[.uk] From Sawdust to Stardust: The Biography of DeForest ... (ISBN 0743457625)

The Accidental Healer:
He did not write his own biography, unlike everybody else on the Enterprise. But he left his papers and memorabilia organized so that somebody else could. Terry Lee Rioux has done a commendable job drawing together details from Kelley's papers and interviews with people who worked with him in TV and movies, or were his friends during his early years in Long Beach. Our crusty Dr. McCoy isn't someone you can really imagine having a dewy-cheeked youth. He was the Star Trek character we knew the least about, and Kelley was the most private of all the cast. So this book does a great service in opening up his life to us, in a remarkably tender and sensitive way. In fact, Rioux does something daring for an actor's biography: she acknowledges that humans have spiritual lives, and that Kelley's upbringing as a poor preacher's son in Conyers, Georgia gave him a faith and a spirituality that both protected and haunted him. The other remarkable accomplishment of the book is that, in following Kelley's development as a young Georgia boy coming of age in Long Beach, California (beaches, surfing, racial diversity, gambling, drink, tobacco, and girls), rapidly discovering himself as an actor with real talent, Rioux recreates the energy and atmosphere of a sunny Navy port town just before World War II breaks out - and how it all changes after Pearl Harbor. She works the same magic with the crumbling of the Hollywood studio system, the blossoming of television, and the rise and fall of TV westerns, all seen from the POV of a struggling actor who seems to keep missing the big break. The book's verbal failings - such as rushed, cliché'd sketching of world events - can be attributed to editorial pressure to get the word count down. More glaring is the lack of photographs. There are no portraits of Kelley as a boy, nor of his family: the Reverend David Kelley, mother Clora, and older brother Casey, who became a successful businessman. Nor are there stills from Kelley's work: the early movie break, Fear In the Night, or TV episodes from Bonanza, You Are There, and Gene Roddenberry's lawyer series pilot starring Kelley, 333 Montgomery. Rioux gives such careful attention to the development of Kelley's craft and his struggle to get work, it's shocking to not have visual proof of that effort. Rioux' theme of spiritual strength, often embodied in Kelley's 57-year love affair with his wife, Carolyn, can take on a tone that slides into worship. But as a theme, it pays off. After Star Trek ended, Kelley's encounter with a dying child whose one wish was to meet "Dr. McCoy" apparently changed the actor's attitude about his iconic role and his purpose in forever being "Bones." There's another connection that Rioux doesn't make, but jumps out at any reader who has done time in therapy. She makes the arresting statement that when soldiers (Kelley among them) returned from World War II, they wanted to get back to living and "forget the war ever happened. " It's telling, then, that the Western had phenomenal popularity in the late 40s and all through the 50s. Westerns are morality tales about good and evil, right and wrong, choices with life-and death consequences, men with guns and the bonds that form between them in desperate situations. This kind of morality play became the foundation of "Star Trek," and Gene Roddenberry even described his idea as "Wagon Train to the stars" so TV executives would understand what he was talking about. Cheap, B-movie Westerns on screen and TV were Kelley's bread and butter in the 50s and early 60s, his face and voice were recognized as part of that imaginary world. In a way, these morality plays helped expose and heal the soul-wounds of war. One can say that Kelley's familiar humanity helped carry a world's wounded consciousness forward to a hopeful future, in Star Trek. I closed this book feeling that DeForest Kelley, actor, was truly a healer. Not a doctor - but thank God he played one on TV.

A quiet man:
"De" Kelly was a quiet man, he never achieved much success in his field, never made much money, never put himself forward and never had any great adventures. In the hands of another author, his life might have been treated as a failure and he as a joke. But author Terry Lee Rioux doesn't take the easy route. Mr. Rioux shows us a man with many friends, a loving marriage and a modestly sucessful acting career. He shows us a man who loved animals and his roses. In other words he shows us ourselves and our neighbors. He lets us know a man we would have liked to have a martini with. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 (and 4.5 would be more accurate) is that there weren't enough pictures. I was desperate for a really good picture of the Caroline Kelly, but there wasn't one. If there were better pictures in a different edition (I read the kindle edition), I hope Mr. Rioux will accept my apologies.

A gentle man with a gentle heart.:
I loved this book. Maybe this wasn't an ultra-exciting book, but De Kelley was not that kind of star. De was someone who held deep convictions, valued his friends and fans, and loved his wife dearly 'til death do us part'. These are the wonderful traits of a true gentleman. Yes, he did drink and smoke. He was a human being, not a saint. I have been a fan of De Kelley's for many years. I only wish I had been one of the lucky ones to have known him in person, but this book brings me that much closer to knowing a very private man.

The Honorable Jackson DeForest Kelley:
I have been a devoted Star Trek Fan from the first episode in the 60's. I always loved and admired Dr. Leonard McCoy and after reading "From Sawdust to Stardust: The Biography of DeForest Kelley" I have learned to love the actor who played him. It wasn't until I was an adult that I had the pleasure of seeing DeForest Kelley in many of the westerns that he was in. He was a remarkable actor and a remarkable man, a true southern gentleman and it is my loss that I never had the honor of meeting him in person. This book is a must read for any true Star Trek Fan. Thank you Terry Lee Rioux for letting us know the Honorable Mr. Kelley.

research paper:
This book reads like a high school research paper. It is painfully obvious that what she knew came from researching the subject. I understand that he was very private, however, the book lacks any geniune insight into the subject. Several of the stories I read in other books about star Trek. Not recommended if you want to gain insight into the man behind Dr. McCoy. I cannot believe that someone who created that complex of charector so naturally could be a shallow and simple person.