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==Early life and career==
Kelly was born, in 1938, in [[Blackrock, Dublin|Blackrock]], south [[County Dublin]], wherewhich heremained livedhis home for mostmuch of his life. His parentsfather were Kathleen andwas [[Charles E. Kelly (cartoonist)|Charles E. Kelly]], a cartoonist andwho founder ofestablished the satirical magazine ''[[Dublin Opinion]]''. He was educated at [[Blackrock College]] and went on to studystudied law at [[University College Dublin]], andbefore triedtaking up journalism, working for some years as a subeditor at a number of Irish newspapers,<ref name="guardian">{{Cite news |date=28 February 2016 |title=Frank Kelly obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/feb/28/frank-kelly-obituary|title = Frank Kelly obituary|newspaperwork=[[The Guardian]]|date = 28 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{citeCite web |last=Ellis-Petersen |first=Hannah |date=28 February 2016 |title=Frank Kelly, Father Ted's foul-mouthed priest, dies aged 77 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/feb/28/frank-kelly-father-ted-foul-mouthed-priest-father-jack-dies|title=Frank Kelly, Father Ted's foul-mouthed priest, dies aged 77|first=Hannah|last=Ellisaccess-Petersen|date=2823 FebruaryApril 2017 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref> beforeprior movingto onbecoming an to actingactor. He worked at Dublin's [[Eblana Theatre]] with [[Cecil Sheridan]] and as a feed to [[Jack Cruise]]. Other work included [[pantomime]] and reviewscomedy sketches.<ref name="irishtimes">{{citeCite news |date=29 February 2016 |title=Late Frank Kelly was loved by generations of Irish people |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/late-frank-kelly-was-loved-by-generations-of-irish-people-1.2552681 |access-date=29 February 2016 |work=The Irish Times|date=29 February 2016}}</ref>
Kelly's first film role, which was uncredited, was as a prison officer in ''[[The Italian Job]]'' (1969), escorting Charlie Croker ([[Michael Caine]]) out of prison<ref name="auto" /> in the film's opening sequence.
He starred in the popular [[RTÉ]] children's programme ''[[Wanderly Wagon]]'' alongside [[Eugene Lambert]] and Nora O'Mahoney from 1968 to 1982, playing a number of different characters and writing many of the scripts.<ref name=journal/> It was Kelly's work on ''[[Hall's Pictorial Weekly]]'' (1970–1982) that established him as one of Ireland's most recognisable faces. He memorably portrayed councillor Parnell Mooney, a send-up of a backward local authority figure in rural Ireland. In 1974, Kelly won a [[Jacob's Award]] for his work on the series.
In the early 1980s, he was featured in the RTÉ television programme for those learning Irish ''[[Anois is Aris]]''. At the end of the programme he spoke into a telephone, gradually introducing Irish phrases.<ref>{{citeCite journal |last=Devitt |first=S. M. |display-authors=etal |date=30 November 1982 |title=A Report on the Background, Attitudes, Expectations, and Learning Experience of a Volunteer Group of Course Participants. |url=http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED232437&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED232437 |titlejournal=Learning Irish with "Anois is Arís." CLCS Occasional Paper No. 6, Winter 1982-3. A Report on the Background, Attitudes, Expectations, and Learning Experience of a Volunteer Group of Course Participants.|first=Devitt, S. M. |last=And Others|date=30 November 1982|publisher=Centre for Language and Communication Studies, [[University of Dublin]], [[Trinity College, Dublin]] 2, Ireland|access-date=23 April 2017 |number=6}}</ref> In 1988, he appeared in the Irish thriller film ''[[Taffin]]''.
==''Father Ted''==
Kelly was best known outside Ireland for playing [[Father Jack Hackett]] in the comedy series ''[[Father Ted]]'', which aired in the United Kingdom from April 1995 to May 1998. Father Jack is an old, alcoholic and offensively rambunctious priest who usually shouts only "[[feck]]!", "arse!", "drink!" and "girls!" and the occasional scream of "what!" and "women's knickers".
For his role in ''Father Ted'', he wore [[contact lens]]es (to show Father Jack's cataract). People would not eat lunch with him during filming if he was in his Father Jack make-up<ref name="scripts">{{citeCite book |last1last=Linehan |first1first=Graham|last2=Mathews|first2=Arthur |title=Father Ted: the complete scripts |yearlast2=1999Mathews |pagefirst2=120Arthur |publisher=Boxtree |locationyear=London1999 |isbn=0752218506 |location=London |page=120}}</ref> because the false flaky skin he was wearing would fall off into the food.
