kelley graduated in 1938. During World War II, Kelley served as an enlisted man in the United States Army Air Forces between March 10, 1943, and January 28, 1946, assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit. After an extended stay in Long Beach, California, Kelley decided to pursue an acting career and relocate to southern California permanently, living for a time with his uncle Casey. He worked as an usher in a local theater in order to earn enough money for the move. Kelley's mother encouraged her son in his new career goal, but his father disliked the idea. While in California, Kelley was spotted by a Paramount Pictures scout while doing a United States Navy training film.
Known For
Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Ironside
The Fugitive
Star Trek
Perry Mason
Have Gun, Will Travel
The Virginian
The Virginian
The Merv Griffin Show
The Donna Reed Show
Matinee Theater
Rawhide
Studio One
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Route 66
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Wanted: Dead or Alive
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
Lawman
Lawman
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Bat Masterson
77 Sunset Strip
M Squad
M Squad
Gunsmoke
Laramie
Laramie
Waterfront
Waterfront
State Trooper
The Millionaire
Tales of Wells Fargo
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Laredo
The Deputy
Studio 57
Trackdown
Trackdown
Trackdown
Trackdown
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Navy Log
Navy Log
Room 222
Riverboat
Public Defender
Alcoa Theatre
Alcoa Theatre
Black Saddle
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
The Pixar Story
Star Trek
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
Cavalcade of America
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Cain's Hundred
26 Men
Apache Uprising
The Dakotas
The Lone Wolf
The Lone Wolf
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
City Detective
Tension at Table Rock
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Coronado 9
Coronado 9
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
You Are There
Fear in the Night
Science Fiction Theatre
The Gallant Men
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Johnny Midnight
The Making of Star Trek Deep Space Nine Trials And Tribble-ations
Town Tamer
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
The Men
Virtuosity
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Stagecoach West
Illegal
Warlock
Star Trek: The Menagerie
The Silent Service
The Edge of Innocence
Gunfight at Comanche Creek
The View from Pompey's Head
40 Years of Star Trek
Taxi
Assignment: Underwater
A Man Called Shenandoah
Bonanza: Ride the Wind
Revlon Mirror Theatre
Waco
The Wonderful World of Disney
The Bull of the West
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
Raintree County
Black Spurs
Canon City
Night of the Lepus
Star Trek: Inside the Roddenberry Vault
Variety Girl
House of Bamboo
The Man from Blackhawk
Malaya
Beyond Our Own
The Star Trek Dream
The Law and Jake Wade
Public Prosecutor
Where Love Has Gone
Trekkies
Speak No Evil
Duke of Chicago
Marriage on the Rocks
William Shatner's Star Trek Memories
Time to Kill
William Shatner: Captain's Log
A Conversation with DeForest Kelley
Star Trek: A Captain's Log
Ambassador for Christ
Duffy of San Quentin
