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Fred Kelsey

Fred Kelsey

Acting1884Sandusky, Ohio, USA

Biography

Frederick Alvin Kelsey (August 20, 1884 – September 2, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Kelsey directed one- and two-reel films for Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1911 and 1958, often playing policemen or detectives. He also directed 37 films between 1914 and 1920. Kelsey was caricatured as the detective in the 1943 MGM cartoon Who Killed Who? directed by Tex Avery. He was born in Sandusky, Ohio and died at the Motion Picture Country Home in Hollywood, California, aged 77.

Acting History

1959
Westbound
as Townsman (uncredited)
1958
Auntie Mame
as Front Row Audience at Play (uncredited)
1957
The Helen Morgan Story
as Night Club Patron (uncredited)
Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend
as Barfly (uncredited)
1956
Serenade
as Opera Attendee (uncredited)
The Opposite Sex
as Club Patron (uncredited)
1955
Illegal
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Tall Man Riding
as Townsman (uncredited)
To Catch a Thief
as Party Guest (uncredited)
1954
Riding Shotgun
as Townsman (uncredited)
Phantom of the Rue Morgue
as Crowd Spectator (uncredited)
Lucky Me
as Passerby on Street (uncredited)
The Silver Chalice
as Silversmith (uncredited)
So You Want to Know Your Relatives
as Mr. Watson (uncredited)
A Star Is Born
as Audience Member (uncredited)
Racing Blood
as Smithy
1953
So You Think You Can't Sleep
as Sleeping patient in waiting room
Murder Without Tears
as Sergeant-at-Arms
So You Want to Be a Musician
as Restaurant diner
Crime Wave
as Old Man Crossing Street (uncredited)
1952
So You Want to Enjoy Life
as Boat Salesman / Flugleman's Assistant (uncredited)
O. Henry's Full House
as Mr. Schultz (segment "The Gift of the Magi")
My Six Convicts
as Store Detective
Carson City
as Townsman (uncredited)
Springfield Rifle
as Barfly (uncredited)
Hans Christian Andersen
as First Gendarme
1951
Goodbye, My Fancy
as Party Guest (Uncredited)
Strangers on a Train
as Tennis Match Spectator / Carnival Attendee (uncredited)
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
TVas Doc Jones (uncredited)1 eps
1950
So You Think You're Not Guilty
as Police Turnkey (uncredited)
So You Want to Hold Your Husband
as Lamb - Curry's Partner
The Damned Don't Cry
as Man on Dock (uncredited)
Backfire
as Fight Fan (uncredited)
The Flame and the Arrow
as Guard (uncredited)
Revenue Agent
as Sgt. Wallace
1949
The Inspector General
as Villager (uncredited)
Colorado Territory
as Train Engineer (uncredited)
Flamingo Road
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
The Fountainhead
as Old Watchman (uncredited)
Homicide
as Officer O'Brien
1948
So You Want an Apartment
as Apartment Manager with a Vacancy (uncredited)
The Noose Hangs High
as Cop (uncredited)
Silver River
as Townsman (uncredited)
1947
Nora Prentiss
as Turnkey (uncredited)
The Unfaithful
as Courtroom Spectator
1946
So You Want to Play the Horses
as Detective (uncredited)
The Man I Love
as Mac the Doorman (uncredited)
Night and Day
as First-Nighter (uncredited)
Never Say Goodbye
as Policeman (uncredited)
A Stolen Life
as Bartender (uncredited)
Hiss and Yell
as Policeman (uncredited)
Andy Plays Hookey
as Policeman
Detour to Danger
as Det. Kelsey
1945
Mildred Pierce
as Bumped First Night Diner (uncredited)
Saratoga Trunk
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
Come Out Fighting
as Mr. McGinnis, Sr. (as Fred Kelsy)
Christmas in Connecticut
as Harper (uncredited)
Frontier Days
as Mayor Stone (uncredited)
How DOooo You Do
as Detective
1944
Trial by Trigger
as Jerry (uncredited)
Mr. Skeffington
as Cop in Raid (uncredited)
Crime by Night
as Dad Martin (uncredited)
Shine on Harvest Moon
as Policeman in patrol car (uncredited)
1943
Action in the North Atlantic
as Joe (uncredited)
Old Acquaintance
as Train Conductor / Man at Radio Broadcast (uncredited)
Northern Pursuit
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
One Dangerous Night
as Detective Dickens
A Gem of a Jam
as Police Chief
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Pub Waiter in Errol Flynn Number (uncredited)
True to Life
as Cop (uncredited)
1942
Lady Gangster
as Policeman (uncredited)
Bullet Scars
as Police Chief Hansen
In This Our Life
as Jailer (uncredited)
Larceny, Inc.
as Bronson
Gentleman Jim
as Sutro (uncredited)
My Favorite Blonde
as Sam - Policeman
Spy Ship
as Night Watchman
I Was Framed
as Drunk
X Marks the Spot
as Police Officer Martin
Dear! Deer!
as Policeman
1941
The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance
as Detective Dickens
Secrets of the Lone Wolf
as Wesley Dickens
Invisible Ghost
as Detective Ryan
They Died with Their Boots On
as Ft. Lincoln Bartender (uncredited)
