Fred Kelsey
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 20, 1884, Sandusky, Ohio, USA
- Died
- September 2, 1961
- Movies
- 316
Frederick Alvin Kelsey (August 20, 1884 – September 2, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Kelsey directed one- and two-reel films for Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1911 and 1958, often playing policemen or detectives. He also directed 37 films between 1914 and 1920. Kelsey was caricatured as the detective in the 1943 MGM cartoon Who Killed Who? directed by Tex Avery. He was born in Sandusky, Ohio and died at the Motion Picture Country Home in Hollywood, California, aged 77.
Best-Known Movies
Filmography
| 1959 | Westbound | Townsman (uncredited) |
| 1958 | Auntie Mame | Front Row Audience at Play (uncredited) |
| 1957 | The Helen Morgan Story | Night Club Patron (uncredited) |
| 1957 | Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend | Barfly (uncredited) |
| 1956 | The Opposite Sex | Club Patron (uncredited) |
| 1956 | Serenade | Opera Attendee (uncredited) |
| 1955 | Illegal | Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) |
| 1955 | To Catch a Thief | Party Guest (uncredited) |
| 1955 | Tall Man Riding | Townsman (uncredited) |
| 1954 | Outlaw's Son | |
| 1954 | The Silver Chalice | Silversmith (uncredited) |
| 1954 | So You Want to Know Your Relatives | Mr. Watson (uncredited) |
| 1954 | A Star Is Born | Audience Member (uncredited) |
| 1954 | Lucky Me | Passerby on Street (uncredited) |
| 1954 | Riding Shotgun | Townsman (uncredited) |
| 1954 | Phantom of the Rue Morgue | Crowd Spectator (uncredited) |
| 1954 | Racing Blood | Smithy |
| 1953 | So You Think You Can't Sleep | Sleeping patient in waiting room |
| 1953 | Crime Wave | Old Man Crossing Street (uncredited) |
| 1953 | Murder Without Tears | Sergeant-at-Arms |
| 1953 | So You Want to Be a Musician | Restaurant diner |
| 1952 | Hans Christian Andersen | Gendarme #1 |
| 1952 | Strop, Look and Listen | Pierpont Alloy |
| 1952 | Springfield Rifle | Barfly (uncredited) |
| 1952 | O. Henry's Full House | Mr. Schultz (segment "The Gift of the Magi") |
| 1952 | Carson City | Townsman (uncredited) |
| 1952 | So You Want to Enjoy Life | Boat Salesman / Flugleman's Assistant (uncredited) |
| 1952 | My Six Convicts | Store Detective |
| 1952 | Room for One More | |
| 1951 | Strangers on a Train | Tennis Match Spectator / Carnival Attendee (uncredited) |
| 1951 | Goodbye, My Fancy | Party Guest (Uncredited) |
| 1951 | The Enforcer | |
| 1951 | Storm Warning | Townsman (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Revenue Agent | Sgt. Wallace |
| 1950 | So You Want a Raise | |
| 1950 | The Flame and the Arrow | Guard (uncredited) |
| 1950 | So You Want to Hold Your Husband | Lamb - Curry's Partner |
| 1950 | The Damned Don't Cry | Man on Dock (uncredited) |
| 1950 | So You Think You're Not Guilty | Police Turnkey (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Backfire | Fight Fan (uncredited) |
| 1949 | The Inspector General | Villager (uncredited) |
| 1949 | So You Want to Be an Actor | Counter Man |
| 1949 | Dancing in the Dark | Deputy |
| 1949 | So You Want to Be a Muscle Man | Delivery Man |
| 1949 | The Fountainhead | Old Watchman (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Colorado Territory | Train Engineer (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Flamingo Road | Train Conductor (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Homicide | Officer O'Brien |
| 1948 | Silver River | Townsman (uncredited) |
| 1948 | The Noose Hangs High | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1948 | So You Want an Apartment | Apartment Manager with a Vacancy (uncredited) |
| 1947 | The Unfaithful | Courtroom Spectator |
| 1947 | Nora Prentiss | Turnkey (uncredited) |
| 1946 | So You Think You're a Nervous Wreck | Fred |
| 1946 | The Man I Love | Mac the Doorman (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Andy Plays Hookey | Policeman |
| 1946 | The People's Choice | |
| 1946 | Never Say Goodbye | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1946 | So You Want to Play the Horses | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Night and Day | First-Nighter (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Monkey Businessmen | Smiling Sam McGann (uncredited) |
