Frank Kelly

Frank Kelly was an Irish performer who worked as an actor, singer and writer, with credits across television, radio, theater, music, screenwriting and film. Born in Blackrock, County Dublin, he worked as a journalist before turning to acting, and his first film role was an uncredited prison officer in The Italian Job (1969). He became a familiar face in Ireland through the children's series Wanderly Wagon, for which he also wrote scripts, and Hall's Pictorial Weekly, where he played the rural councilor Parnell Mooney and won a Jacob's Award in 1974. His best-known part was Father Jack Hackett in the sitcom Father Ted, broadcast from 1995 to 1998. Other screen work included Taffin (1988), Glenroe as Maurice from 1999 to 2001, Evelyn (2002), The Deal in 2003 and Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie (2014). He also released the comedy single Christmas Countdown, put out the album Comedy Countdown, and published an autobiography, The Next Gig, in 2015. He died in 2016.