Interviewing Kelly in 1997 for ''[[The Irish Times]]'', Deirdre Falvey said of him: "In person he could not be further from Father Jack. Urbane, articulate, thoughtful, fit (he swims and hikes), charming company, full of stories, and quite serious, though his conversation is punctuated by the occasional burst of laughter—he is reputably a great slagger with colleagues, and is very well liked." Kelly himself said:
<blockquote>
I like humour—but I'm very suspicious of people who laugh all the time, because they never listen to what you're saying, they always—have another agenda and they generally have no sense of humour. The most untrustworthy body language I know is that of the person who laughs all the time. That terrifies me. People with no sense or a very limited sense of humour I am very wary of too, because it's not a sign of great intelligence to be without a sense of humour. If you've no sense of irony you haven't a great decision making capacity because you must see the possibilities of the downside of any decision. Without perspective you can't have any wisdom, so it frightens me when I meet captains of industry or whatever who have virtually no sense of humour. That's the kind of person I find dismaying.<ref name="falvey">{{citeCite web |authorlast=Deirdre Falvey |date=1 February 1997 |title=JACK of all trades |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/jack-of-all-trades-1.28072 |titleaccess-date=JACK1 ofMarch all trades2016 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=1 February 1997 |access-date=1 March 2016}}</ref>
</blockquote>
From 1999 to 2001, Kelly starred in ''[[Glenroe]]'' as Maurice and played Henry Doyle (father of [[Pierce Brosnan]]'s Desmond Doyle) in ''[[Evelyn (2002 film)|Evelyn]]'' (2002). He appeared in the film ''Rat'' in 2000, as a priest called Father Pickle in the TV series ''[[Lexx]]'' (2001), and also in a short film, ''[[Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom]]'', in 2003. That same year, he had a major role as [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]], leader of the Labour Party, in the UK Television drama ''[[The Deal (2003 film)|The Deal]]''.
In 2007, he acted in the [[TG4]] political drama ''Running Mate'', about an election campaign.<ref>{{citeCite web |date=25 Sep 2006 |title=1 October Start For TG4's 'Running Mate' |url=http://www.iftn.ie/whoswho/Producers/whoswhosub/filmproducers/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4279794&tpl=archnews&force=|title=1 October Start For TG4's 'Running Mate'|publisher=IFTN|date=25 Sep 2006}}</ref> He also appeared in the TG4 series ''Paddywhackery''.
On 29 September 2010, it was announced that Kelly had joined [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV1]] soap ''[[Emmerdale]]'', playing the role of Dermot, [[Declan Macey]]'s father.<ref>{{citeCite web |date=30 September 2010 |title='Emmerdale' reveals new Home Farm dynasty |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s12/emmerdale/news/a279434/emmerdale-reveals-new-home-farm-dynasty.html|title='Emmerdale' reveals new Home Farm dynasty|website=Digital Spy|date=30 September 2010}}</ref> Kelly left the soap after five months of filming because he missed his family in Ireland.<ref>{{citeCite web |date=30 April 2011 |title=Father Ted's Frank Kelly has quit Emmerdale |url=http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/father-teds-frank-kelly-has-quit-emmerdale/|title=Father Ted's Frank Kelly has quit Emmerdale|publisher=Unreality TV|date=30 April 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504164148/http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/father-teds-frank-kelly-has-quit-emmerdale/ |archive-date=4 May 2011 |publisher=Unreality TV |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
A regular stage actor, Kelly toured extensively in the United States and Canada. He provided [[voice-overs]] and in his television advertising work, appeared with "Mr Tayto" in an advertising campaign for [[Tayto (Republic of Ireland)|Tayto]] crisps.