| 1946 | A Stolen Life | Bartender (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Hiss and Yell | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Three Strangers | Man on the Street / Man in Pub (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Detour to Danger | Det. Kelsey |
| 1945 | How DOooo You Do | Detective |
| 1945 | Frontier Days | Mayor Stone (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Saratoga Trunk | Train Conductor (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Mildred Pierce | Bumped First Night Diner (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Come Out Fighting | Mr. McGinnis, Sr. (as Fred Kelsy) |
| 1945 | If a Body Meets a Body | Detective |
| 1945 | Christmas in Connecticut | Harper (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Snooper Service | |
| 1945 | The Strange Mr. Gregory | Lefert |
| 1944 | Crime by Night | Dad Martin (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Make Your Own Bed | Turnkey |
| 1944 | Trial by Trigger | Jerry (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Mr. Skeffington | Cop in Raid (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Shine on Harvest Moon | Policeman in patrol car (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Roaring Guns | |
| 1943 | A Gem of a Jam | Police Chief |
| 1943 | True to Life | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Old Acquaintance | Train Conductor / Man at Radio Broadcast (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Food and Magic | |
| 1943 | Northern Pursuit | Train Conductor (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Pub Waiter in Errol Flynn Number (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Murder on the Waterfront | Capt. Beal |
| 1943 | Here Comes Mr. Zerk | Policeman |
| 1943 | Action in the North Atlantic | Joe (uncredited) |
| 1943 | One Dangerous Night | Detective Dickens |
| 1942 | Gentleman Jim | Sutro (uncredited) |
| 1942 | X Marks the Spot | Police Officer Martin |
| 1942 | Dear! Deer! | Policeman |
| 1942 | Counter-Espionage | Dickens |
| 1942 | The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Spy Ship | Night Watchman |
| 1942 | In This Our Life | Jailer (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Larceny, Inc. | Bronson |
| 1942 | Murder in the Big House | "Screw" |
| 1942 | I Was Framed | Drunk |
| 1942 | My Favorite Blonde | Sam - Policeman |
| 1942 | Lady Gangster | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Bullet Scars | Police Chief Hansen |
| 1942 | Wild Bill Hickok Rides | Jailer |
| 1941 | Pacific Blackout | Cop |
| 1941 | The Man Who Came to Dinner | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1941 | They Died with Their Boots On | Ft. Lincoln Bartender (uncredited) |
| 1941 | At the Stroke of Twelve | Police Sergeant |
| 1941 | Secrets of the Lone Wolf | Wesley Dickens |
| 1941 | One Foot in Heaven | Train Conductor (uncredited) |
| 1941 | Invisible Ghost | Detective Ryan |
| 1941 | Mr. District Attorney | Officer McCloskey |
| 1941 | The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance | Detective Dickens |
| 1940 | Misbehaving Husbands | Sgt. Murphy |
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date | Dickens |
| 1940 | Mexican Spitfire Out West | Jim - Detective |
| 1940 | The Green Archer | Capt. Thompson |
| 1940 | The Golden Fleecing | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Deadwood Dick | Bottles |
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | Dickens |
| 1940 | Mutiny in the County | Policeman |
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Strikes | Dickens |
| 1940 | High School | Junk Man |
| 1940 | The Man Who Wouldn't Talk | Bailiff |
| 1939 | Too Busy to Work | Hank Fidler |
| 1939 | Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence | Pete - Railroad Detective |
| 1939 | Charlie Chan at Treasure Island | Detective - in Cab and at Theatre |
| 1939 | Chicken Wagon Family | Policeman |
| 1939 | Charlie Chan in Reno | Reno Desk Sergeant (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Tell No Tales | Policeman at School (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Moving Vanities | Police Officer (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Clock Wise | Landlord |
| 1939 | Rough Riders' Round-up | Agitator |
