Patsy Kelly

Patsy Kelly was an American actress and comedian who made 21 short comedies opposite Thelma Todd for producer Hal Roach in the 1930s, beginning with Beauty and the Bus (1933), as well as features including Going Hollywood (1933) and Kelly the Second (1936). Her frankness about her lesbian relationships, at a time when the Hays Office enforced strict discretion codes, is widely believed to have led to her being blackballed by major studios, and her film career had all but ended by 1944. She staged a career resurgence in the 1960s and '70s, including small roles in Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Freaky Friday (1976) and a Tony Award nomination for No, No, Nanette (1971). She lived for many years with actress Wilma Cox. She is remembered as one of the sharpest comic personalities of golden-age Hollywood.