Paula Kelly (actress)

Paula Kelly
File:Angie Dickenson Paula Kelly Police Woman 1976.JPG Kelly (right) in an episode of the NBC television series Police Woman, 1976.
Born	(1943-10-21) October 21, 1943 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
Occupation	Actress, Dancer
Years active	1965-present

Paula Kelly (born October 21, 1943) is a dancer and actress in motion pictures, 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, 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.

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

• Sweet Charity (1969)
• The Andromeda Strain (1971)
• Cool Breeze (1972)
• Top of the Heap (1972)
• Trouble Man (1972)
• Soylent Green (1973)
• The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973)
• Three Tough Guys (1974)
• Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
• Drum (1976)
• Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
• Bank Robber (1993)
• Drop Squad (1994)
• Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1995)

Television

• Duke Ellington: We Love You Madly (1973) (1 episode)(special)
• Police Woman (1974) Season 1 / Episode 19 "The Company"
• Sanford and Son (1973)
• The Streets of San Francisco (The Thrill Killers) 1976
• Good Times (1979) (Season 6/ Episode 17; "Where Have all the Doctor's Gone?")
• Night Court (1984, TV, season 1 only)
• Santa Barbara (1984, 1985)
• The Golden Girls (1987, 1 episode)
• The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
• South Central (1994, 4 Episodes)

References

The Streets of San Francisco (The Thrill Killers) 1976

External links

• Paula Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
• Paula Kelly at the Internet Broadway Database