Biography
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.
Acted in 260
1950s
- 1959
Westbound
Townsman (uncredited)
- 1958
- 1957
The Helen Morgan Story
Night Club Patron (uncredited)
- 1956
- 1955
- 1954
Outlaw's Son
Movie
Lucky Me
Passerby on Street (uncredited)
Phantom of the Rue Morgue
Crowd Spectator (uncredited)
Racing Blood
Smithy
- 1953
Crime Wave
Old Man Crossing Street (uncredited)
Murder Without Tears
Sergeant-at-Arms
- 1952
Room for One More
Movie
- 1951
- 1950
Revenue Agent
Sgt. Wallace
The Damned Don't Cry
Man on Dock (uncredited)
So You Think You're Not Guilty
Police Turnkey (uncredited)
Backfire
Fight Fan (uncredited)
1940s
- 1949
Dancing in the Dark
Deputy
The Fountainhead
Old Watchman (uncredited)
Homicide
Officer O'Brien
- 1948
- 1947
The Unfaithful
Courtroom Spectator
- 1946
So You Think You're a Nervous Wreck
Fred
Never Say Goodbye
Policeman (uncredited)
Monkey Businessmen
Smiling Sam McGann (uncredited)
A Stolen Life
Bartender (uncredited)
Hiss and Yell
Policeman (uncredited)
Detour to Danger
Det. Kelsey
- 1945
How DOooo You Do
Detective
Frontier Days
Mayor Stone (uncredited)
Come Out Fighting
Mr. McGinnis, Sr. (as Fred Kelsy)
If a Body Meets a Body
Detective
Snooper Service
Movie
The Strange Mr. Gregory
Lefert
- 1944
Crime by Night
Dad Martin (uncredited)
Make Your Own Bed
Turnkey
Trial by Trigger
Jerry (uncredited)
Shine on Harvest Moon
Policeman in patrol car (uncredited)
Roaring Guns
Movie
- 1943
A Gem of a Jam
Police Chief
True to Life
Cop (uncredited)
Food and Magic
Movie
Northern Pursuit
Train Conductor (uncredited)
Murder on the Waterfront
Capt. Beal
Here Comes Mr. Zerk
Policeman
Action in the North Atlantic
Joe (uncredited)
One Dangerous Night
Detective Dickens
- 1942
X Marks the Spot
Police Officer Martin
Dear! Deer!
Policeman
Counter-Espionage
Dickens
Spy Ship
Night Watchman
In This Our Life
Jailer (uncredited)
Murder in the Big House
"Screw"
I Was Framed
Drunk
My Favorite Blonde
Sam - Policeman
Bullet Scars
Police Chief Hansen
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
Jailer
- 1941
Pacific Blackout
Cop
At the Stroke of Twelve
Police Sergeant
Secrets of the Lone Wolf
Wesley Dickens
One Foot in Heaven
Train Conductor (uncredited)
The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance
Detective Dickens
- 1940
Misbehaving Husbands
Sgt. Murphy
The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date
Dickens
Mexican Spitfire Out West
Jim - Detective
The Green Archer
Capt. Thompson
The Golden Fleecing
Cop (uncredited)
Deadwood Dick
Bottles
The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady
Dickens
The Lone Wolf Strikes
Dickens
High School
Junk Man
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Bailiff
1930s
- 1939
Too Busy to Work
Hank Fidler
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
Pete - Railroad Detective
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Detective - in Cab and at Theatre
Chicken Wagon Family
Policeman
Charlie Chan in Reno
Reno Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Tell No Tales
Policeman at School (uncredited)
Moving Vanities
Police Officer (uncredited)
Clock Wise
Landlord
Rough Riders' Round-up
Agitator
Tiny Troubles
Judge
- 1938
Down on the Farm
Bit Role
Straight, Place and Show
Cop at Racetrack
Many Sappy Returns
Finnegan
Josette
Hotel Detective
Safety in Numbers
Cop
Night Spot
Police Band Leader
Everybody's Doing It
Police Sergeant
- 1937
Love and Hisses
Officer
Borrowing Trouble
Policeman
That I May Live
Abner Jenkins
One Mile from Heaven
Smitty - Policeman
The Lady Escapes
Man on telephone (uncredited)
Wild and Woolly
Policeman (uncredited)
Super-Sleuth
Jailer
She Had to Eat
Police Officer Tracy (uncredited)
Big Business
Oil Man at Well
Slave Ship
Seaman at Auction
Angel's Holiday
Conductor
Time Out for Romance
Policeman
- 1936
High Tension
Desk Sergeant
Private Number
Detective in Ellen's Apartment (Uncredited)
The Witness Chair
Detective Costigan
At Sea Ashore
Cop (uncredited)
The Little Red Schoolhouse
First Detective
The Garden Murder Case
Heath's Assistant (Uncredited)
- 1935
The Sagebrush Troubadour
Hank Polk
Hot Money
Police Officer Kelsey (as Fred A. Kelsey)
The Public Menace
Mike - Cop
Diamond Jim
Horsley's Secretary
Atlantic Adventure
Police Officer Riley
Danger Ahead
Detective O'Brien
One Frightened Night
Sheriff Jenks
Death Flies East
Police Lieutenant O'Brien
Carnival
Bit Part
A Notorious Gentleman
Detective
Horses' Collars
Detective Hyden Zeke (uncredited)
- 1934
Lightning Strikes Twice
Dugan
Among the Missing
Police Sgt. Murphy
Rough Necking
Joe Cuttlehammer Sr.
