Paula Kelly (actress)

Paula Alma Kelly (October 21, 1942 – February 8, 2020) was an American dancer, singer, and actress. She appeared on stage and on screen in movies and television. Her first Broadway role was as Mrs. Veloz in the 1964 musical Something More!, sharing the stage with Barbara Cook. Her other Broadway credits include The Dozens (1969), Paul Sills' Story Theatre (1971), Ovid's Metamorphoses (1971) and Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (1981) with Gregory Hines and Phyllis Hyman.

Kelly's movie credits include Sweet Charity, Soylent Green, The Spook Who Sat by the Door, The Andromeda Strain, Uptown Saturday Night, Lost in the Stars, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, Drop Squad and Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored. She also had a recurring role as Liz Williams on the first season of the sitcom Night Court. She had an Emmy Award nomination. She was nominated for a second Emmy for her role in The Women of Brewster Place.

Kelly was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She grew up in Harlem, Manhattan, New York. She married British director Don Chaffey in 1985. They had one child together before Chaffey died in 1990. Kelly died on February 8, 2020 at a nursing home in Whittier, California, at the age of 77. The cause of death was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related problems.

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Category:1942 births
Category:2020 deaths
Category:Deaths from COPD
Category:Disease-related deaths in California
Category:Actors from Jacksonville, Florida
Category:Actors from Manhattan
Category:African-American movie actors
Category:African-American stage actors
Category:African-American television actors
Category:American dancers
Category:Singers from New York City