Sean Kelly (writer)


Seán Kelly was a Canadian humorist and writer.

Biography

Sean was born on a farm in Cushing, Quebec, on July 22, 1940. After graduating from Loyola College he worked as a radio actor, advertising copywriter, schoolteacher and on a quiz show.
In 1967, he co-wrote Expo Inside Out, a bestselling but highly unofficial guide to the Montreal World's Fair. In 1972, he migrated to New York City to co-write the infamous off-Broadway mock rock musical Lemmings. He received the Drama Desk Award for his lyrics.
He worked at National Lampoon from 1971 until 1978, becoming an editor and later co-editor-in-chief in 1975. While at the National Lampoon, he co-wrote with Michel Choquette the satirical comic strip Son-O-God, about "a WASP superhero who fights Catholicism", illustrated by Neal Adams.
In 1977, Kelly was a founding editor of the "adult fantasy magazine" Heavy Metal, lasting as editor until August 1979. Kelly returned to National Lampoon as a senior editor in 1981 and until 1984 he guided its staff.
As a freelancer, he was eclectic; published in Harper's Bazaar, Benetton's Colors, Interview, Irish America, the Old Farmer's Almanac, Playboy, Spy, The Village Voice, and The Quarterly of Joyce Studies. He reviewed many children's books for The New York Times.
Of his contribution to the Off-Broadway musical Diamonds, Christian Science Monitor critic John Beaufort wrote, "Certainly the most exotic parody of the occasion is Sean Kelly's hilarious Kasi Atta Batt, which turns out to be a Japanese Kabuki version, complete with lion dancer and samurai, of the lament known to untutored Western ears as Casey at the Bat."
He worked extensively in children’s television: for CBS's Young People's Concerts and Drawing Power, for the Fox series Goosebumps and The Magic School Bus, and for the PBS series Shining Time Station and Noddy and Friends. His only Emmy was for the early literacy PBS series, Between the Lions.
He also participated in "adult television" – including a brief stint on Saturday Night Live, two attempted baseball/variety shows, a sit-com series, a couple of crime dramas, and the re-re-cycling of Woodstock; he appeared on the small screen hosting a PBS arts show, trying to swim in a suit of armor, and dressed as a beaver. He created material for John Candy, George Carlin, Jane Curtin, Robert Klein, Steve Martin, Martin Mull, Gilda Radner, and Jonathan Winters.
He contributed lyrics to music by Steve Goodman, Christopher Guest, Paul Jacobs, Joe Raposo, Paul Shaffer, and Jim Steinman.
He wrote many books, only one of which has been translated into Japanese, including a number of collaborations with Rosemary Rogers.

Personal life and death

He first married Valerie Marchant, then Norma Lewis, which both ended with divorce. He finally married to Patricia Todd. He had five children. He died from heart and renal failure on July 11, 2022, at the age of 81 in a hospital in Manhattan.

Books

  • 1978 Slightly Higher in Canada
  • 1982 The Secret: A Treasure Hunt
  • 1982 Irish Folk and Fairy Tales
  • 1983 Not the Bible
  • 1984 A Book Called Bob
  • 1987 Grosseries — illustrated by Rick Meyerowitz
  • 1987 Nicknames/Unusual Monikers, Secret Identities, Remarkable Aliases, Hilarious Histories
  • 1987 Spitting Images
  • 1987 101 Ways to Answer the Request: "Would You Please Put Out That #"
  • 1990 The Book of Sequels
  • 1993 Boom Baby Moon
  • 1993 Saints Preserve Us!: Everything You Need to Know About Every Saint You'll Ever Need
  • 1996 Herstory: Lisa Marie's Wedding Diary: Shamelessly Concocted
  • 1996 Who in Hell...: A Guide to the Whole Damned Bunch
  • 1999 How to Be Irish
  • 2001 The Birthday Book of Saints: Your Powerful Personal Patrons of Every Blessed Day of the Year
  • 2003 The Saint-a-Day Guide: A Lighthearted but Accurate Compendium
  • 2004 ''Bush Photo Oops: Presidential Photo Ops Gone Awry''