Gerard Kelly (born Paul Kelly; 27 May 1959 – 28 October 2010) was a Scottish actor who appeared in many comedies, including ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...

'', ''

Rab C Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish television comedy, comedy television series that originally aired between 1988 and 1999. The show returned for a one–off special in 2008, before being re-commissioned in 2010. Its second run was broadcast from ...

'', '' Scotch and Wry'' and '' Extras''. He had more serious roles as well, including PC David Gallagher in ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...

'' (1981), the villainous Jimmy in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' (1994) and the villainous Callum Finnegan in '' Brookside'' (1997–2000).

Career

Kelly had a small part in the film '' Comic Strip Presents... Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door'' (1987) and as the music video director in '' More Bad News'' (1987). In 1983 Kelly was featured in "Killer", the pilot episode of the crime drama series ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

''. In 2005 and 2007 he appeared in the

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003), and co-writer ...

comedy series '' Extras'' as Ian "Bunny" Bunton. From 2007 to 2010 he appeared regularly as Father Henderson, a camp ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''-loving priest, in the award-winning

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

comedy '' Fags, Mags and Bags''. In 2011, after Kelly's death, reference was made in the series to Father Henderson's move to another parish and to the fact that the new priest can never replace him.

Stage performances

In 1994 Kelly played Felix Ungar in a Scottish touring production of '' The Odd Couple'', relocated to modern-day

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, alongside

Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-American actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for having hosted the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014). He is the winner of ...

as Oscar Madison. Kelly reprised the role at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2002, this time opposite his former ''City Lights'' co-star Andy Gray. In 2006 and 2007 Kelly directed and starred in a Scottish play, '' Rikki and Me'', celebrating the life of the comedian Rikki Fulton, in which he played the role of Jack Milroy. Kelly played the Narrator in ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'' in Edinburgh and Aberdeen from 21 June to 3 July 2010. He was due to revive this performance for one week at the King's Theatre, Glasgow, from 8 to 13 November 2010. Kelly was well known for his appearances in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

at the King's Theatre. He headlined the show for 20 years and was crowned King of Panto. In 2008 he appeared in ''Cinderella'', and the following year (2009/2010) he starred in ''Aladdin'', his last pantomime.

Death and tribute

Kelly was due to star in the 2010/2011 King's Theatre production of ''Snow White'' in Glasgow, but died on 28 October 2010 at the West Middlesex University Hospital in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

, after collapsing with a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

. His funeral service took place in Glasgow on 12 November. On New Year's Eve 2010, BBC1 Scotland broadcast an hour-long tribute, ''Gerard Kelly: A Celebration''. In 2013, the King's Theatre, Glasgow unveiled a bronze sculpture in tribute to Kelly. Kelly never married or had children and left his estate to a friend of 18 years, Terry Kiely.

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Scotsman''

Obituary in ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Gerard 1959 births 2010 deaths Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish male television actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male soap opera actors Male actors from Glasgow Deaths from intracranial aneurysm Place of death missing