Daniel Hugh Kelly

Daniel Hugh Kelly is an American actor born on August 10, 1952, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he was raised as the middle of five children. His grandfather and father both served as police officers and detectives, while his mother worked as a social worker. Kelly graduated from Roselle Catholic High School in 1970 and went on to earn a degree from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1974. He subsequently pursued a Master of Fine Arts at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., attending on a full scholarship.

Kelly built his early stage career through classical touring work and regional repertory theater. He traveled with the National Players, the oldest classical touring company in the United States, performing in productions including Henry IV Part 1, Charley's Aunt, and School for Wives in 1974. His regional work took him to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., where he appeared in An Enemy of the People and Once in a Lifetime in 1975, and to the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where his credits included Much Ado About Nothing, The Best Man, A Christmas Carol, Arturo Ui, and The Rainmaker between 1976 and 1977. He also became a company member of the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts, appearing in productions such as Tennessee Williams: A Celebration, Room Service, and Enemies in 1982, and Barbarians, Hawthorne Country, and The Lucky Spot in 1986.

His Off-Broadway work was centered primarily at The Public Theater and Second Stage Theatre. At the Public Theater, he appeared in Miss Margarida's Way and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, both in 1977. His Second Stage credits include Fishing in 1981 and Juno's Swans in 1985.

Kelly made his Broadway debut in Born Yesterday at the Richard Rodgers Theater in 1989, performing opposite Madeline Kahn, who played Billie. The following year he appeared on Broadway as Brick opposite Kathleen Turner's Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. In 2003, he originated the role of Richard in Lisa Loomer's Living Out at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

On television, Kelly first gained recognition in daytime drama, playing Senator Frank Ryan on Ryan's Hope from 1978 to 1981. He became widely known for his role as the ex-con Mark "Skid" McCormick on the ABC crime drama Hardcastle and McCormick, which ran from 1983 to 1986 and co-starred Brian Keith. He later returned to daytime television on As the World Turns, portraying Colonel Winston Mayer from 2007 to 2009. His additional series credits include Chicago Story, I Married Dora, Second Noah, Ponderosa, and Walt Disney Presents The 100 Lives of Blackjack Savage in 1991, the latter of which he also co-produced. Kelly guest-starred in numerous series, among them The West Wing, Boston Legal, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Los Angeles, NCIS: Los Angeles, Supernatural, Major Crimes, Memphis Beat, Las Vegas, and Walker, Texas Ranger. His television movie and miniseries appearances include Citizen Cohn, The Tuskegee Airmen, Passing Glory, From the Earth to the Moon, and The Nutcracker.

Kelly's feature film work spans several decades and genres. His credits include the horror film Cujo in 1983, Nowhere to Hide and Someone to Watch Over Me in 1987, The Good Son in 1993, Bad Company in 1995, Star Trek: Insurrection in 1998, Chill Factor in 1999, and The In Crowd in 2000.