In 2014, he appeared as judge Justice Cannon in ''[[Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie]]''.<ref>{{citeCite web |authorlast=Kirsty Blake |date=31 March 2014 |title=It's back to the parochial house for 'Ted' star Kelly |url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/its-back-to-the-parochial-house-for-ted-star-kelly-30140430.html |titleaccess-date=It's28 backFebruary to the parochial house for 'Ted' star Kelly2016 |publisher=Independent.ie |date=31 March 2014 |access-date=28 February 2016}}</ref>
In September 2015, Kelly published an autobiography called ''The Next Gig''. His reminiscences include those of acting colleagues including [[Pierce Brosnan]] and [[Michael Caine]].<ref>{{citeCite web |title=The Next Gig |url=http://www.currach.ie/index.php/the-next-gig.html|title=The Next Gig|publisher=currach.ie|access-date=23 April 2017 |publisher=currach.ie}}</ref>
==Radio comedy==
==Music career==
In 1982, Kelly released a single, "Christmas Countdown", a [[Novelty song|comedy monologue]] based on the Christmas song "[[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas]]" and credited to the pseudonymic Gobnait O’Lúnasa. The monologue is presented as a series of comedic thank-you letters that become more and more deranged as the narratorGobnait slowly goes insane as he receives each of the twelve items from the original song. It reached number eight in the [[Irish Singles Chart]] in 1982, and peaked at number 26 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] and number 15 in Australia in 1984.<ref name="aus">{{citeCite book |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated |publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6 |edition=illustrated |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |page=164}}</ref>
He performed the single live on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' on 5 January of that year.<ref>{{citeCite web |title=Frank Kelly – Christmas Countdown |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Glad%20It%27s%20All%20Over_slash_Damned%20On%2045 |titleaccess-date=Frank26 KellyMarch – Christmas Countdown2012 |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=26 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Kelly - Christmas Countdown |url=https://www.simplyeighties.com/frank-kelly---christmas-countdown.php|title=Frank Kelly - Christmas Countdown|website=Simplyeighties.com|access-date=2 November 2021 |website=Simplyeighties.com}}</ref> The single was the opening track on the later album ''Comedy Countdown''.
In 2000 he released ''Comedy Countdown'', an album featuring some of his sketches taken from ''The Glen Abbey Show''. Tracks included the "Ayatollah Ceili Band" (a pun on [[The Tulla Céilí Band]]), "Magnum Farce", "Incoming Call", "Festive Spirit", "Hymn of Praise", "Call of the Wild", "Festive Note" and "Siege Mentality".
==Death==
Kelly died on 28 February 2016, after suffering a heart attack. He revealed he had [[Parkinson's disease]] in October 2015, and was recovering from [[Colorectal cancer|bowel cancer]].<ref>{{citeCite news |urldate=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-3568219128 February 2016 |title='Father Jack' actor Kelly dies aged 77 |workurl=BBC Newshttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-35682191 |access-date=28 February 2016 |access-datework=28BBC February 2016News}}</ref><ref name="guardian" /> He had previously survived [[skin cancer]].<ref name="journal">{{citeCite web |date=28 February 2016 |title=Beloved actor Frank Kelly has died aged 77 |url=http://www.thejournal.ie/frank-kelly-rip-father-jack-2630816-Feb2016/ |title=Beloved actor Frank Kelly has died aged 77 |publisher=Thejournal.ie |access-date=28 February 2016 |access-datepublisher=28 February 2016Thejournal.ie}}</ref>
His death came exactly 18 years after the death of his ''Father Ted'' co-star [[Dermot Morgan]].<ref>{{citeCite web |date=28 February 2016 |title=Father Jack Actor Frank Kelly Dies Aged 77 |url=http://news.sky.com/story/1650208/father-jack-actor-frank-kelly-dies-aged-77 |title=Father Jack Actor Frank Kelly Dies Aged 77 |publisher=News.sky.com |date=28 February 2016 |access-date=28 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228190342/http://news.sky.com/story/1650208/father-jack-actor-frank-kelly-dies-aged-77 |archive-date=28 February 2016 |access-date=28 February 2016 |publisher=News.sky.com}}</ref><ref>{{citeCite web |date=28 February 2016 |title=Acting great Frank Kelly dies aged 77 - RTÉ Ten |url=http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2016/0228/771346-acting-great-frank-kelly-dies-aged-77/ |title=Acting great Frank Kelly dies aged 77 access- RTÉ Ten |date=28 February 2016 |publisher=Rte.ie |access-date=28 February 2016}}</ref> Speaking at Kelly's funeral, [[Michael D. Higgins]], the President of Ireland, said, "He will forever be remembered for his roles in the theatre and will be recalled with great affection and fondness for his roles on television, including in ''Wanderly Wagon'', ''Glenroe'' and the much-loved ''Hall's Pictorial Weekly''."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Actor Frank Kelly's funeral underway in Dublin |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/actor-frank-kelly-s-funeral-underway-in-dublin-1.2556657 |titleaccess-date=Actor2 FrankMarch Kelly's2016 funeral underway in Dublin|website=The Irish Times |language=en-US|access-date=2 March 2016}}</ref>
Kelly and Bairbre, his wife of 51 years who was a drama teacher, had five daughters and two sons.<ref name="irishtimes" />
==Filmography==
==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0446392|name=Frank Kelly}}
* [https://www.dib.ie/biography/kelly-francis-declan-frank-a10346 Frank Kelly] in the [[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]
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