
DeForest Kelley
Known for ActingBorn 1920-01-20Died 1999-06-11Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999) was an American actor, screenwriter, poet and singer known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek. Kelley was delivered by his uncle at his parents' home in Atlanta, the son of Clora (née Casey) and Ernest David Kelley, who was a Baptist minister of Irish and Southern ancestry. DeForest was named after the pioneering electronics engineer Lee De Forest, and later named his Star Trek character's father "David" after his own. Kelley had an older brother, Ernest Casey Kelley. As a child, he often played outside for hours at a time. Kelley was immersed in his father's mission in Conyers and promised his father failure would mean "wreck and ruin". Before the end of his first year at Conyers, Kelley was introduced into the congregation to his musical talents and often sang solo in morning church services. Eventually, this led to an appearance on the radio station WSB AM in Atlanta, Georgia. As a result of his radio work, he won an engagement with Lew Forbes and his orchestra at the Paramount Theater. In 1934, the family left Conyers for the community of Decatur. He attended the Decatur Boys High School where he played on the Decatur Bantams baseball team. Kelley also played football and other sports. Before his graduation, Kelley got a job as a drugstore car hop. He spent his weekends working in the local theatres. Kelley graduated in 1938. During World War II, Kelley served as an enlisted man in the United States Army Air Forces between March 10, 1943, and January 28, 1946, assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit. After an extended stay in Long Beach, California, Kelley decided to pursue an acting career and relocate to southern California permanently, living for a time with his uncle Casey. He worked as an usher in a local theater in order to earn enough money for the move. Kelley's mother encouraged her son in his new career goal, but his father disliked the idea. While in California, Kelley was spotted by a Paramount Pictures scout while doing a United States Navy training film.Read more
Movies & web series
★ 9.0View details →
Beyond Our Own
1947 · Movie
★ 8.4View details →
Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987 · Series
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
★ 8.5View details →
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
1953 · Series
★ 7.9View details →
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1993 · Series
★ 8.0View details →
Star Trek
1966 · Series
★ 8.0View details →
Star Trek: The Menagerie
1966 · Movie
★ 7.6View details →
The Pixar Story
2007 · Movie
★ 8.0View details →
The Gallant Men
1962 · Series
★ 8.0View details →
The Silent Service
1957 · Series
★ 8.0View details →
Studio 57
1954 · Series
★ 8.0View details →
The Lone Wolf
1954 · Series
★ 8.0View details →
Public Prosecutor
1947 · Series
★ 7.9View details →
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954 · Series
★ 7.7View details →
Perry Mason
1957 · Series
★ 7.5View details →
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
1982 · Movie
★ 7.5View details →
Bonanza
1959 · Series
★ 7.5View details →
Waterfront
1954 · Series
★ 7.2View details →
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1986 · Movie
★ 7.5View details →
City Detective
1953 · Series
★ 6.8View details →
Star Trek: Inside the Roddenberry Vault
2016 · Movie
★ 7.3View details →
The Fugitive
1963 · Series
★ 7.0View details →
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
1991 · Movie
★ 7.3View details →
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957 · Series
★ 7.2View details →
Rawhide
1959 · Series
★ 7.1View details →
77 Sunset Strip
1958 · Series
★ 7.1View details →
Tales of Wells Fargo
1957 · Series
★ 7.0View details →
Johnny Midnight
1960 · Series
★ 7.0View details →
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958 · Series
★ 7.0View details →
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957 · Movie
★ 7.0View details →
Alcoa Theatre
1957 · Series
★ 6.9View details →
Ironside
1967 · Series
★ 6.8View details →
Star Trek
1973 · Series
★ 7.0View details →
The Men
1950 · Movie
★ 6.9View details →
A Man Called Shenandoah
1965 · Series
★ 7.0View details →
Duke of Chicago
1949 · Movie
★ 6.8View details →
Town Tamer
1965 · Movie
★ 6.8View details →
Bonanza: Ride the Wind
1966 · Movie
Time to Kill
★ 7.0View details →
Time to Kill
1945 · Movie
★ 6.9View details →
Trackdown
1957 · Series
★ 6.6View details →
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
1984 · Movie
★ 6.9View details →
Malaya
1949 · Movie
★ 6.8View details →
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
1958 · Series
★ 6.8View details →
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957 · Series
★ 6.4View details →
Trekkies
1997 · Movie
★ 6.8View details →
Warlock
1959 · Movie
★ 6.4View details →
Star Trek: A Captain's Log
1994 · Movie
★ 6.7View details →
Route 66
1960 · Series
★ 6.8View details →
Taxi
1953 · Movie