Trivia

Her brother gave her the nickname "Patsy".

In 1933, she and Jimmy Forlenza were passengers in an automobile driven by actor/female impersonator Jean Malin who accidentally backed the car off the Venice Pier and drowned. Kelly and Forlenza (a close friend of Malin) survived.

She was known for her ability to ad-lib on screen, a skill she developed in vaudeville.

Patsy was unusual for her time by admitting publicly that she was a lesbian. Many movie historians believe her frankness about her lifestyle hurt her acting career which all but ended in movies by 1944, until television revived it.

Frank Fay, her boss at one point, developed a crush on her, but she rejected him. Later, when she called him "Frank" instead of Mr. Fay, he fired her.

Won Broadway's 1971 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for "No, No, Nanette". She was again nominated in the same category in 1973 for "Irene".

In the mid-1940s, she became personal assistant, frequent lover, and lifelong friend of Tallulah Bankhead.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6669 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

She wanted to be a fireman, but was trained as a dancer instead. By age 13, she was good enough to get paid to teach tap dancing at school.

In January 1980, she suffered a stroke which limited her ability to speak and she quit acting on that account. She moved into a nursing home in Englewood, New Jersey where she underwent therapy.

Appeared on stage in "Earl Carroll's Vanities", alongside Jack Benny and Jimmy Savo, and in "Wonder Bar", with Al Jolson.

She was scheduled to play Stan Laurel's wife in "Sons of the Desert" but had to drop out due to conflict with another film and she was replaced by Dorothy Christie.

Co-starred with Thelma Todd in a series of two-reel comedies in 1931-1935.

In 1933, Hal Roach replaced Zasu Pitts with her in a series of comedy shorts with Thelma Todd.

Following her death, she was interred with her parents, John and Delia Kelly, at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York.

Her parents, John and Deila Kelly, were Irish immigrants.

She returned to Broadway in 1971 in the revival of "No, No, Nanette" with Ruby Keeler. Her wise-cracking was the hit of the show and won her a Tony Award.

Her two top rated movies movies (here on IMDb) have the word Baby at the end: Rosemary's Baby and Nobody's Baby.

Profiled in the book "Funny Ladies: 100 Years of Great Comediennes" by Stephen M. Silverman (1999).

Played on Broadway in 1930 and 31 in Earl Carroll's musicals 'Sketches and Vanities' and also made appearances with stage comic Frank Fay. Hal Roach took notice of her success and in 1933 invited her to star in a comedy series with Thelma Todd.

During contract disputes between Hal Roach and Stan Laurel in the mid 30's a press release was issued saying that Oliver Hardy, , Patsy Kelly and Spanky McFarland were to star together in 'The Hardy Family ' series to be directed by James W. Horne with the first to be 'Their Night Out'.

There was an attempt to team her with Pert Kelton in Pan Handlers and with Lyda Roberti in A Sea Ashore and Hill Tillies in 1936 but the teamings were not considered successful.

Patsy appeared in "Pigskin Parade" with a 14 year-old Judy Garland in her feature film debut. Many years later Judy told Patsy "You were the first one to be nice to me.".