Cecil Kellaway
Encyclopedia
Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 189028 February 1973) was a South Africa
n-born character actor
.
Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author, and director in the Australia
n film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to Australia. Then William Wyler
called and offered him a part in Wuthering Heights
(1939). After that he was seen in such films as The House of the Seven Gables
, The Letter
(both 1940), Love Letters
(1945), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946, as Lana Turner
's husband), Portrait of Jennie
(1948) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
(1967).
Kellaway died 28 February 1973 in Hollywood, California, and his ashes were entombed in the Sanctuary of Remembrance, at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
. He received two Best Supporting Actor nominations, for The Luck of the Irish
and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
.
Academy Award winning actor Edmund Gwenn
, whose real surname was Kellaway, was his cousin.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n-born character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
.
Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author, and director in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to Australia. Then William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
called and offered him a part in Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (1939 film)
Wuthering Heights is a 1939 American black-and-white film directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The film depicts only sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, eliminating the second generation of characters. The...
(1939). After that he was seen in such films as The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables is a 1668 colonial mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The house is now a non-profit museum, with an admission fee charged for tours, as well as an active settlement house with programs for children...
, The Letter
The Letter (1940 film)
The Letter is a 1940 American film noir directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, originally filmed in 1929.-Plot:...
(both 1940), Love Letters
Love Letters (1945 film)
Love Letters is a 1945 film adapted by Ayn Rand from the novel Pity My Simplicity by Christopher Massie. It was directed by William Dieterle and stars Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper and Anita Louise...
(1945), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946, as Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
's husband), Portrait of Jennie
Portrait of Jennie
Portrait of Jennie is a 1948 fantasy film based on the novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten.-Plot:...
(1948) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
(1967).
Kellaway died 28 February 1973 in Hollywood, California, and his ashes were entombed in the Sanctuary of Remembrance, at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
. He received two Best Supporting Actor nominations, for The Luck of the Irish
The Luck of the Irish (1948 film)
The Luck of the Irish is a 1948 film with Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Lee J. Cobb, Cecil Kellaway, and Jayne Meadows.-Plot:Stephen Fitzgerald , a newspaper reporter from New York, meets a leprechaun and a beautiful young woman while traveling in Ireland...
and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
.
Academy Award winning actor Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn was an English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund John Kellaway in Wandsworth, London , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in the theatre in 1895...
, whose real surname was Kellaway, was his cousin.
Selected filmography
- The HayseedsThe HayseedsThe Hayseeds is a 1933 Australian comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It centres around the rural family, the Hayseeds, about whom Smith had previously made six silent films, starting with Our Friends, the Hayseeds . He retired from directing in 1925 but decided to revive the series in the wake of...
(1933) - It Isn't DoneIt Isn't DoneIt Isn't Done is a 1937 comedy about an Australian grazier who inherits a baronacy.-Production:The film was based on an original story by Kellaway which he had written in between acts while performing in White Horse Inn on stage. Hall liked the basic idea but said Kellaway was unable to put it...
(1937) - Mr. Chedworth Steps OutMr. Chedworth Steps OutMr. Chedworth Steps Out is a 1939 Australian film directed by Ken G. Hall. The film is a comedy about a mild-mannered clerk who is dominated by his wife and gets fired from his job after years of service...
(1939) - Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights (1939 film)Wuthering Heights is a 1939 American black-and-white film directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The film depicts only sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, eliminating the second generation of characters. The...
(1939) – as Earnshaw - IntermezzoIntermezzo (1939 film)Intermezzo is a romantic film made in the USA by Selznick International Pictures. It was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by David O. Selznick. It is a remake of the Swedish film Intermezzo . The screenplay by George O'Neil was based on the screenplay of the original film by Gösta Stevens...
(1939) – as Charles Moler - We Are Not AloneWe Are Not Alone (film)We Are Not Alone is a drama film about a doctor who hires a woman as a nanny for his son. When his wife becomes jealous, tragedy consumes all involved. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Hilton, who adapted his novel with Milton Krims.-Cast:*Paul Muni as Dr...
(1939) - The Invisible Man ReturnsThe Invisible Man ReturnsThe Invisible Man Returns is a 1940 horror science fiction film from Universal. It was written as a sequel to the 1933 film The Invisible Man, which was based on the novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells. The studio had signed a multi-picture contract with Wells, and they were hoping that this...
