Al Kelly

Al Kelly, born Abraham Kalish on December 18, 1896, in Kreva, in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), was an American vaudeville comedian whose specialty was double-talk. He was the eldest of six children born to Max and Gelle (Mary) Kalish, whose other children were Benjamin, Isidore, Israel, Fannie, and Annie. Both parents worked in the garment industry. The family emigrated to the United States in 1906.

Kelly entered show business in 1914 as part of an act called Nine Crazy Kids, after which he moved into comic monologues. Much of his early stand-up work took place in the Borscht Belt. The double-talk style that would define his career emerged accidentally during the 1930s, when a flubbed joke produced scrambled, nonsensical dialogue that drew a strong laugh from the audience. Kelly recognized the comedic potential of the mistake and built it into the centerpiece of his act.

During the 1930s, Kelly worked as a comic foil for Broadway headliner Willie Howard. When Howard was contracted by Educational Pictures to produce a series of two-reel comedies, Kelly appeared alongside him in Playboy Number One in 1937. The two continued their collaboration in 1941, when Howard filmed comedy routines for Soundies movie jukeboxes; Kelly appeared opposite him in Comes the Revolution that same year.

Kelly's Broadway career ran from 1941 to 1948 and included appearances in Crazy With the Heat, Hilarities, and New Priorities of 1943. His reputation as a double-talk specialist made him a sought-after guest on television, and he appeared on Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Steve Allen Show, The Ernie Kovacs Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Eddie Fisher Show, The Jack Paar Program, Candid Camera, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Soupy Sales Show. He also took on a supporting acting role in the children's television series Mack and Myer for Hire.

Kelly's standing among entertainment professionals was considerable. When raconteur Joey Adams broke Willie Howard's record as the longest-running entertainer at Lou Walters's Latin Quarter nightclub, Kelly offered his congratulations entirely in double-talk. Marx Brothers screenwriter Irving Brecher described Kelly in 2006 as unique among comedians in his ability to perform the style.

Kelly died of a heart attack on September 7, 1966, at the age of 69, while seated in the audience at a roast in the dining room of the Friars' Club in New York City. A memorial service was held the following day at Riverside Memorial Chapel on Amsterdam Avenue and 76th Street in New York City. His career in show business had spanned 52 years.