Mike Kellin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mike Kellin
Born(1922-04-26)April 26, 1922
Hartford, Connecticut
DiedAugust 26, 1983(1983-08-26) (aged 61)
Nyack, New York
EducationBoston University
Trinity College, Connecticut (BA)
Yale University (MFA)
OccupationActor
Years active1949–1983
Spouse(s)
Nina Caiserman Kellin
​
​
(m. 1951; died 1963)​

Sally Moffat
​
​
(m. 1966; his death 1983)​
Children1

Mike Kellin (born Myron Kellin, April 26, 1922 – August 26, 1983) was an American actor.

Early life[]

Kellin was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Sophia and Samuel Kellin, Russian-Jewish immigrants. His younger sister, Shirley Ann Kellin (born August 14, 1927), died in the 1944 Hartford circus fire. He was educated at Boston University and Trinity College in Hartford. He served with the Navy as a lieutenant commander during World War II, and after the war, studied acting and playwriting at the Yale School of Drama.

Career[]

Kellin's coarse-featured face, tired eyes and flat, monotone voice suggested that he had lived hard and fast. He was most often cast as tough guys, both good and evil. He made his Broadway debut in 1949 in At War with the Army[1] and repeated his role in the 1950 film version with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. He worked in some 50 plays and won an Obie Award for his work in American Buffalo and earned a Tony nomination in 1956 for his acting in the musical Pipe Dream.

Kellin appeared in both the film version of The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960) and the television series based on the film in the same role.

Kellin appeared in an episode on Lost in Space, titled "The Deadly Games of Gamma 6," as Myko. He also appeared in an episode on The Twilight Zone, titled "The Thirty Fathom Grave", and as a Southerner in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "Night Of The Owl".

Personal life and death[]

Kellin married Nina Caiserman in 1952. The couple adopted a daughter before Nina's death in 1963. In 1966, Kellin married actress Sally Moffat, daughter of actress Sylvia Field. Kellin was active in the Fortune Society, a prisoners' rights group. He died on August 26, 1983 from lung cancer in Nyack, New York at the age of 61. His interment was at Emanuel Synagogue Cemetery in Wethersfield, Connecticut.[2]

Stage credits (partial)[]

  • Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (1979) as Lionel Stander
  • The Ritz (1975) as Carmine Vespucci
  • The Odd Couple (1966) as Oscar Madison
  • Mother Courage and Her Children (1963) as Cook
  • Rhinoceros (1961) as Dribble
  • God and Kate Murphy (1959) as Sean Murphy
  • Pipe Dream (1955) as Hazel
  • Ankles Aweigh (1955) as Joe Mancinni
  • The Emperor's Clothes (1953) as Second Rottenbiller Brother
  • Stalag 17 (1951) as Stosh
  • The Bird Cage (1950) as Frank
  • At War with the Army (1950) as Staff Sergeant McVay

Film credits[]

Television credits[]

He was very active in television and was a regular on:

He also appeared in made-for-TV movies, including:

  • Assignment: Munich (1972)
  • The Connection (1973)
  • F.D.R.: the Last Year (1980) as Andre Gromyko

He guest starred on the following:

Discography[]

  • Tevya and His Daughters, Columbia Masterworks OL 5225 (1957)
  • And the Testimony's Still Coming, Verve-Forecast FTS 3028 (1967)

References[]

  1. ^ "("Mike Kellin" search results)". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. ^ Kennedy, Shawn G. (1983-08-28). "Mike Kellin, Actor, Dies at 61; Won OBIE for Role in 'Buffalo'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-09-09.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""