James Martin Kelly


James Martin Kelly is an American actor and writer.

Early life

Kelly was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of James Francis Kelly, a Bell System splicer and World War II veteran, and Joan Marie Kelly, a housewife. Kelly is of English and Irish descent. He has three siblings; Kathleen, Kevin, and Brian. Kelly grew up in Valley Stream, New York, where he attended Valley Stream South High School. He is a related to Audrey Munson, the 1910s model considered "America's First Supermodel."

Music

After high school, Kelly stayed focused on music. Garage bands led to bar bands, culminating in a moderately successful career as a night club musician from NYC to Miami at venues such as Heartbreak, The Peppermint lounge, Max's Kansas City, CBGB's and countless others.

Acting

By the end of the 1980s, Kelly was a husband and father and was holding down a job as a letter carrier for the Postal Service. In 1988, Kelly moved his family to Florida to raise his four kids. At his wife's urging, he auditioned for the local theater. One role led to another, until Kelly found himself being cast in leading roles, in back-to-back productions.
Kelly studied the Eric Morris process of acting, under Kathy Laughlin, and soon found himself booking his share of the few film and TV roles available in the southeast at that time.
Kelly soon left his job at the Post Office to work full-time as an actor and moved to Los Angeles. Only two months later, he landed a television role.
Kelly appeared as the train conductor in the Season 5 finale of the AMC television series Mad Men on June 10, 2012. In the finale, Pete Campbell gets in a fight with a fellow passenger, after the passenger figures out Campbell has been having an affair with his wife. The conductor orders Campbell to apologize, he refuses and insults the conductor. The conductor punches him in the face and orders him off the train.
Kelly lives with his family in Los Angeles county.

Filmography