David William Kelly was an Irish actor, who had regular roles in several film and television works from the 1950s onwards. One of the most recognisable voices and faces of Irish stage and screen, Kelly was known to Irish audiences for his role as Rashers Tierney in Strumpet City, to British audiences for his roles as Cousin Enda in Me Mammy and as the builder Mr. O'Reilly in Fawlty Towers, and to American audiences for his role as Grandpa Joe in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Another notable role was as Michael O'Sullivan in Waking Ned. David Kelly was educated at Dublin's Synge... Street CBS Christian Brothers school. He began acting at the age of eight at the city's Gaiety Theatre, and trained at The Abbey School of Acting. As a backup career, he additionally trained as a draughtsman and calligrapher, and also learned watercolor art. He appeared onstage in the original production of Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow, and gained his first major career attention in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape at the Dublin's Abbey Theatre in 1959.
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| Birthdate: | July 11, 1929 |
| Birthplace: | Dublin |
| Date of death: | February 12, 2012 |
| Education: | Synge Street CBS |