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Cecil Kellaway

 
Actor: Cecil Kellaway
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  • Born: Aug 22, 1893 in Cape Town, South Africa
  • Died: Feb 28, 1973 in Los Angeles, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '30s-'60s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: Harvey, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
  • First Major Screen Credit: It Isn't Done (1937)

Biography

Jovial, twinkly-eyed character actor Cecil Kellaway resembled a full-grown leprechaun, so it's not surprising that he'd play such a role in the 1948 film Luck of the Irish -- and win an Oscar nomination in the bargain. Before coming to Hollywood to play Mr. Earnshaw in the 1939 filmization of Wuthering Heights, the South African-born Kellaway spent nearly two decades as an actor, writer and director of British and Australian films and stage plays. Even when he played a villainous part like the eternally drunken warlock in I Married a Witch (1942) or an unsympathetic role like the cold-blooded psychiatrist Mr. Chumley in Harvey (1950), it was impossible for Kellaway to be completely dislikable. In 1967, Kellaway won a second Oscar nomination for his performance as the tippling priest in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Cecil Kellaway was the cousin of veteran British actor Edmund Gwenn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Cecil Kellaway
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Cecil Kellaway

from the trailer for the film
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Born August 22, 1893(1893-08-22)
Cape Town, South Africa
Died February 28, 1973 (aged 79)
Hollywood, California,
United States

Cecil Kellaway (August 22, 1893 – February 28, 1973), born in Cape Town, South Africa, was a character actor.

Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to Australia. Then William Wyler called and offered him a part in Wuthering Heights (1939). From then on Kellaway was always in demand when the part called for a twinkling, silver-haired leprechaun.

Kellaway died in 1973, in Hollywood, California. He was entombed in the Sanctuary of Remembrance at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. He received two Best Supporting Actor nominations, for The Luck of the Irish and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Edmund Gwenn and Arthur Chesney, brothers whose real name was Kellaway, were his cousins.

Selected filmography

External links

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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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