{"id":562172,"date":"2023-03-11T02:13:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T23:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/peter-kelley-actor-turned-longtime-william-morris-agent-dies-at-97\/"},"modified":"2023-03-11T02:13:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T23:13:48","slug":"peter-kelley-actor-turned-longtime-william-morris-agent-dies-at-97","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/peter-kelley-actor-turned-longtime-william-morris-agent-dies-at-97\/","title":{"rendered":"#Peter Kelley, Actor Turned Longtime William Morris Agent, Dies at 97"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2fc166bccd7\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2fc166bccd7\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/peter-kelley-actor-turned-longtime-william-morris-agent-dies-at-97\/#Peter_Kelley_Actor_Turned_Longtime_William_Morris_Agent_Dies_at_97\" >Peter Kelley, Actor Turned Longtime William Morris Agent, Dies at 97<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Peter_Kelley_Actor_Turned_Longtime_William_Morris_Agent_Dies_at_97\"><\/span>Peter Kelley, Actor Turned Longtime William Morris Agent, Dies at 97<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Peter Kelley, an actor and singer on Broadway who spent nearly two decades as an agent at William Morris, where he repped the likes of Denzel Washington, Gregory Peck, Farrah Fawcett, Joan Crawford and H\u00e9ctor Elizondo, has died. He was 97.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Kelley died Feb. 28 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Suffolk, Virginia, his daughter Sara Blessington told <em>The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Kelley began in show business as a singer at the Boston Latin Quarter, then acted in regional theaters throughout New England. His first New York performance was as a singing Seabee and Lt. Cable in the original Broadway production of Rodgers &amp; Hammerstein\u2019s <em>South Pacific<\/em>, which starred Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza and opened in 1949.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    He returned to Broadway in 1952 to play Chick Miller in Joshua Logan\u2019s <em>Wish You Were Here<\/em> and to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear alongside Bette Davis in <em>Two\u2019s Company<\/em>, then managed theater companies in and around New York before being hired at WMA in 1972.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Kelley launched the career of eventual two-time Oscar winner Washington and represented E.G. Marshall, Lloyd Bridges, Arthur Godfrey, Gene Barry, Ann Miller, Lauren Bacall, Vivian Vance, Robert Vaughn and Speaker of the House Tip O\u2019Neill, among others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    He was known for matching personalities with promotional and advertising opportunities. \u201cIt has been said that if you saw a celebrity in a television commercial in the \u201970s or \u201980s, they were likely as not a Peter Kelley client,\u201d his family said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    He retired from William Morris in 1991 after serving as vice president and head of the agency\u2019s commercial department and moved to Vero Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Kelley was born John Peter Smith on Dec. 17, 1925, in Indianapolis. He attended Cathedral High School, and in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, joining the 100th Infantry Division. After being captured by German soldiers in Northern France in December 1944, he suffered at the hands of his tormentors, enduring freezing and near-starvation conditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Despite the hardships and being forcibly marched to several Nazi\/SS POW camps, Kelley and his friend Robert \u201cRabbit\u201d Smith managed to escape twice; the second time, they were rescued by their Army colleagues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    For his service, Kelley was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action against the enemy, a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantry Badge, a Prisoner of War Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, a WW2 Victory Medal, a Sharpshooter Badge and a Legion of Honor, awarded by France.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Kelley attended Purdue University on the G.I. Bill, was a member of the Varsity Glee Club and met Lois Ann Eckhart, whom he married in November 1947. He then pursued graduate studies in music at the University of Indiana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Survivors include his children, Rebecca, Michael, Timothy, Catherine, Mary and Sara; 10 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. His wife died in September 2009.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on March 20 at St. Paul Catholic Church, 522 High St., Portsmouth, Virginia. He will be laid to rest with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Contributions in his memory can be made to your local St. Vincent de Paul or Catholic charities. Condolences may be registered at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    \u201cPete was a larger-than-life personality whose love of his family eclipsed everything but was almost matched by his love of good food and good company,\u201d his family said. \u201cNo doubt forged by his near-starvation experiences in WWII, wasting food was never allowed when Pete was around, and no serving of butter \u2014 no matter how big or small \u2014 was safe in his presence!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004\">\n!function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\nif (f.fbq) return;\nn = f.fbq = function() {n.callMethod ? n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);};\nif (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\nn.push = n;\nn.loaded = !0;\nn.version = '2.0';\nn.queue = [];\nt = b.createElement(e);\nt.async = !0;\nt.src = v;\ns = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n}(window, document, 'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '352999048212581');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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He was 97. Kelley died Feb&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":562173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Peter-Kelley-2023-template-obit-narrow-v2-H-2023.jpg?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[24874,141180,140874,141181,103378,141182,141183,5200],"class_list":["post-562172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-denzel-washington","tag-farrah-fawcett","tag-gregory-peck","tag-hector-elizondo","tag-joan-crawford","tag-lauren-bacall","tag-lloyd-bridges","tag-obituaries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}