Child Actor
Born in Brooklyn, New York, the ninth of ten children, Kelly began his career as a child actor at age 7 and was appearing on the stage.
In 1911 Kelly began making silent films at age 12 with the Vitagraph Studios, which was based in Brooklyn, and where he was billed as Master Paul Kelly. Kelly was possibly the first male child actor to be given any starring roles in American films predating better known child stars such as Bobby Connelly and Jackie Coogan.
Kelly made his talking film debut in 1933's Broadway Through a Keyhole.
In the course of his long career, and relatively short life, it's estimated that Kelly worked on stage, screen, and television in over four hundred roles.
Later in his film career, as an adult, Kelly appeared in films mostly as a tough guy character actor in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
Read more about this topic: Paul Kelly (actor)
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