| 1939 | Tiny Troubles | Judge |
| 1938 | Down on the Farm | Bit Role |
| 1938 | Straight, Place and Show | Cop at Racetrack |
| 1938 | Many Sappy Returns | Finnegan |
| 1938 | Josette | Hotel Detective |
| 1938 | Safety in Numbers | Cop |
| 1938 | Berth Quakes | Train Conductor |
| 1938 | Night Spot | Police Band Leader |
| 1938 | Everybody's Doing It | Police Sergeant |
| 1937 | Love and Hisses | Officer |
| 1937 | Borrowing Trouble | Policeman |
| 1937 | That I May Live | Abner Jenkins |
| 1937 | One Mile from Heaven | Smitty - Policeman |
| 1937 | The Lady Escapes | Man on telephone (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Wild and Woolly | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Super-Sleuth | Jailer |
| 1937 | She Had to Eat | Police Officer Tracy (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Big Business | Oil Man at Well |
| 1937 | Slave Ship | Seaman at Auction |
| 1937 | Angel's Holiday | Conductor |
| 1937 | Love Is News | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Time Out for Romance | Policeman |
| 1936 | High Tension | Desk Sergeant |
| 1936 | Private Number | Detective in Ellen's Apartment (Uncredited) |
| 1936 | The Witness Chair | Detective Costigan |
| 1936 | At Sea Ashore | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1936 | The Little Red Schoolhouse | First Detective |
| 1936 | The Garden Murder Case | Heath's Assistant (Uncredited) |
| 1935 | The Sagebrush Troubadour | Hank Polk |
| 1935 | Hot Money | Police Officer Kelsey (as Fred A. Kelsey) |
| 1935 | The Public Menace | Mike - Cop |
| 1935 | Diamond Jim | Horsley's Secretary |
| 1935 | Atlantic Adventure | Police Officer Riley |
| 1935 | Danger Ahead | Detective O'Brien |
| 1935 | One Frightened Night | Sheriff Jenks |
| 1935 | Death Flies East | Police Lieutenant O'Brien |
| 1935 | Carnival | Bit Part |
| 1935 | A Notorious Gentleman | Detective |
| 1935 | Horses' Collars | Detective Hyden Zeke (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Lightning Strikes Twice | Dugan |
| 1934 | Among the Missing | Police Sgt. Murphy |
| 1934 | I'll Be Suing You | Insurance Adjustor |
| 1934 | Twentieth Century | Train Detective (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Rough Necking | Joe Cuttlehammer Sr. |
| 1934 | I'll Tell the World | Sergeant at Border |
| 1934 | Strictly Fresh Yeggs | Policeman |
| 1934 | School for Girls | Detective |
| 1934 | The Crime Doctor | Bloodgood |
| 1934 | Beloved | Mulvaney |
| 1934 | The Moth | Detective Blake |
| 1933 | Shadows of Sing Sing | Murphy |
| 1933 | The Bowery | Detective Kelsey (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Quiet Please! | Train Conductor |
| 1933 | Gold Diggers of 1933 | Detective Jones (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Sailor's Luck | Cop |
| 1933 | King of the Jungle | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1933 | The Crime of the Century | Police Guard (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Boys Will Be Boys | Doorman |
| 1932 | If I Had a Million | Prison Jailer (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Red Haired Alibi | Corcoran |
| 1932 | Yoo-Hoo | Detective |
| 1932 | Speak Easily | Process Server |
| 1932 | The Iceman's Ball | Police Sergeant |
| 1932 | Guilty as Hell | Detective Duffy |
| 1932 | Huddle | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Love in High Gear | Detective Duffy |
| 1932 | The Trial of Vivienne Ware | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Shopping with Wifie | Det. Dugan |
| 1932 | Discarded Lovers | Delaney |
| 1931 | Side Show | Sheriff Hornsby |
| 1931 | Young Donovan's Kid | Collins |
| 1931 | Subway Express | Detective Kearney |
| 1931 | Scandal Sheet | Detective Sgt. Vincent Molloy |
| 1931 | Naughty Flirt | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1930 | Going Wild | The Conductor |
| 1930 | Only Saps Work | Murphy (uncredited) |
| 1930 | She Got What She Wanted | |
| 1930 | Men Without Law | Deputy Sheriff Jeff |
| 1930 | Scarlet Pages | Murphy |
| 1930 | Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1 | Self - Tour Guide |
| 1930 | The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case | Chief of Detectives (uncredited) |
| 1930 | Road to Paradise | Casey |
| 1930 | The Girl Said No | Policeman |
| 1930 | Wide Open | Detective |
