Elijah Kelley (born August 1, 1986) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He appeared in films such as '' 28 Days'' (2000), '' Take the Lead'' (2006), '' Hairspray'' (2007), '' Red Tails'' (2012), '' Lee Daniels' The Butler'' (2013), NBC's live-musical event '' The Wiz Live!'' (2015), as Ricky Bell in '' The New Edition Story'' (2017), and ''

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'' (2017).

Early life

Kelley was born and raised in LaGrange, Georgia. He attended Long Cane Middle School and Troup County High School, where he participated in the school's show choir for years. As a child, he starred in

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

commercials and played a role in the film '' Mama Flora's Family''. He also performed in a church choir and gospel band with his family. His parents, determined to keep their son down to earth, went with him when he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

after graduating from high school.

Career

In 2007, Kelley starred in the film adaptation of ''Hairspray''. Both his performance and the film received positive reviews. On December 2, 2011, Kelley sang "

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" prior to the

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Championship Game at Autzen Stadium in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. In 2015, Kelley was cast in the role of the Scarecrow in

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's production of '' The Wiz Live!'' He was cast as singer Ricky Bell for the 2017 BET Biographical miniseries '' The New Edition Story''. He was credited for his help in considering Luke James, who is a long-time musical associate of his to audition for the producers of the miniseries to be cast as the bandmate

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has rel ...

. In 2017, Kelley was cast alongside Luke James as a recurring role for the 2nd season of

Lee Daniels Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He made his directorial film debut with ''Shadowboxer'' (2005), followed by ''Precious (film), Precious'' (2009) which earned him Academy Award nomin ...

musical drama ''

'' on FOX. Kelley also played a role as Sunny the elf from the animated George Lucas film “Strange Magic” from 2015

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Soundtracks

* 2007: ''Hairspray'' Soundtrack * 2008: '' DisneyMania 6'' * 2008: '' Sex and the City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' Vol. 2

''Hairspray'' singles

* "Run and Tell That" * "Come So Far" * "Without Love" * "You Can't Stop the Beat"

''DisneyMania 6'' singles

* "He Lives in You"

''Semi-Pro''

* "Shining Star"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Elijah 1986 births Living people American male film actors Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) People from LaGrange, Georgia 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors American male child actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male television actors American male voice actors 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers