DeForest Kelley
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
143
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
Perry Mason
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek
Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Ironside
The Fugitive
Have Gun, Will Travel
The Virginian
The Virginian
The Merv Griffin Show
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
Gunsmoke
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Rawhide
Studio One
Matinee Theater
Lawman
Lawman
Route 66
Bat Masterson
The Donna Reed Show
Laramie
Laramie
The Making of Star Trek Deep Space Nine Trials And Tribble-ations
Tales of Wells Fargo
State Trooper
77 Sunset Strip
Laredo
Room 222
Studio 57
Trackdown
Trackdown
Trackdown
Trackdown
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
The Millionaire
M Squad
M Squad
Navy Log
Navy Log
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Cavalcade of America
Alcoa Theatre
Alcoa Theatre
Cain's Hundred
The Deputy
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
Black Saddle
Riverboat
Public Defender
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek
Waco
Raintree County
Black Spurs
26 Men
40 Years of Star Trek
You Are There
Canon City
Warlock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Variety Girl
Stagecoach West
The Silent Service
Waterfront
Waterfront
Johnny Midnight
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
City Detective
The Lone Wolf
The Lone Wolf
The Dakotas
Night of the Lepus
Coronado 9
Coronado 9
Town Tamer
The Gallant Men
Science Fiction Theatre
Illegal
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Virtuosity
The Pixar Story
Malaya
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Wonderful World of Disney
The Bull of the West
Gunfight at Comanche Creek
The View from Pompey's Head
Tension at Table Rock
A Man Called Shenandoah
The Edge of Innocence
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Star Trek: Inside the Roddenberry Vault
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
The Law and Jake Wade
Beyond Our Own
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
House of Bamboo
Marriage on the Rocks
Star Trek: The Menagerie
Assignment: Underwater
Bonanza: Ride the Wind
Where Love Has Gone
Way of Tomorrow: The Evolution of Science Fiction Movies
Trekkies
Revlon Mirror Theatre
The Man from Blackhawk
William Shatner's Star Trek Memories
The Men
William Shatner: Captain's Log
Time to Kill
The Star Trek Dream
Duke of Chicago
Apache Uprising
Taxi
Fear in the Night
Star Trek: A Captain's Log
Public Prosecutor
Ambassador for Christ
Duffy of San Quentin
A Conversation with DeForest Kelley
Speak No Evil
