Biography
Ricky Kelman, originally named Rickey William Kelman, was born on July 6, 1949, in Hollywood, California. His parents were William Crawford Kelman and Thelma Louise Winegar. He had a brother, Terry Kelman, also a child actor, born on November 9, 1947, in Hollywood, and a sister, Sandra, born on August 1, 1950. Their father held various jobs, including dental technician, steelworker, and clerk, before becoming a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The couple divorced in Los Angeles in October 1968 and remarried in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 12, 1979. Ricky Kelman gained public attention at age ten when Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons praised him as one of the most charming young men she had ever met. As a child actor, he was known for his recurring roles as Randy Towne on The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1959) and Tommy McRoberts on Our Man Higgins (1962). He also received significant national attention for his role as John Ballantine in the 1962 film Critic's Choice (1963), starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. Richard William Kelman was admitted to practice law in California in 1977 after attending UCLA and Loyola Marymount University law schools. He retired from law practice in 2007. He and his wife, Patricia Anne McCourt, have been notable residents of Camarillo, California, for many years.
