| Paula Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Paula Kelly played the part of Public Defender Liz Williams on the series. | |
| General Actor Information | |
| Gender: | Female |
| Nationality: | American |
| Born: | October 21, 1943 |
| Birthplace | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | February 8, 2020 |
| Death Location | Whittier, California, U.S. |
| Occupation/ Career: |
Actress, Dancer |
| Years active: | 1964-2008 |
| Appearances/Series information | |
| Appeared on: | Night Court |
| Appears as: | Liz Williams |
Paula Kelly (born October 21, 1943-died February 8, 2020) was a dancer and actress in motion pictures, television and theatre. Kelly had a main cast role as Public Defender Liz Williams on the first season of Night Court, for which she received an Emmy nomination.
Career[]
Kelly made the Broadway theatre debut as Mrs. Veloz in the 1964 musical Something More!, sharing the stage with actress Barbara Cook. Her other Broadway credits include The Dozens (1969), Paul Sills' Story Theatre (1971), Ovid's Metamorphoses (1971), and Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (1981) with Gregory Hines and Phyllis Hyman.
Paula's film credits include the Bob Fosse-directed film Sweet Charity; Soylent Green; The Spook Who Sat By The Door; The Andromeda Strain; Uptown Saturday Night; Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling; Drop Squad; and Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored.
In addition to her role on Night Court, Paula has also guest-starred in a variety of television movies and sitcoms, including Sanford and Son, Kojak, Police Woman, The Golden Girls, Good Times, Any Day Now and in the groundbreaking Oprah Winfrey-produced The Women of Brewster Place (based on the novel by Gloria Naylor), in which she portrayed one half of a lesbian couple (opposite Lonette McKee) struggling against homophobia in an inner city ghetto. She was nominated for a second Emmy for her role in The Women of Brewster Place.
Personal life and death[]
Paula was married once and had one child. On September 15, 1985, Kelly married British-born television director Don Chaffey. They had one child together, a daughter. Kelly remained married to Chaffey until his death in November 1990.[1] Kelly died of heart failure on February 8, 2020 at age 77.[2]
References[]
- ↑ Staff writers. "Don Chaffey; Directed Films, TV, Disney Features", Los Angeles Times (latimes.com), 1990-11-19.
- ↑ Paula Kelly, Emmy-nominated actress, dancer and singer, dies at 77
External links[]
Paula Kelly at the Internet Movie Database- Paula Kelly article at Wikipedia
