Biografia
Tall, dark, and strikingly handsome, Robert Kellard was a somewhat obscure lead and supporting actor in late 1930s and 1940s "B" action films and multi-chapter serials. Born in Los Angeles on April 23, 1915, he was the younger of two sons. His interest in acting was sparked by his father, actor Ralph Kellard, and briefly guided by his aunt, actress Virginia Harned Courtenay. While attending Hollywood High School, Robert made his minor film debut as a teenager in A Connecticut Yankee (1931), directed by a family friend. After graduating, he held various jobs—from cashier to carpenter, lifeguard to seaman—while waiting for his opportunity, which came in 1934 with a Broadway role in Mother Lode, secured through family friend and star actress Beulah Bondi.
Remaining in New York after this stage experience, Kellard joined the Stagecraft Theater and continued seeking work. He returned to Broadway in 1937 with a role in Hitch Your Wagon, which led to a five-year contract with 20th Century-Fox. His older brother, Thomas Kellard, had earlier appeared unbilled in bit parts at Fox, including The Little Colonel (1935). Robert began with small, uncredited roles in Second Honeymoon (1937) and Annapolis Salute (1937). He soon advanced to more notable parts in Island in the Sky (1938) and Time Out for Murder (1938), starring Michael Whalen and Gloria Stuart, where he portrayed a murder suspect. He further rose to play Jean Rogers' romantic interest in Always in Trouble (1938), While New York Sleeps (1938), and Stop, Look and Love (1939), but his career soon plateaued, mixing brief appearances with supporting roles.
In 1940, Kellard freelanced, working with Republic Pictures in serials such as Drums of Fu Manchu (1940), portraying the adventure hero Allan Parker, and King of the Royal Mounted (1940), playing Corporal Tom Merritt, the ill-fated aide to Allan Lane. He continued with reliable secondary parts in Phantom of Chinatown (1940), Prairie Pioneers (1941), and Gentleman from Dixie (1941), and held a sturdy lead role in Escort Girl (1941). After some stage work, he signed with Columbia in 1942, where his name was changed to Robert Stevens, though this did not improve his prospects. Mostly cast in supporting roles, his only lead at Columbia was as Sgt. Mack MacLane in the serial Perils of the Royal Mounted (1942).
Kellard served nearly four years in the Navy during World War II. Upon returning to Columbia in late 1945, he found mainly uncredited roles in "B" films like The Return of Rusty (1946), The Millerson Case (1947), and several Three Stooges shorts. Although he secured one final rugged lead in the serial Tex Granger: Midnight Rider of the Plains (1948), it was clear his career was waning. Transitioning to television in the 1950s, he worked as an actor, writer, and dialogue director on The Lone Ranger (1949) series before retiring from acting to join the Merchant Marines. Later, he moved into sales as a representative for Showcase Films and pursued some writing. Kellard suffered from prostate cancer in his later years and died from complications of pneumonia at age 65 on January 13, 1981.
