Kelowitz

[Wingsley]

In "Arena", "The Galileo Seven" and "This Side of Paradise", Grant Woods portrayed Lieutenant Kelowitz, who was described as being one of the Enterprise's "tactical people" prior to beaming down to the destroyed Cestus III outpost/colony. I have some questions about Mr. Woods and the Kelowitz character he portrayed.

Was Woods known for any non-TREK roles? What kind of an actor was he? Does anyone here remember him for any other roles?

What nationality/ethnicity do you think Kelowitz was?

Kelowitz wore blue, but was described very vaguely as being one of the ship's "tactical people". Is there any indication what he did on the ship?

There were occasional Enterprise crew members depicted in the supporting cast that were more than just disposable redshirts. For some odd reason, this one stands out for me. Interesting that Woods did serve in the U.S. Navy and comes off as a credible junior officer. I like how he refers to Kirk as "Cap'n" and cautions his skipper "that's pretty close for one of these li'l jewels". I always liked that little touch. His voice is perfect for the role.

Too bad Woods died so young.

 

[Push The Button]

There were occasional Enterprise crew members depicted in the supporting cast that were more than just disposable redshirts

Lt. DeSalle came up in one of the other threads, I think he fits your description here as someone that was more than an extra, but not quite a regular or semi-regular cast member. I think Kevin Riley, Lt. Palmer and Angela Martine would also fall into this category.

 

[Grant]

On the sublect of Grant Woods/Kelowitz...

If anybody is feeling ambitious and has the Blu-rays and a BIIIG HDTV.............


I would swear that in "For The World Is......", Grant Woods stunt doubles for Deforest Kelley when they are attacked at the beginning.

According to his death date (in an motor vehicle accident) ---he was definitely alive when they filmed that episode. Everything about the guy doubling Kelley screams Grant Woods---his hair, his face and his posture.

Anyway check it out next time you watch that episode.

 

[KirkPicard]

The stunt actor in question was a Robert Bralver, who also played security officer Grant in "Friday's Child" per Memory Alpha.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Robert_Bralver

 

[Grant]

The stunt actor in question was a Robert Bralver, who also played security officer Grant in "Friday's Child" per Memory Alpha.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Robert_Bralver

He played who?

Oh yeah, he looks a lot like Woods. There was a fourth episode woods sometimes gets credited with, but I know he didn't have lines in it.

 

[scotpens]

What nationality/ethnicity do you think Kelowitz was?

Surnames ending in "-owitz" are usually of Eastern European Jewish origin. Make of that what you will.

BTW, Grant Woods' birth name was Earl Grant Titsworth.

 

[Melakon]

I've liked the Kelowitz character ever since I first saw him in the 60s broadcasts. He always seemed like an intelligent man who knew how to do his job and could do it right. With only a few lines each time, Grant Woods presented an effective character.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Kelowitz wore blue, but was described very vaguely as being one of the ship's "tactical people". Is there any indication what he did on the ship?

Not that I know of, but I can offer a conjecture: military science.

 

[CrazyMatt]

BTW, Grant Woods' birth name was Earl Grant Titsworth.

Why does bad '70's disco music suddenly come to mind as I read this amazing factoid?

 

[The Old Mixer]

Titsworth

If that's a real name, don't ask me why it hasn't been used on a Bond girl yet....

 

[Botany Bay]

Agree with a lot of these comments, Grant Woods made Kelowitz one of the most memorable semi-regular crew - it was the accent and delivery, really distinctive.

About a decade ago, Woods' niece used to post on here. She was trying to find out some more about her uncle's acting career and was astounded we were able to all pinpoint each and every one of his appearances in about 5 minutes for her...heh...too easy for the TOS forum

From those talks with her, I remember she mentioned he was mainly a stuntman, so yes, he could have been your guy in For The World... Grant.

 

[Wingsley]

What nationality/ethnicity do you think Kelowitz was?

Surnames ending in "-owitz" are usually of Eastern European Jewish origin. Make of that what you will.

BTW, Grant Woods' birth name was Earl Grant Titsworth.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I liked Kelowitz. As others have said, he oozed 'trusty, loyal, capable crew member'. Kirk seemed to trust his judgement too.

I remember watching This Side of Paradise, and noticing that I thought Grant Woods walked with a bit of a limp of sorts. I wondered if perhaps one of his legs was a tad shorter than the other?

 

[T'Girl]

If his primary occupation was as a stuntman, he might have been sporting a injury that day.

 

[Tazlady21]

Hi....May I say Thank You for the kind words about my Uncle Grant Woods. His primary occupation was NOT stuntman although he did do stunt work. He was an actor. And he did bare an uncanny resemblance to DeForrest Kelly. He was, at that time, the youngest man to receive a black belt while serving in the Navy. He had many talents including playing the guitar, self taught Harmonica for the opening and closing credits of the movie and television Series The Legend of Custer. That series is why he left Star Trek. He was offered a major role in a TV series. YES...His real name was Earl Grant Titsworth. It wasnt a name he wanted to be labeled with for long so after he left home and started on his own, around age 16 Im told, he changed his name to Lockwood and then conflicts within the Screen Actors Guild and another actor on StarTrek, he changed his last name finally to Woods. I have studio pictures of my Uncle made up to look like a Samuri person, a westerner, a common Joe and a HUNK, IMHO. Our family is not primarily of any one heritage. A heinz 57 kind of family my mom, his sister, would tell me. Acting was my Uncles passion along with being a Big Brother to younger boys in trouble. Probably felt it his duty to give back to the world since he started out at such a tender young age himself. He was older then the Earthly years he lived. With the progress of the Internet, I am able to see all the older movies he has done in their entirety but not the Cigarette commercials. I have his bio that states at one point he did commercials for Marlboro cigarettes. Thank you all again for keeping his memory alive, from me and all the family. If I can answer other questions for you I would be proud too. Long Live StarTrek:TOS!

 

[Ssosmcin]

Wow, thank you for all of that! I enjoyed his work as Kelowitz also, especially his "regular guy" delivery of "cap'n."

Thanks so much again and welcome.

 

[Melakon]

Tazlady21, you might want to check the Internet Archive at archive.org for some of those commercials he might have been in. Here's a quick search to get you started.
https://archive.org/search.php?query=cigarette AND collection:television

 

[Sir Rhosis]

From my script collection of the first season, it seems that Mr. Woods' frequent reappearance as Kelowitz (frequent for 60s TV) came about when he'd be given a new role and they'd change the character's name to Kelowitz for continuity. I do know for sure this is what happened in THIS SIDE OF PARADISE (both Woods' Kelowitz and Michael Barrier's DeSalle replaced characters with other names), and maybe in ARENA as well (can't remember). Which one was filmed first -- ARENA or THE GALILEO SEVEN?

Sir Rhosis

EDIT: Looked at the scripts. In THE GALILEO SEVEN, the character is Kelowitz.

In ARENA, the character in the script was named Molton. It was changed to Kelowitz after Mr. Woods was cast.

In THIS SIDE OF PARADISE, the character in the script was named Dimont. Changed to Kelowitz after Woods was cast.

 

[Sir Rhosis]

I was going to do this privately, but I could not see a link to send a message to Tazlady21. I have my script collection scanned, and would gladly send you a copy of the scripts for the three episodes your uncle appeared in.

Knowledgeable posters--do you have to have a certain number of posts before you can use the messaging service here?

Sir Rhosis

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Knowledgeable posters--do you have to have a certain number of posts before you can use the messaging service here?
Sir Rhosis

If I recall, Sir Rhosis, it's twenty or twenty-five.