Walter C. Kelly (October 29, 1873 – January 6, 1939) was a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

and actor. He was born in Mineville, New York. He was the elder brother of Jack Kelly (Olympic Gold Medalist and father of actress

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kell ...

) and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright George Kelly. Kelly toured for years as The Virginian Judge, and was sometimes credited as Walter "Judge" Kelly. Although Kelly did a number of different Southern dialects playing the various characters in his "Virginian Judge" sketches, an Irish flavor sometimes sneaked through. In one such sketch where three men appear before the Judge for "disturbin' the peace and quarrelin' on the highway", the word "highway" came through as very Irish. Most of his sketches, however, were racist humor at the expense of African-Americans, which reflected his personal feelings. For instance, in 1908

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as bei ...

and George Walker, then starring in the successful Broadway production ''

Bandanna Land ''Bandanna Land'' (also known as ''In Bandanna Land'') is a musical from 1908. The book was written by Jesse A. Shipp, lyrics by Alex Rogers ''(aka'' Alec) Rogers ''(né'' Alexander Claude Rogers; 1876–1930), and music composed primarily by W ...

'', were asked to appear at a charity benefit by

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

. Kelly protested and encouraged the other acts to withdraw from the show rather than appear alongside black performers; only two of the acts joined Kelly's boycott. Kelly released five recordings of his act on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsid ...

and also appeared in several

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 ...

productions himself. He brought his signature role to the movies in the 1935

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

film ''The Virginian Judge''. His other movie acting roles include Guns' Costello" in ''

Seas Beneath ''Seas Beneath'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code action film directed by John Ford and starring George O'Brien and Marion Lessing. In the book, ''John Ford'' by Peter Bogdanovich, Ford was interviewed about his memories of directing the film, an ...

'' (1931); "Dan McFadden" in ''

McFadden's Flats McFadden's Flats may refer to: * McFadden's Flats (1927 film), an American silent film * McFadden's Flats (1935 film), an American comedy film {{dab ...

'' (1935); "Judge Calhoun Davis" in ''

The Virginia Judge Walter C. Kelly (October 29, 1873 – January 6, 1939) was a vaudeville comedian and actor. He was born in Mineville, New York. He was the elder brother of Jack Kelly (Olympic Gold Medalist and father of actress Grace Kelly) and Pulitzer Prize ...

'' (1935); "Capt. Zack Livermore" in '' Tugboat Princess'' (1936); and "Pat Kelly" in '' Laughing Irish Eyes'' (1936). His

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

, ''Of Me I Sing: An Informal Autobiography'', was published in 1953. He was also the author of a 1935 short story, "The Virginian Judge", which served as the basis for the 1935 movie. On December 8, 1938, Kelly was struck by a car in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with i ...

. He was taken to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, where he died on January 6, 1939, from the injuries he sustained.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Walter 1873 births 1939 deaths Vaudeville performers American male comedians Comedians from New York (state) Kelly family Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania People from Essex County, New York