I'll Tell the World
Sergeant at Border
School for Girls
Detective
The Crime Doctor
Bloodgood
Beloved
Mulvaney
- 1933
Shadows of Sing Sing
Murphy
The Bowery
Detective Kelsey (uncredited)
Sailor's Luck
Cop
King of the Jungle
Cop (uncredited)
The Crime of the Century
Police Guard (uncredited)
- 1932
Red Haired Alibi
Corcoran
Guilty as Hell
Detective Duffy
Huddle
Policeman (uncredited)
Love in High Gear
Detective Duffy
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
Cop (uncredited)
Discarded Lovers
Delaney
- 1931
Side Show
Sheriff Hornsby
Young Donovan's Kid
Collins
Subway Express
Detective Kearney
Scandal Sheet
Detective Sgt. Vincent Molloy
- 1930
Going Wild
The Conductor
Only Saps Work
Murphy (uncredited)
Men Without Law
Deputy Sheriff Jeff
Scarlet Pages
Murphy
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
Chief of Detectives (uncredited)
The Girl Said No
Policeman
Wide Open
Detective
Murder on the Roof
Ryan
The Woman Racket
Police Captain
1920s
- 1929
Smiling Irish Eyes
County Fair Manager
The Donovan Affair
Carney
Wrong Again
Movie
The Faker
Police Detective
- 1928
The Last Warning
Inspector
Naughty Baby
Dugan
On Trial
Clerk
The Wright Idea
M. T. Flatt
Harold Teen
Mr. Lovewell
Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath
Detective
Tenderloin
Detective Simpson
While the City Sleeps
Detective in Shadow Box
- 1927
The Gorilla
Mulligan
The 13th Juror
The Detective
The Thirteenth Hour
Det. Shaw
Jewish Prudence
Rent Collector
Held by the Law
Detective
Orchids and Ermine
Police Sergeant
- 1926
There Ain't No Santa Claus
Store Detective (uncredited)
The Third Degree
Assistant Chief of Detectives
Atta Boy
Detective
Bromo and Juliet
The Detective (uncredited)
Crazy Like a Fox
Man with Badge on Train (uncredited)
Say It with Babies
Policeman
The Social Highwayman
Chief of Police
- 1925
The Uneasy Three
Movie
Seven Sinners
Policeman
Seven Keys to Baldpate
Movie
Little Annie Rooney
Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
The Lawful Cheater
Tom Horan
Paths to Paradise
Confederate
Smooth as Satin
Kersey
Friendly Enemies
Movie
Excuse Me
George Ketchem
Youth and Adventure
Red Mullin
- 1924
The Yankee Consul
Agent John J. Doyle
The Night Hawk
Movie
- 1923
Lights Out
Decker
Bag and Baggage
Fred
The Eleventh Hour
The Submarine Commander
Souls for Sale
Detective Quinn (uncredited)
Lovebound
Detective Hahn
- 1922
Captain Fly-by-Night
Gomez
Deserted at the Altar
The Other Man
Manslaughter
Member of the Jury (uncredited)
Don't Shoot
Police Officer
South of Suva
Karl Swartz
One Clear Call
Starnes
The Song of Life
Police Inspector
- 1921
There Are No Villains
Dugall
The Match-Breaker
Detective
The Last Card
Detective (uncredited)
The Off-Shore Pirate
Sailor
- 1920
Alias Jimmy Valentine
Bit Part (uncredited)
The Third Generation
Brody
1910s
- 1919
The Fire Flingers
Sgt. Powers
The Silk Lined Burglar
Capt. von Hoffmeier
The Light of Victory
Captain Eric von Prohme
- 1918
The Yellow Dog
Max Kummich
A Society Sensation
JIm Cox
The Empty Cab
The Detective
- 1914
Arms and the Gringo
Movie
Directed 7
1910s
- 1918
The Purple Lily
Director
- 1917
The Golden Bullet
Director
The Almost Good Man
Director
A 44-Calibre Mystery
Director
The Fighting Gringo
Director
The Outlaw and the Lady
Director
- 1915
Station Content
Director
Wrote 1
1910s
- 1917
The Outlaw and the Lady
Scenario Writer
Appearances1
1930s
- 1930
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1
Self - Tour Guide