From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Thomas Francis Kelly April 6 1925 January 26 2016 professionally known as Tommy Kelly was an American child actor He is remembered for his title role in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1938 based on Mark Twains novel of the same name Kelly was born in the Bronx the son of Nora and Michael Kelly a fireman in humble circumstances He had twelve siblings Kellys grandparents all four were from Ireland He began his acting career at the age of twelve when he was selected to play the role of Tom Sawyer in the 1938 movie The Adventures of Tom Sawyer an adaption of Mark Twains classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Approximately 25000 boys had auditioned for that role and it is said that famous producer David O Selznick handpicked Kelly for the role Despite Kellys earning good critical reviews for his performance the film was only a poor financial success He also played the lead role in Pecks Bad Boy with the Circus later that year as Bill Peck In 1939 Tommy Kelly had a small but memorable part in Gone with the Wind as the boy crying in a band in Atlanta while the death lists are given out He played the notable supporting role of Willie in Archie Mayos musical film They Shall Have Music 1939 followed by a leading role as a young cadet in the B movie Military Academy 1940 As he reached adulthood Kellys roles in movies were minor and he was often uncredited He appeared in The Magnificent Yankee in 1950 which turned out to be his last of 19 films before ending his acting career As with many other stars the war years found Tommy in the US Army he served in the infantry rather than the USO as did some other child stars He fought in the European theater participating in the critical campaign for the bridge at Remagen
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