DeForest Kelley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids DeForest Kelley
Publicity photo of DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy from the television program Star Trek
Born	Jackson DeForest Kelley (1920-01-20)January 20, 1920 Toccoa, Georgia, U.S.
Died	June 11, 1999(1999-06-11) (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1940–1998
Spouse(s)	Carolyn Dowling ​ (m. 1945)​

DeForest Kelley (born January 20, 1920 – died June 11, 1999) was an American actor. Many people knew him as "Dee." He became famous for playing Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the Star Trek TV shows and movies. Dr. McCoy was the doctor on the starship USS Enterprise. Kelley also acted in many Western films and TV shows.

Early Life and Dreams

DeForest Kelley was born in Toccoa, Georgia. His father, Ernest David Kelley, was a Baptist minister. DeForest was named after a famous engineer named Lee de Forest. He even named his Star Trek character's father "David" after his own dad.

When he was young, DeForest wanted to be a doctor, just like his uncle. But his family could not afford to send him to medical school. Instead, he started singing on local radio shows. This led to him performing with an orchestra at a theater.

In 1934, his family moved to Decatur, Georgia. He went to Decatur Boys High School. There, he played baseball, football, and other sports. Before finishing high school in 1938, he worked at a drugstore. On weekends, he worked in local theaters.

He appeared in his first movie, New Moon, in 1940.

During World War II, Kelley served in the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1943 to 1946. After the war, he decided to become an actor and moved to California. His mother supported his dream, but his father was not happy about it. While in California, a scout from Paramount Pictures saw him in a Navy training film.

In 1945, DeForest Kelley married Carolyn Charlotte Meagher Dowling. They were married for many years but did not have any children.

Acting Career Begins

DeForest Kelley's acting career really started with the movie Fear in the Night in 1947. This movie was a success. He hoped to become a big star. His next movie, Variety Girl, helped him gain fans. But he didn't become a leading man right away.

Ann Doran and Kelley in Fear in the Night

So, he and his wife, Carolyn, moved to New York City. He worked in theater and on live television. After three years, they returned to Hollywood.

Back in California, he got a role in a TV show called You Are There. He also appeared in The Lone Ranger. This led to a role in the movie Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. In this film, he played Morgan Earp, the brother of Wyatt Earp. This role helped him get offers for three more movies. These included Warlock with Henry Fonda.

Kelley also appeared in many other TV shows. These included The Donna Reed Show, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, and The Fugitive.

For about nine years, Kelley often played bad guys in movies and TV shows. He worried about being known only for these roles. This is called typecasting. To avoid this, he took on different kinds of roles. He even worked on a TV pilot show called 333 Montgomery. It was written by a former policeman named Gene Roddenberry. A few years later, Kelley worked with Roddenberry again on another pilot show called Police Story.

Becoming Dr. McCoy

In 1956, Kelley played a small role as a medic in a movie. He said the line, "This man's dead, Captain." In 1962, he played a doctor in an episode of Bonanza. In 1963, he was a cavalry doctor in The Virginian. His future Star Trek co-star, Leonard Nimoy, was also in that episode.

Kelley visiting NASA Dryden with the Star Trek cast and crew in 1967

In 1964, Gene Roddenberry offered Kelley the role of Spock in his new show, Star Trek. Kelley turned it down. Instead, he took the role of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. He played this character from 1966 to 1969 in Star Trek. He also voiced Dr. McCoy in Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–74).

Kelley played Dr. McCoy in the first six Star Trek movies (1979 to 1991). In 1987, he made a special guest appearance in the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He played an older Admiral Leonard McCoy.

DeForest Kelley became good friends with his Star Trek co-stars, William Shatner (Captain Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock). At first, Kelley's name was listed at the end of the show's credits. But as his role became more important, he got a pay raise. He also received third billing in the opening credits, after Shatner and Nimoy. Even though he was a star, he sometimes felt frustrated. Shatner got more attention as the lead actor. Nimoy also became very popular because of "Spockamania" among fans.

Kelley at a Star Trek convention in 1988

DeForest Kelley was a shy person. He was the only main actor from the original Star Trek show who never wrote his own autobiography. A book about his life, From Sawdust to Stardust, was written after he passed away. Kelley said his favorite Star Trek TV episode was "The Empath".

After Star Trek

After Star Trek ended in 1969, Kelley found it hard to get other roles. He was typecast as Dr. McCoy. In 1972, he appeared in the horror film Night of the Lepus. After that, he mostly appeared as Dr. McCoy in the Star Trek movies.

By 1978, he was earning a lot of money from attending Star Trek conventions. He didn't get much money from the Star Trek franchise at first. But Leonard Nimoy, who was a producer, helped him get paid $1 million for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). This was his last live-action film.

For his last film, Kelley provided the voice of Viking 1 in the animated movie The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. Later in his life, Kelley became interested in poetry. He published two books of poems.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Kelley often joked that he feared his gravestone would say, "He's dead, Jim". This was a famous line his character, Dr. McCoy, often said. His obituary in Newsweek magazine even started with that line.

The year before he died, Kelley said he was proud of his legacy. He felt that Dr. McCoy had inspired many people to become doctors. In 1991, DeForest Kelley received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, he received a Golden Boot award for his work in Western films and TV shows.

Health and Death

DeForest Kelley was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1997. He passed away on June 11, 1999, at the age of 79. He died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. His remains were cremated, and his ashes were spread over the Pacific Ocean.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

See also

In Spanish: DeForest Kelley para niños