Hugh Kelly

[Juniper]

I was just re-watching the two existing episodes of The Quatermass Experiment the other night - does any one know anything about the actor Hugh Kelly who played Dr. John Paterson? There's not much info on IMDB.

[Euryale]

Hugh in Take My Life

I don't know exactly when Hugh was born or where but the evidence suggests that it was 1917 and probably in India.

Hugh's father was Gilbert Isdell Harvey-Kelly (1889-1952). The Harvey-Kelly family have a long history of serving in the military in India and the Middle-East. Gilbert's mother, Constance, was the sister of General Lionel Charles Dunstervile, on whom Rudyard Kipling based the character of Stalky in his novel Stalky & Co.

Major Hubert Dunsterville Harvey-Kelly (1891�1917) who was a renowned World War 1 aviator may have been Gilbert's younger brother, he was certainly a relative anyhow. Hugh's mother was Rosamond Gertrude Nuttall (1888-1972). She was the daughter of Harry Nuttall who was for several years the Member of Parliament for Stretford, Manchester. Gilbert and Rosamond married in Bombay in 1914 - this is a transcript from the The Times of India (available at The Families In British India Society website):



In 1917 Gilbert was an officer in the Indian Reserve Army which is why I think Hugh was born over there. Kelly's Directory for 1924 shows that Gilbert was by then living at Westbourne Road in Birkdale, Lancs. Gilbert must have been an automobile enthusiast as he was president of the Southport Motor and British Beach Racing Club.

Hugh's birth name was Harry Hubert Dunsterville Harvey-Kelly. He sailed to Morocco in Sept. 1938 - we can see in the shipping record that he is stated to be 21 years old:



The shipping record lists his occupation as "student", and gives his address as Westbourne Road, Birkdale. Where was Hugh a student? Well, this was at the Old Vic. In April 1939, he and other students put on the play The Country Wife at Toynbee Hall. We can see that he was known then as Hugh Harvey-Kelly - from The Stage:



In the cast, we can see a fellow student called Mariana Hankamer (1918-2005). She was to become Hugh's wife. Their engagement was announced in the Hull Daily Mail on 9th May 1939 - we can see that 'Uncle Stalky' gets a mention, although he was actually Hugh's great-uncle:



Hugh and Mariana married in the summer of 1939 at Chapel-en-le-Frith.


E.

tbc.

[Euryale]

Hugh in Quatermass

Hugh changed his name by deed poll in June 1940 as the London Gazette records:



In the mid-1940s Hugh was based in Birmingham and appeared in productions with the Derek Salberg Company at the Alexandra Theatre. Hugh and Mariana were listed on the 1945 electoral roll and are shown to be living on the Pershore Road, Edgbaston.

By the late 1940s Hugh had moved to London and began appearing on the screen as well as in West End productions. In Sept. 1949 Hugh went to New York to appear in the play The Chiltern Hundreds. The title was changed to M'Lord for American audiences in case they didn't understand the reference - I expect a lot of British people wouldn't have done either

We can see Hugh here once more in the shipping records of 23/09/1949 - again it suggests a d.o.b of 1917:



Hugh seems to have made his last film in 1953 as well as his final TV appearances in Quatermass and this from The Stage:



I can't find that he did any theatre work after 1953. Hugh renounced his stage-name in Dec. 1958 and reverted to his birth-name - from the London Gazette:



He died not long afterwards in Kensington:



Why Hugh appears not to have acted in the last few years of his life I have no idea. Perhaps he had a long-term illness - he certainly died comparatively young.

Mariana re-married in 1961 to the writer Alistair Duncan.


E.

[Juniper]

Just happened to be googling Hugh Kelly again and found this reply - thank you!

[Screencap72]

Searching in Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, I found that Hugh Kelly was born 23 August 1917 (no place given, unfortunately), and died 27 February 1959. So at least we now have proper dates for him!

[Euryale]

Searching in Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, I found that Hugh Kelly was born 23 August 1917 (no place given, unfortunately), and died 27 February 1959. So at least we now have proper dates for him!

Ah, this would be his birth record then from the British India Office Ecclesiastical Returns:



I thought that he must have been born in India as his father was in the army over there at the time.


E.