More than Bret Maverick’s brother: Remembering Jack Kelly, a proud father, nice guy and darn fine actor

Sporting his favorite buckskin jacket, Jack Kelly, in character as “Bart Maverick,” hitches his horse to a rail post in a still from the classic western series “Maverick” circa 1961. Photography by Alan Band / Keystone

Best known as “Brother Bart” to James Garner’s “Brother Bret” on the inimitable western series Maverick, Jack Kelly was a gifted thespian whose droll self-mockery enriched many a scene.

A knack for playing ne’er-do-wells who ultimately made the right decision after a bit of prodding completed the package. And of course, his amazing onscreen chemistry with Garner was lightning in a bottle.

A sensitive and private person in real life who loved to meet his fans, Kelly was in show business right from the start, modeling in baby ads for Ivory Soap and most any product that caught the attention of his bona fide stage mother Nan Kelly.

The supremely handsome actor eventually became a contract player for Universal Studios during the early ’50s, honing his craft in westerns, dramas, period romances, and comedies. A supporting role as one of Audie Murphy’s war comrades in the 1955 blockbuster To Hell and Back gave the actor his most exposure up to that point [Jack’s elder sister Nancy Kelly received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the notoriously unsettling Bad Seed one year later].

While Maverick made Kelly a household name in 1957, the experience unfairly typecasted him as Bret Maverick’s brother…