Louis W. Kellman(1906-1988)
- Producer
- Production Manager
Lou Kellman began working in the film business in 1918, at age 12, as a
projectionist at the Aurora Theater in the Kensington section of
Philadelphia. He was concerned about starting shows on time and would
crank the silent projector faster if it looked like things were running
behind...or if he had to clear out the theater early because of a
tossed stink bomb. In his late teens he began to shoot sporting events
and produce industrials with his partner, Jim Littlefield. He had built
a film laboratory in his North East Philadelphia garage and would
process the footage (rack and tank method) himself. He is credited with
being the first cameraman to shoot football games--a specialty--above
ground level. The laboratory and production company eventually moved to
Center City Philadelphia and became known as News Reel Lab. Prior to
the formation of NFL Films, he and his crews traveled the U.S. shooting
college football and all the NFL games. Kellman had always dreamed of
making Philadelphia an East Coast feature film capital. In 1955, using
his lab and industrial film company as collateral he raised around
$90,000 and produced his first feature, The Burglar, with Jayne
Mansfield in her first starring role. The film was also the feature
directing debut of Kellman's protege, Paul Wendkos. During the same
period, Kellman developed a theatrical cell animated cartoon series
called The Adventures of Li'l Davy and Dan'l Coon, about the friendship
between young Davy Crockett and a talking raccoon. The series pilot
played with The Burglar during its release but never went into
full-scale production. Though The Burglar was sold to Columbia Pictures
for around $200,000 profit, Kellman had difficulty finding investors
for subsequent feature projects. In the early 1960's he unsuccessfully
tried to raise funds and produce Frank and Eleanor Perry's David and
Lisa and then turned his attention to television. In 1961 he produced
the popular dramatic children's TV series, "Diver Dan". Two more
attempts at feature production followed: Discotheque Holiday (1966) and
Sweet Love, Bitter (1967) which he co-produced. In the late '60's his
lab and industrial production company which supported his feature film
efforts, faltered. He sold the business and became involved in
theatrical lighting. In 1980 he retired due to ill health.