| 1930 | Murder on the Roof | Ryan |
| 1930 | The Woman Racket | Police Captain |
| 1929 | Smiling Irish Eyes | County Fair Manager |
| 1929 | The Donovan Affair | Carney |
| 1929 | Wrong Again | |
| 1929 | The Faker | Police Detective |
| 1928 | The Last Warning | Inspector |
| 1928 | Naughty Baby | Dugan |
| 1928 | A Woman of Affairs | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1928 | On Trial | Clerk |
| 1928 | Plastered in Paris | |
| 1928 | The Wright Idea | M. T. Flatt |
| 1928 | A Midnight Adventure | Cassidy |
| 1928 | Harold Teen | Mr. Lovewell |
| 1928 | Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath | Detective |
| 1928 | Tenderloin | Detective Simpson |
| 1928 | While the City Sleeps | Detective in Shadow Box |
| 1927 | The Gorilla | Mulligan |
| 1927 | The 13th Juror | The Detective |
| 1927 | The Thirteenth Hour | Det. Shaw |
| 1927 | Soft Cushions | The Police |
| 1927 | Jewish Prudence | Rent Collector |
| 1927 | Held by the Law | Detective |
| 1927 | Orchids and Ermine | Police Sergeant |
| 1926 | There Ain't No Santa Claus | Store Detective (uncredited) |
| 1926 | The Third Degree | Assistant Chief of Detectives |
| 1926 | Atta Boy | Detective |
| 1926 | Bromo and Juliet | The Detective (uncredited) |
| 1926 | Crazy Like a Fox | Man with Badge on Train (uncredited) |
| 1926 | Say It with Babies | Policeman |
| 1926 | The Social Highwayman | Chief of Police |
| 1926 | The Mystery Pilot | Skipper Larsen |
| 1926 | That's My Baby | Murphy |
| 1926 | Dog Shy | Cop |
| 1925 | The Uneasy Three | |
| 1925 | Seven Sinners | Policeman |
| 1925 | Seven Keys to Baldpate | |
| 1925 | Little Annie Rooney | Desk Sergeant (uncredited) |
| 1925 | The Lawful Cheater | Tom Horan |
| 1925 | Paths to Paradise | Confederate |
| 1925 | Smooth as Satin | Kersey |
| 1925 | Friendly Enemies | |
| 1925 | Excuse Me | George Ketchem |
| 1925 | Youth and Adventure | Red Mullin |
| 1924 | Traffic in Hearts | Tim Tracy |
| 1924 | The Yankee Consul | Agent John J. Doyle |
| 1924 | The Night Hawk | |
| 1923 | Lights Out | Decker |
| 1923 | Bag and Baggage | Fred |
| 1923 | The Eleventh Hour | The Submarine Commander |
| 1923 | Souls for Sale | Detective Quinn (uncredited) |
| 1923 | Lovebound | Detective Hahn |
| 1922 | Captain Fly-by-Night | Gomez |
| 1922 | Deserted at the Altar | The Other Man |
| 1922 | Manslaughter | Member of the Jury (uncredited) |
| 1922 | Don't Shoot | Police Officer |
| 1922 | South of Suva | Karl Swartz |
| 1922 | One Clear Call | Starnes |
| 1922 | The Song of Life | Police Inspector |
| 1921 | There Are No Villains | Dugall |
| 1921 | The Match-Breaker | Detective |
| 1921 | The Last Card | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1921 | Puppets of Fate | Bobs |
| 1921 | The Off-Shore Pirate | Sailor |
| 1920 | Alias Jimmy Valentine | Bit Part (uncredited) |
| 1920 | The Third Generation | Brody |
| 1919 | The Fire Flingers | Sgt. Powers |
| 1919 | The Silk Lined Burglar | Capt. von Hoffmeier |
| 1919 | The Light of Victory | Captain Eric von Prohme |
| 1918 | The Yellow Dog | Max Kummich |
| 1918 | A Society Sensation | JIm Cox |
| 1918 | The Empty Cab | The Detective |
| 1917 | The Honor of an Outlaw | The Deputy |
| 1914 | Arms and the Gringo | |
| 1914 | Silent Sandy | Silent Sandy |
| 1911 | A Left Hook |
Directing, Writing & Producing
| 1918 | The Purple Lily | Director |
| 1917 | Six-Shooter Justice | Director |
| 1917 | The Wrong Man | Director |
| 1917 | The Golden Bullet | Director |
| 1917 | The Mysterious Outlaw | Director |
| 1917 | The Almost Good Man | Director |
| 1917 | A 44-Calibre Mystery | Director |
| 1917 | The Honor of an Outlaw | Director |
| 1917 | The Fighting Gringo | Director |
| 1917 | Goin' Straight | Director |
| 1917 | The Drifter | Director |
| 1917 | The Outlaw and the Lady | Director |
| 1917 | The Fugitive | Director, Producer |
| 1917 | The Bad Man of Cheyenne | Writer, Director |
| 1917 | Blood Money | Director |
| 1916 | The Black Terror | Director |
| 1916 | Brothers Equal | Director |
| 1916 | The Nymph | Director |
| 1915 | The Pretender | Director |
| 1915 | Station Content | Director |
| 1915 | Her Buried Past | Director |
| 1914 | The Exposure | Director |
| 1914 | Over the Ledge | Director |
Data from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.