(1940) – as Inspector Sampson - The House of the Seven GablesThe House of the Seven Gables (film)The House of the Seven Gables is a 1940 drama film based on the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It stars George Sanders, Margaret Lindsay, and Vincent Price.-Cast:*George Sanders as Jaffrey Pyncheon*Margaret Lindsay as Hepzibah Pyncheon...
(1940) - Brother OrchidBrother OrchidBrother Orchid is a 1940 crime/comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy and Allen Jenkins...
(1940) - The Mummy's HandThe Mummy's HandThe Mummy's Hand is a black-and-white horror film, produced by Ben Pivar for Universal Studios. Although it is sometimes claimed by fans as a sequel or follow-up to the 1932 film The Mummy, it does not continue the 1932 film's storyline, or feature any of the same characters, and its plot...
(1940) - The LetterThe Letter (1940 film)The Letter is a 1940 American film noir directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, originally filmed in 1929.-Plot:...
(1940) - A Very Young LadyA Very Young LadyA Very Young Lady is a 1941 film comedy starring Jane Withers and Nancy Kelly. The movie was directed by Harold D. Schuster.-Cast:* Jane Withers as Kitty Russell* Nancy Kelly as Alice Carter* John Sutton as Dr...
(1941) - I Married a WitchI Married a WitchI Married a Witch is a 1942 fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway...
(1942) - Take a Letter, DarlingTake a Letter, DarlingTake a Letter, Darling is a 1942 comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen. It was nominated for three Academy Awards; Best Cinematography, Best Score and Best Art Direction .-Cast:* Rosalind Russell - A.M...
(1942) - Freedom Comes HighFreedom Comes HighFreedom Comes High is a 1943 dramatic short film commissioned by the United States Government during World War II and directed by Lewis Allen.-Synopsis:...
(1943) - It Ain't HayIt Ain't Hay-Plot:Wilbur Hoolihan accidentally kills a hack horse owned by King O'Hara and his daughter, Princess by feeding it candy. In the hopes of raising enough money to replace it, he and his friend Grover Mockridge visit a gambling establishment...
(1943) - Mrs Parkington (1944)
- Practically YoursPractically YoursPractically Yours is a 1944 comedic film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Mitchell Leisen, written by Norman Krasna, and starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray.-Plot:...
(1944) - Love LettersLove Letters (1945 film)Love Letters is a 1945 film adapted by Ayn Rand from the novel Pity My Simplicity by Christopher Massie. It was directed by William Dieterle and stars Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper and Anita Louise...
(1945) - KittyKitty (1945 film)Kitty is a 1945 film, a fictional costume drama set in London during the 1780s, directed by Mitchell Leisen, based on the novel of the same name by Rosamond Marshall , with a screenplay by Karl Tunberg. It stars Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Constance Collier, Patric Knowles, Reginald Owen, and...
(1945) as Thomas GainsboroughThomas GainsboroughThomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let... - Easy to WedEasy to WedEasy to Wed is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell. The screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley is an updated adaptation of the screenplay of the 1936 film Libeled Lady by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Oppenheimer.-Plot:Financier J.B...
(1946) - The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) – as Nick Smith
- Monsieur BeaucaireMonsieur Beaucaire (1946 film)Monsieur Beaucaire is a 1946 comedy film starring Bob Hope as the title character, the barber of King Louis XV of France. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington.-Cast:*Bob Hope as Monsieur Beaucaire*Joan Caulfield as Mimi...
(1946) - The Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed Miracle is a 1946 fantasy film about a ghost who, with the help of his father , stops his best friend from leaving his family penniless. The ghosts are played by Frank Morgan and Keenan Wynn, the villain by Cecil Kellaway...
(1946) - UnconqueredUnconqueredUnconquered is a 1947 adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and released by Paramount. The film depicts the violent struggles between American colonists and Native Americans on the western frontier in the mid-18th century during the time of Pontiac's Rebellion, primarily around...
(1947) - Portrait of JenniePortrait of JenniePortrait of Jennie is a 1948 fantasy film based on the novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten.-Plot:...
