David E. Kelley

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This article is about the American television and film producer. For the American philosopher and writer, see David Kelley. For the Canadian archaeologist and epigrapher, see David H. Kelley.

David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television and movie producer. Born in Waterville, Maine, he attended Belmont Hill School, Princeton University (where he played collegiate hockey), and Boston University School of Law and initially worked as a lawyer in Boston. But in the 1980s he became involved with screenwriting. Initially, he wrote several episodes for the television series L.A. Law, which he later produced as well, and later co-created Doogie Howser, M.D. (with L.A. Law creator Steven Bochco), Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Snoops, Girls Club, Boston Public, The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H., and Boston Legal.

Contents 1 Pop Culture 2 External links

Kelley's father is Jack Kelley, the coach of the Boston University hockey team from 1962 to 1972 and of the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers in their inaugural season of 1972-1973. David Kelley incorporated hockey into his career when he wrote the movie Mystery, Alaska.

Kelley's shows are renowned for their whimsical, occasionally surreal comedic touches, as well as moments of seriousness.

Kelley married actress Michelle Pfeiffer in 1993. They have two children, a girl adopted by Pfeiffer before the marriage and a son.

Sometimes assumed to be a Catholic (because of his surname and the character Bobby Donnell on The Practice having a Catholic background and a personal estrangement from the Church over the issue of pedophile priests), Kelley is actually a Protestant.

David E. Kelley's shows tend to be revolving door ensemble casts with no single principal character. Even on Ally McBeal there were episodes in which the title character had fewer lines or was even omitted. Every season (sometimes even more often) some of the old regular characters get written out and are replaced by new regular characters. As Kelley focuses on the newer characters, he tends to neglect developing older characters who've stayed. For example, the last season of The Practice was almost completely dominated by Alan Shore, to the point that the older regulars Eugene Young and Jimmy Berlutti had nothing to do except plot to fire Shore from the firm. On the first season of Boston Legal, Shore and Denny Crane started to recede to the background as Shirley Schmidt was added.

Kelley often uses regular actors from older shows in newer shows, and vice versa. For example, Anthony Heald and Rene Auberjonois both played judges on The Practice, and both went on to be regular cast members in later shows (Heald on Boston Public as a vice-principal and Auberjonois on Boston Legal as a partner at a law firm).

Over his career in television, Kelley has been nominated for 23 Emmy Awards and has won nine of them. He's won six Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series (Two for L.A. Law, two for Picket Fences, and two for The Practice), two for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (Both for L.A. Law), and one for Outstanding Comedy Series (for Ally McBeal). Among the actors and actresses who have won Emmys for playing roles in Kelley's series are Peter MacNicol, Tracey Ullman, Sharon Stone, William Shatner, James Spader, Alfre Woodard, Charles S. Dutton, Michael Emerson, James Whitmore, Beah Richards, Edward Herrmann, Michael Badalucco, Holland Taylor, John Larroquette, Camryn Manheim, Christine Lahti, Hector Elizondo, Mandy Patinkin, Kathy Baker, Ray Walston, Paul Winfield, Richard Kiley, Fyvush Finkel, Leigh Taylor-Young, Tom Skerritt, Richard Dysart, Jimmy Smits, and Larry Drake.

[edit] Pop Culture

• DVDA, a parody band featuring South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, performed a live song dedicated to David Kelley, titled "David Kelley, TV Warrior".

[edit] External links

• David E. Kelley at the Internet Movie Database