Paula Kelly (actress)
| Paula Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Kelly (right) in an episode of the NBC television series Police Woman, 1976. | |
| Born |
October 21, 1943 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School |
| Occupation | Actress, Dancer |
| Years active | 1968–2011 |
Paula Kelly (born October 21, 1943) is a dancer and actress in films, television and theatre. Kelly made her Broadway debut as Mrs. Veloz in the 1964 musical Something More!, sharing the stage with Barbara Cook. Her other Broadway credits include The Dozens (1969), Paul Sills' Story Theatre (1971), Ovid's Metamorphoses (1971), and Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (1981) with Gregory Hines and Phyllis Hyman.
Early years
Born in Jacksonville, Florida,[1] the daughter of a jazz musician, Kelly was raised in New York City's Harlem where she attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, majoring in music. She continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music majoring in dance under Martha Hill. Graduating with an M.S. degree, she performed as a soloist with major modern dance companies such as Martha Graham, Donald McKayle, and Alvin Ailey.
Career
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' TV tribute to Duke Ellington, We Love You Madly; The Richard Pryor Show; and Gene Kelly's New York, New York, in which the two Kellys performed a duet.
Kelly performed a dance solo at the Academy Awards for the nominated song "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". She appeared on the London stage in Sweet Charity opposite dancer and actress Juliet Prowse as "Helene", 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" at the Mark Taper Forum, for which she was awarded the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Variety, and the first of three NAACP Image Awards.[2]
Kelly's film credits include the Bob Fosse-directed film Sweet Charity; Soylent Green; The Spook Who Sat By The Door; The Andromeda Strain; Uptown Saturday Night; Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling; Drop Squad; and Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored. Kelly had a recurring role as Liz Williams on the first season of the sitcom Night Court, for which she received an Emmy nomination. Kelly has also guest-starred in a variety of television movies and sitcoms, including Sanford and Son, Kojak, Police Woman, Golden Girls, Good Times, Any Day Now and in the groundbreaking Oprah Winfrey-produced The Women of Brewster Place (based on the novel by Gloria Naylor), in which she portrayed one half of a lesbian couple (opposite Lonette McKee) struggling against homophobia in an inner city ghetto. She was nominated for a second Emmy for her role in The Women of Brewster Place.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Sweet Charity | Helene | |
| 1971 | Andromeda Strain, TheThe Andromeda Strain | Karen Anson | |
| 1972 | Cool Breeze | Martha Harris | |
| 1972 | Top of the Heap | Black Chick | |
| 1972 | Trouble Man | Cleo | |
| 1973 | Soylent Green | Martha | |
| 1973 | Spook Who Sat by the Door, TheThe Spook Who Sat by the Door | Dahomey Queen | |
| 1974 | Three Tough Guys | Fay | |
| 1974 | Lost in the Stars | Rose | |
| 1974 | Uptown Saturday Night | Leggy Peggy | |
| 1976 | Drum | Rachel | |
| 1986 | Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling | Satin Doll | |
| 1993 | Bank Robber | Mother | |
| 1994 | Drop Squad | Aunt Tilly | |
| 1995 | Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored | Ma Pearl |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Carol Burnett Show, TheThe Carol Burnett Show | Dance Instructor | "1.18" |
| 1970 | Young Lawyers, TheThe Young Lawyers | Wilma | "A Busload of Bishops" |
| 1970 | Medical Center | Ellie James | "The Rebel in White" |
| 1973 | Sanford and Son | Olayia | "Lamont Goes African" |
| 1974 | Medical Center | Ames | "Saturday's Child" |
| 1975 | Cannon | Cora Bloom | "The Wedding March" |
| 1975 | Streets of San Francisco, TheThe Streets of San Francisco | Carol | "Men Will Die" |
| 1975-77 | Police Woman | Linda Summers | "The Company", "Wednesday's Child", "Once a Snitch" |
| 1976 | Streets of San Francisco, TheThe Streets of San Francisco | A. Chamberlain | "The Thrill Killers: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1976 | Peter Pan | Tiger Lily | TV film |
| 1976 | Insight | Grace (Holy Ghost) | "Jesus B.C." |
| 1977 | Richard Pryor Show, TheThe Richard Pryor Show | Betty 'Satin Doll' | "1.1" |
| 1977 | Kojak | Janet Carlisle | "The Queen of Hearts Is Wild" |
| 1979 | Good Times | Dr. Kelly | "Where Have All the Doctors Gone?" |
| 1980 | Cheap Detective, TheThe Cheap Detective | Inez Krowder | TV short |
| 1981 | Insight | "A Step Too Slow" | |
| 1981 | Trapper John, M.D. | Betty Simons | "Straight and Narrow" |
| 1983 | Chiefs | Liz Watts | "Part 3" |
| 1983 | Feel the Heat | Sally Long | TV series |
| 1984 | Night Court | Liz Williams | Main role |
| 1984 | Hot Pursuit | Connie | "Portrait of a Lady Killer" |
| 1984-85 | Santa Barbara | Ginger Jones | Recurring role |
| 1985 | Hill Street Blues | Mrs. Eagleton | "Davenport in a Storm" |
| 1985 | Finder of Lost Loves | Alice Taylor-Hancock | "Aftershocks" |
| 1986 | St. Elsewhere | Sylvia | "Cheek to Cheek" |
| 1986 | Amen | Leona | "Rolly Falls in Love" |
| 1987 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | Cassy | TV film |
| 1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Lt. Lois Poole | "Kung Fu: The Next Generation" |
| 1987 | Golden Girls, TheThe Golden Girls | Marguerite | "The Housekeeper" |
| 1989 | Women of Brewster Place, TheThe Women of Brewster Place | Theresa | TV miniseries |
| 1989 | Mission: Impossible | Pepper Leveau | "Bayou" |
| 1990 | American Playhouse | "Zora Is My Name!" | |
| 1991 | Baby Talk | Claire | "Give a Sucker an Even Break", "The Whiz Kid", "Tooth and Nail" |
| 1992 | Room for Two | Diahnn Boudreau | "Not Quite... Room for Two", "Little White Lies" |
| 1994 | South Central | Sweets | "Pilot", "Men", "Gun: Part 2", "Date" |
| 1995 | University Hospital | Dr. Leslie Bauer | "Shadow of a Doubt" |
| 1996 | Run for the Dream: The Gail Devers Story | Mrs. Devers | TV film |
| 1999 | Any Day Now | "Family Is Family" |
References
- ↑ Burrell, Walter (April 20, 1968). "Paula Kelly Is Star Bound". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 13. Retrieved October 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Archived December 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
