Patsy Kelly was a lesbian comedy star who refused to live her life in the closet
She was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly on January 12, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was a police officer who had immigrated from Ireland. Patsy was the youngest of five children and she attended St. Paul's Cathedral School. Then her mother enrolled her in a professional dancing school to "keep her off the streets". When she was a teenager she started performing in vaudeville. She worked with comedian Frank Fay for three years. In 1927 she made her Broadway debut in Harry Delmar's Revels. Patsy also appeared in Earl Carroll's Vanitees and Three Cheers with Will Rogers. After appearing a few vitaphone shorts she was signed by producer Hal Roach in 1933. She replaced Zasu Pitts as Thelma Todd's partner in a series of comedy shorts. The duo made twenty-one films together including Beauty And The Bus, Top Flat, and Done In Oil. Patsy's comedic performances delighted audiences and she became known as "The Queen of the Wisecracks". She later said "Those were the happiest days I had in pictures. The fun Thelma and I had making those silly two-reel comedies is something that comes only once in a lifetime." Unfortunately in August of 1933 she was severely injured in a car accident. The driver, nightclub entertainer Jean Malin, was killed in the accident. Although she never became an A-list star she continued to work steadily.
She was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly on January 12, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was a police officer who had immigrated from Ireland. Patsy was the youngest of five children and she attended St. Paul's Cathedral School. Then her mother enrolled her in a professional dancing school to "keep her off the streets". When she was a teenager she started performing in vaudeville. She worked with comedian Frank Fay for three years. In 1927 she made her Broadway debut in Harry Delmar's Revels. Patsy also appeared in Earl Carroll's Vanitees and Three Cheers with Will Rogers. After appearing a few vitaphone shorts she was signed by producer Hal Roach in 1933. She replaced Zasu Pitts as Thelma Todd's partner in a series of comedy shorts. The duo made twenty-one films together including Beauty And The Bus, Top Flat, and Done In Oil. Patsy's comedic performances delighted audiences and she became known as "The Queen of the Wisecracks". She later said "Those were the happiest days I had in pictures. The fun Thelma and I had making those silly two-reel comedies is something that comes only once in a lifetime." Unfortunately in August of 1933 she was severely injured in a car accident. The driver, nightclub entertainer Jean Malin, was killed in the accident. Although she never became an A-list star she continued to work steadily.
Patsy with Thelma Todd