(1948) - The Luck of the IrishThe Luck of the IrishThe Luck of the Irish has been made into several films:*The Luck of the Irish is a 1920 film*The Luck of the Irish is a 1936 film*The Luck of the Irish is a 1948 film*The Luck of the Irish is a 2001 TV film...
(1948) - HarveyHarvey (film)Harvey is a 1950 film based on Mary Chase's play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story is about a man whose best friend is a pooka named Harvey—in the form of a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall invisible rabbit.-Plot:Elwood P...
(1950) – as Dr. Chumley - KimKim (film)Kim is a 1950 adventure film made in Technicolor by MGM. It was directed by Victor Saville and produced by Leon Gordon from a screenplay by Helen Deutsch, Leon Gordon and Richard Schayer, based on the classic novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling....
(1950) - Francis Goes to the RacesFrancis Goes to the RacesFrancis Goes to the Races is a 1951 comedy film about a talking mule and his human sidekick at the racetrack. It is a sequel of Francis and stars Donald O'Connor, Piper Laurie, and Cecil Kellaway.-Cast:*Donald O'Connor as Peter Stirling...
(1951) - Half Angel (1951)
- Young BessYoung BessYoung Bess is a 1953 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England...
(1953) - The Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
(1953) – as Dr. Thurgood Elson - Interrupted MelodyInterrupted MelodyInterrupted Melody is a 1955 biographical film which tells the story of Australian opera singer Marjorie Lawrence's struggle with polio. The film was made by MGM, directed by Curtis Bernhardt and produced by Jack Cummings from a screenplay by Marjorie Lawrence, Sonya Levien, and William Ludwig.The...
(1955) - The ProdigalThe ProdigalThe Prodigal is a 1955 Biblical epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Charles Schnee.The Maurice Zimm screenplay was adapted by Joseph Breen, Jr. and Samuel James Larsen from the New Testament story of the selfish son who leaves his family in search of riches...
(1955) - Female on the BeachFemale on the BeachFemale on the Beach is a Universal-International feature film starring Joan Crawford and Jeff Chandler in a story about a widow and her beach bum lover. The screenplay by Robert Hill and Richard Alan Simmons was based on the play The Besieged Heart by Robert Hill...
(1955) – as Osbert Sorenson - The Proud RebelThe Proud RebelThe Proud Rebel is a 1958 American film directed by Michael Curtiz with a screenplay by Lillie Hayward that is based on a story by James Edward Grant. The movie is about a former confederate soldier who is falsely accused of starting a brawl in a small town. A local woman comes to his aid, but she...
(1958) - The Shaggy DogThe Shaggy Dog (1959 film)The Shaggy Dog is a black and white 1959 Walt Disney film about Wilby Daniels, a teenage boy who is transformed into an Old English Sheepdog by an enchanted ring of the Borgias. The film was based on the story, The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten...
(1959) - Zotz!Zotz!Zotz! is a 1962 fantasy/comedy film produced and directed by William Castle, about a man obtaining magical powers from a god of an ancient civilization. The film is based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Walter Karig.-Plot:...
(1962) - The CardinalThe CardinalThe Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
(1963) - Hush… Hush, Sweet CharlotteHush… Hush, Sweet CharlotteHush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte is a 1964 American thriller film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich, and starring Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, and Agnes Moorehead....
(1964) - SpinoutSpinoutSpinout is a 1966 musical film and comedy starring Elvis Presley as the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. The movie was #57 on the year end list of the top-grossing films of 1966.-Plot:...
(1966) – as Bernard Ranley - Guess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
(1967) – as Monsignor Ryan - FitzwillyFitzwillyFitzwilly is a 1967 film by Delbert Mann, based on Poyntz Tyler's novel, A Garden of Cucumbers, adapted for the screen by Isobel Lennart...
(1967) - Getting StraightGetting StraightGetting Straight is a 1970 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Richard Rush, released by Columbia Pictures.The story centered upon student politics at a university in the early 1970s, seen through the eyes of non-conformist graduate student Harry Bailey...
(1970)
External links
- Cecil Kellaway Australian theatre credits at AusstageAusstageAusStage is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia. It provides records of productions from the beginnings of theatre in Australia up to today...