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This article is about the Irish actor. For the University of Cambridge professor, see Frank Kelly (professor).
Frank Kelly (born 1938) is an Irish actor whose career has spanned radio, TV, theatre, music, writing and films. An educated and learned man, he has played a wide variety of roles in Irish theatre over many years, and he has toured extensively in the USA and Canada. Despite his varied career, he is perhaps best known for playing Father Jack Hackett (an old and somewhat perverse priest who usually only says "drink!" "arse!" "feck!" and "girls!") in the hit comedy series Father Ted aired originally in the United Kingdom in April 1995 and ran through until May 1998.
He was brought up in a middle-class Dublin household; his father was the editor of the "Irish Punch", the famous Dublin Opinion. He claims his desire to become an actor began when he saw a cartoon in which a clown on a stage looked sadly at things being thrown at him. "It seemed to me like a kind of Calvary, kind of triumph over adversity by perseverance and smiling on."
Frank starred in popular RTÉ children's programme Wanderly Wagon alongside Eugene Lambert and Nora O'Mahoney from 1968-1982, playing a number of different characters and writing many of the scripts.
His work on Hall's Pictorial Weekly established Kelly as one of Ireland's most recognisable faces, and led to him getting the role of Father Jack.
He has been married to Baibre Neldon since 1964, and they have seven children. His first ever role in film or television was as an uncredited prisoner in the classic film The Italian Job (1969). He appeared in the film Rat in 2000, and also in the short film, Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom, in 2003. For his role in Father Ted, he is said to have worn contact lenses (to show Father Jack's blank eye), and he said that people wouldn't talk to him if he was in his Father Jack make-up.
He released a single, "Christmas Countdown", which reached number 8 in the Irish Singles Chart in 1982 and peaked at 26 in the UK Singles Charts, a full twelve months later in 1983, and an album, Comedy Countdown, which featured a sketch taken from his radio show, The Glen Abbey Show. The show which was on RTÉ during the 1970s came on at 2.30 pm each weekday. Many of his popular sketches started with the sound of him putting coins in an old phone coin box, and when the phone rang and was answered, his words were, "Hello! Guess who?"
His sketches on 'shlaggin' (slagging) and 'ha-hooing' are masterpieces of modern short humour.
He is currently doing the voice over for the Post Office advert on television.
His work for various Irish charities, although unpublicised, has been formidable.
