Author Profile:  Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly's first stage play, Widow's Walk, was published in the 1960's, at the same time his A Darker Flower opened at New York's Pocket Theatre, The Trunk and All That Jazz at Boston's Image Theatre, and Die Blum in Germany.  For the rest of his life, he kept up a steady flow of amazingly diverse work...  with well over 350 plays currently in print — and in continuous production.

PIONEER DRAMA SERVICE is proud to publish many of Kelly's scripts:  from one-act and full-length plays to musicals and melodramas which meet the needs of every theatre group and touch the hearts of every audience.  The last play he wrote was published by Pioneer.

During his life, Kelly received countless honors for his playwriting including seven major university awards as well as grants from the Office of Advanced Drama Research, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Broadcasting Company and the Nederlander Production Company.

A Tim Kelly Collection has been established at the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center, and Emerson College — his alma mater — has twice honored him for his "Contributions to the Field of playwriting."

A former screen and television writer, drama critic and journalist, Kelly is particularly noted for the broad scope of his work which covers everything from mysteries to musicals to serious drama.

In 1995, Tim Kelly was elected a member of The College of Fellows of the American Theatre.

Tim Kelly died suddenly in 1998, and while his presence is missed, his memory lives on in the many plays that continue to have great success.

While Tim Kelly’s plays are known for their artistic and entertainment achievements, receiving many major playwriting and critics awards and honors, Kelly also had a strong sense for the commercial side of playwriting.  Aspiring playwrights may wish to read the article, "Making a Living Writing for the Way, Way Off Broadway Stages," detailing Kelly’s thoughts on the commercial aspects of playwriting.

A biography, "Tim Kelly:  Master of Stage Fright," was released in 2009 by Bear Manor Press.