Kelly Biography

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by BrentMc, Jun 30, 2013.

  1. BrentMc

    BrentMc Commander Red Shirt

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    Have any of you read any of the biographies of Dee Kelly? I have read a few bad reviews on amazon about them. One of them is said to read like a research paper and the other is said to include too many personal details of him by a woman who was his caregiver.
     
  2. Bob Greenberger

    Bob Greenberger Writer Red Shirt

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    Terry Rioux's bio is thorough, researched with De's cooperation and reads just fine. Well worth a look.
     
  3. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    I have both books and enjoy them both for different reasons. Terry Rioux's book is a classically done biography with a lot if detail on De. Kristine M Smith's book is certainly more personal and is filled with anecdotes. A completely different perspective - more like a personal letter. I think that's what I liked about it. It is getting an update and the newer version is due out in the next month or two. I haven't decided if I am going to pick that one up, yet. Hope this helps.
     
  4. BrentMc

    BrentMc Commander Red Shirt

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    Thank you both for the replies. I look forward to these books. Dr. McCoy was one of the best characters in TV history.
     
  5. JWD75

    JWD75 Commander Red Shirt

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    Couldn't agree more.:techman:

    I thought that From Sawdust to Stardust by Terry Lee Rioux was a great read.
     
  6. RandyS

    RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I didn't know there would be an update of Kristine Smith's book. I enjoyed Terry's Rioux's so much, that I was about to head over to Amazon and get Smith's when I saw your post.

    Thanks for saving me money.:bolian:
     
  7. Kinokima

    Kinokima Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I am thinking of adding Kelley's biography to my kindle. I am a bit obsessed with him at the moment and would love to learn more about him. It's too bad he never wrote an autobiography.

    I have mixed feelings about Kristin M. Smith's book. I don't think I can read the details of what he went through in the end, I think this would be too upsetting for me.


    On another note I wish someone would re-release Kelley's Star Trek poetry. This is something I would buy in a second.
     
  8. BrentMc

    BrentMc Commander Red Shirt

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    I agree! I just heard about his poetry recently. I found one online and enjoyed it. I would like to find more. I have also ran across a few of Nimoy's poetry books. They can be found on online bookstores.
     
  9. Kinokima

    Kinokima Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Finished the Rioux biography today and really enjoyed it. While I would have preferred an autobiography in Kelley's own words, I think this was the next best thing. I am not usually a big fan of biographies since most of them focus on rumors and scandal.

    Thankfully there was none of that in this book. Instead it was a very warm appreciation of Kelley. That isn't to say Kelley was a saint, he had faults just like anyone but the book definitely highlighted what I expected, Kelley was just a down to earth pleasant guy who a lot of people really liked a lot.

    Some reviews on Amazon make it seem that there isn't a lot of Star Trek, which isn't true at all, there is a lot. Star Trek makes up about 50% of the book I would say. Some things I knew about before from reading other books, websites, and watching youtube videos, but there is other stuff I didn't know sprinkled in.

    Of course Star Trek isn't all of Kelley's life and there is also a bunch of stuff on his early career (and while he wasn't a big star he experienced early Hollywood and even earlier television so very interesting from a historical perspective) and of course there is a lot of good stuff on the Westerns he did.

    Also after reading this book I realized that maybe I have come to admire and like Kelley so much because he reminds me a bit of my late grandfather.