Posted on 09/21/2021 6:22:51 PM PDT by massmike
Every firehouse has its comedian, a firefighter who lightens the mood. For Station 51, the Los Angeles County Fire Department house seen in the pioneering procedural Emergency! that class clown was Chester "Chet" Kelly. Played by Tim Donnelly, Chet brought levity to the rescue series, playing practical jokes and wisecracking with his colleagues. Particularly John Cage.
The series meant a lot to those in emergency medical services — and even helped to propagate paramedic services across America. This is why news of Donnelly's death came not from Hollywood trade publications but rather from the Los Angeles County Fire Museum.
The LACFM wrote on Facebook:
"We at the Fire Museum are heartbroken as we sure all of you will be as well regarding the following news. It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our friend, Tim Donnelly, this weekend. Tim, as you know, played Chet Kelly on the show Emergency! among many other roles during his acting career. To all the Emergency! fans, we want you to know that he was very excited about coming to the Museum in January for the 50th Anniversary. Many of the Museum Board Members have great memories of Tim from our time on Project 51 and personal contact."
(Excerpt) Read more at metv.com ...
I just remember the hots I had for Nurse Dixie.
I thought a woman named Dixie who lived in California was really weird.
I remember him, and I loved that TV series. Wow, if that doesn’t show my age, nothing will! He will be indeed be missed.
R.I.P., Chet. My absolute favorite show at approximately age 5. I used to call it “Johnny and Roy” after the lead characters.
So sad! I loved this show, and Chet Kelly was hilarious! My first crush ever, though, was Randolph Mantooth as Johnny Gage.
So sad.
LOL, that IS my ringtone ( but a clearer version )
He played a lot of roles on “Dragnet” and “Adam—12” before the “Emergency!” gig.
He played the firehouse jokester and occasional comic foil of Gage and Desoto.
Gary Crosby, another unfortunate son of Bing, originated the character type in the show’s early days.
Always one of my favorite shows.
Emergency was good TV.
RIP.
Ringer’s lactate ping.
Thanks. I enjoyed the show as a kid.
In Dragnet, he often played a student perp, student drug user, student draft dodger, etc.
-PJ
Loved the show Emergency!, it plays periodically on METV.
I watched Emergency every Saturday night when I was a kid, hence my FR screen name
I remember that episode of Dragnet, he did cosplay before it became popular.
I have used that for my alarm and for my text alert.
It is one of my favorite shows. They also had a Saturday morning cartoon spinoff, “Emergency plus Squad 4.” I think there was one episode starring Mark Harman as an animal control officer where it was meant to be a pilot of a new series but it never came about.
I always remember the line from Dr Bracket “Start him on a liter of D5W TKO”
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