Paula Alma Kelly (October 21, 1942 – February 8, 2020) was an American actress, singer, dancer and choreographer in films, television and theatre. Kelly's career began during the mid–1960s in theatre, making her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut as Mrs. Veloz in the 1964 musical '' Something More!'', alongside

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

. Kelly's other Broadway credits include ''

The Dozens The Dozens is a game played between two contestants in which the participants insult each other until one of them gives up. Common in African-American communities, the Dozens is almost exclusively played in front of an audience, who encourage the ...

'' (1969), ''

Paul Sills' Story Theatre ''Paul Sills' Story Theatre'' is a play with music, adapted from fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm and Aesop's Fables. Productions The ''Story Theatre'' debuted at 1848 N. Wells Street, during the summer of 1968. That building was the ...

'' (1971), ''

Ovid's Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'' (1971), and '' Sophisticated Ladies'' (1981), based on the music of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

, appearing with Gregory Hines and

Phyllis Hyman Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" ...

Early life and education

Born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, Kelly was one of three daughters born to Ruth and Lehman Kelly, a jazz musician. By age six, Kelly's family had relocated to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. For high school, Kelly attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, majoring in music. Kelly continued her studies at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, where she majored in dance under

Martha Hill Martha Hill (December 1, 1900 – November 19, 1995) was one of the most influential American dance instructors in history. She was the first Director of Dance at the Juilliard School, and held that position for almost 35 years. Early lif ...

. Graduating in 1964 with an M.S. degree, Kelly performed as a soloist with major modern dance companies such as

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She ...

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human cond ...

, and

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center ...

Career

Angie Dickenson Paula Kelly Police Woman 1976

Kelly performed as guest artist and sometimes assistant choreographer for numerous television musical specials, including ''Sammy and Friends'' (starring Sammy Davis, Jr.); co-choreographer of the BBC production of ''Peter Pan'', in which she also performed the role of Tiger-Lily;

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

' TV tribute to

, ''We Love You Madly''; '' The Richard Pryor Show''; and

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

's ''

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

'', in which the two Kellys performed a duet. Kelly performed a dance solo at the

41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, the first to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. For the first time since the 11th Academy Awards, there was no host. ''Oliver!'' is the only Best Picture winne ...

for the nominated title song from ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

'' (1968). She appeared on the London stage in ''

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on ...

'' with dancer and actress Juliet Prowse, for which Kelly won the London Variety Award for Best Supporting Actress. She starred in the record-breaking west coast premiere of ''

Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope ''Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope'' is a musical revue first staged in 1971 with music, lyrics and book by Micki Grant. It was originally produced by Edward Padula. Background and productions The all-singing, all-dancing show focuses on the Afric ...

'' at the

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighborin ...

, for which she was awarded the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Variety, and the first of three NAACP Image Awards. Sweet Charity (1969) trailer 2

Kelly's film credits include the

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...

-directed film ''

''; '' Soylent Green''; '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door''; '' The Andromeda Strain''; '' Uptown Saturday Night''; '' Lost in the Stars'', '' Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling''; ''Drop Squad''; and '' Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored''. Kelly had a regular role as Liz Williams on the first season of the sitcom '' Night Court'', for which she received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination. Kelly also guest-starred in a variety of television movies and sitcoms, including ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the Unit ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...

'', '' Police Woman'', '' Golden Girls'', ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...

'', '' Any Day Now'' and in the

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

-produced TV mini-series '' The Women of Brewster Place'' (based on the 1982 novel of the same name by

Gloria Naylor Gloria Naylor (January 25, 1950 – September 28, 2016) was an American novelist, known for novels including '' The Women of Brewster Place'' (1982)'', Linden Hills'' (1985) and '' Mama Day'' (1988)''.'' Early life and education Naylor was bor ...

), in which she portrayed one half of a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

couple (with

Lonette McKee Lonette Rita McKee (born July 22, 1954) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sister Williams in the original 1976 musical-drama film '' Sparkle''. McKee also had notable roles in such movies as '' The Cotton Club'', '' Jun ...

) struggling against homophobia in an inner-city ghetto. Kelly was nominated for a second Emmy for her role in ''The Women of Brewster Place''.

Personal life and death

On September 15, 1985, Kelly married British film director

Don Chaffey Donald Chaffey (5 August 1917 – 13 November 1990) was a British film director, writer, producer, and art director. Chaffey's film career began as an art director in 1947, and his directorial debut was in 1953. He remained active in the indu ...

. They had one child together, a daughter. Chaffey died in November 1990. Kelly died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

on February 8, 2020, at age 77. Upon her death, she was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre ...

and her ashes returned to her daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Paula (Actress Dancer) 1942 births 2020 deaths Actresses from Jacksonville, Florida Actresses from New York City American female dancers American dancers 20th-century American actresses American television actresses African-American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Juilliard School alumni Dancers from New York (state) 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women