Alec Kellaway

Alec Kellaway (1894–January 18, 1973) was a South African–born actor best known for his work in Australian theatre and film, notably playing a number of character roles for director Ken G. Hall. He was the brother of Cecil Kellaway.[1] He also worked as a producer in vaudeville and helped run the Talent School at Cinesound Productions.[2]

Kellaway played a wide variety of roles for Ken Hall, ranging from a gay floorwalker in Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938) to a magician in Let George Do It (1938).[3] Hall wrote in his memoirs that the actor "was never Alec Kellaway in any of them – a contrast to many actors, who play themselves in whatever part you give them. Alec always studied the part, got to really understand the person he was to play, then worried about how he would walk, talk, think."[4]

During the 1940s Kellaway returned to the stage appearing in musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun and Paint Your Wagon. When television began in Australia he became an executive at Channel 9 working on their variety shows. Illness forced him to retire in late 1972 and he died in January 1973. He was survived by his brothers Jack and Cecil; his sister Dolly died the previous year.[5]

After a break of two decades, he returned to Australian screens in the role of the Abbot in the 1970's comedy Squeeze a Flower.

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ Pike, Andrew Franklin. "The History of an Australian Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-70" (PDF). Australian National University. pp. 46–47.
  2. ^ Alec Kellaway at Australian Variety Theatre Archive
  3. ^ "Film News of the Week. RETURNING FROM HOLLYWOOD TO MAKE CINESOUND FILM-CURRENT RELEASES". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 4 August 1938. p. 28. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  4. ^ Ken G. Hall, Directed by Ken G. Hall, Lansdowne Press, 1977 p150
  5. ^ "Theatre veteran dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 January 1973. p. 4.
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (4 July 2025). "Forgotten Australian Films: Lovers and Luggers". Filmink. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  7. ^ Vagg, Stephen (25 July 2025). "Forgotten Australian Films: The Broken Melody". Filmink. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  8. ^ Vagg, Stephen (2 August 2025). "Forgotten Australian Films: Let George Do It". Filmink. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  9. ^ Vagg, Stephen (19 July 2025). "Forgotten Australian Films: Gone to the Dogs". Filimink. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  10. ^ Vagg, Stephen (15 August 2025). "Forgotten Australian Films: Come Up Smiling / Ants in His Pants". Filmink. Retrieved 15 August 2025.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.