Biography
Lou Kellman entered the film industry in 1918 at the age of 12, working as a projectionist at the Aurora Theater in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. Concerned with punctual showtimes, he would speed up the silent projector if the schedule lagged or if he needed to clear the theater early due to a thrown stink bomb. In his late teens, he began filming sporting events and producing industrial films alongside his partner, Jim Littlefield. Kellman built a film lab in his North East Philadelphia garage, where he personally processed footage using the rack and tank method. He is recognized as the first cameraman to film football games from above ground level, a specialty of his. His lab and production company later relocated to Center City Philadelphia and were renamed News Reel Lab. Before NFL Films was established, Kellman and his team traveled nationwide filming college football and NFL games. Always aspiring to make Philadelphia a hub for East Coast feature films, he leveraged his lab and industrial film company as collateral in 1955 to raise approximately $90,000 and produce his first feature, The Burglar, featuring Jayne Mansfield in her first leading role. The film also marked the directorial debut of Kellman's protégé, Paul Wendkos. Around the same time, Kellman created a cel-animated theatrical cartoon series titled The Adventures of Li'l Davy and Dan'l Coon, centered on the friendship between young Davy Crockett and a talking raccoon. The series pilot accompanied The Burglar during its release but never advanced to full production. Despite selling The Burglar to Columbia Pictures for a profit of about $200,000, Kellman struggled to secure funding for further feature projects. In the early 1960s, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to finance and produce Frank and Eleanor Perry's David and Lisa before shifting focus to television. In 1961, he produced the popular children's drama series "Diver Dan." He made two more feature film attempts: Discotheque Holiday (1966) and Sweet Love, Bitter (1967), the latter as a co-producer. By the late 1960s, his lab and industrial production company, which had supported his feature film ventures, declined. He sold the business and transitioned into theatrical lighting. Kellman retired in 1980 due to health issues.