One Foot in Heaven
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
Mr. District Attorney
as Officer McCloskey
The Man Who Came to Dinner
as Detective (uncredited)
At the Stroke of Twelve
as Police Sergeant
1939
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
as Detective - in Cab and at Theatre
Charlie Chan in Reno
as Reno Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Too Busy to Work
as Hank Fidler
Clock Wise
as Landlord
Tell No Tales
as Policeman at School (uncredited)
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
as Pete - Railroad Detective
Moving Vanities
as Police Officer (uncredited)
1938
Down on the Farm
as Bit Role
Night Spot
as Police Band Leader
Straight, Place and Show
as Cop at Racetrack
Everybody's Doing It
as Police Sergeant
Josette
as Hotel Detective
Berth Quakes
as Train Conductor
1937
Big Business
as Oil Man at Well
Borrowing Trouble
as Policeman
That I May Live
as Abner Jenkins
Super-Sleuth
as Jailer
One Mile from Heaven
as Smitty - Policeman
Love Is News
as Cop (uncredited)
Angel's Holiday
as Conductor
Slave Ship
as Seaman at Auction
Love and Hisses
as Officer
She Had to Eat
as Police Officer Tracy (uncredited)
The Lady Escapes
as Man on telephone (uncredited)
Wild and Woolly
as Policeman (uncredited)
1936
High Tension
as Desk Sergeant
The Garden Murder Case
as Heath's Assistant (Uncredited)
The Little Red Schoolhouse
as First Detective
Private Number
as Detective in Ellen's Apartment (Uncredited)
At Sea Ashore
as Cop (uncredited)
The Witness Chair
as Detective Costigan
1935
Diamond Jim
as Horsley's Secretary
The Public Menace
as Mike - Cop
Carnival
as Bit Part
One Frightened Night
as Sheriff Jenks
Horses' Collars
as Detective Hyden Zeke (uncredited)
Danger Ahead
as Detective O'Brien
Atlantic Adventure
as Police Officer Riley
Death Flies East
as Police Lieutenant O'Brien
Hot Money
as Police Officer Kelsey (as Fred A. Kelsey)
1934
Twentieth Century
as Train Detective (uncredited)
Beloved
as Mulvaney
Rough Necking
as Joe Cuttlehammer Sr.
The Moth
as Detective Blake
The Crime Doctor
as Bloodgood
I'll Tell the World
as Sergeant at Border
I'll Be Suing You
as Insurance Adjustor
Among the Missing
as Police Sgt. Murphy
1933
The Bowery
as Detective Kelsey (uncredited)
King of the Jungle
as Cop (uncredited)
The Crime of the Century
as Police Guard (uncredited)
Quiet Please!
as Train Conductor
1932
Yoo-Hoo
as Detective
Speak Easily
as Process Server
The Iceman's Ball
as Police Sergeant
If I Had a Million
as Prison Jailer (uncredited)
Guilty as Hell
as Detective Duffy
Red Haired Alibi
as Corcoran
Huddle
as Policeman (uncredited)
Love in High Gear
as Detective Duffy
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
as Cop (uncredited)
1931
Side Show
as Sheriff Hornsby
Subway Express
as Detective Kearney
The Naughty Flirt
as Policeman (uncredited)
Scandal Sheet
as Detective Sgt. Vincent Molloy
1930
Going Wild
as The Conductor
Wide Open
as Detective
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
as Chief of Detectives (uncredited)
Scarlet Pages
as Murphy
The Woman Racket
as Police Captain
Only Saps Work
as Murphy (uncredited)
The Girl Said No
as Policeman
1929
Smiling Irish Eyes
as County Fair Manager
The Faker
as Police Detective
1928
The Last Warning
as Inspector
Tenderloin
as Detective Simpson
Naughty Baby
as Dugan
A Woman of Affairs
as Detective (uncredited)
While the City Sleeps
as Detective in Shadow Box
Harold Teen
as Mr. Lovewell
On Trial
as Clerk
1927
The 13th Juror
as The Detective
Orchids and Ermine
as Police Sergeant
Soft Cushions
as The Police
The Gorilla
as Mulligan
Jewish Prudence
as Rent Collector
1926
The Third Degree
as Assistant Chief of Detectives
Atta Boy
as Detective
Dog Shy
as Cop
Bromo and Juliet
as The Detective (uncredited)
Crazy Like a Fox
as Man with Badge on Train (uncredited)
Say It with Babies
as Policeman
There Ain't No Santa Claus
as Store Detective (uncredited)
1925
Little Annie Rooney
as Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Excuse Me
as George Ketchem
The Lawful Cheater
as Tom Horan
Paths to Paradise
as Confederate
Seven Sinners
as Policeman
1923
Lights Out
as Decker
Lovebound
as Detective Hahn
Souls for Sale
as Detective Quinn (uncredited)
The Eleventh Hour
as The Submarine Commander
1922
Manslaughter
as Member of the Jury (uncredited)
Don't Shoot
as Police Officer
South of Suva
as Karl Swartz
Deserted at the Altar
as The Other Man
The Song of Life
as Police Inspector
1920
Alias Jimmy Valentine
as Bit Part (uncredited)
1919
The Light of Victory
as Captain Eric von Prohme
The Fire Flingers
as Sgt. Powers
1918
1916
1915

Social Media

Personal Info

Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
8/20/1884
Day of Death
9/2/1961
Place of Birth
Sandusky, Ohio, USA