Kelly Monteith

Kelly Monteith (born October 17, 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American comedian. He is best known for writing and starring in the BBC comedy show Kelly Monteith. Discovered in the early 1970s, Monteith performed as a guest comedian on NBC's The Tonight Show and the BBC's Des O'Connor Tonight. He had a short-lived variety show on CBS in 1976 entitled The Kelly Monteith Show. After successful guest appearances on British talk shows he was offered his own series by the BBC. Kelly Monteith premiered in 1979 and ran for six series. It was noted for often breaking the fourth wall by showing Monteith in his dressing room before and after a scene. Kelly Monteith won the Silver Rose for the BBC at the Montreux Television Festival in Switzerland during the series' run. In the United States the BBC series was rerun on the fledgling Arts and Entertainment Network. He also hosted the short-lived hidden camera television show "The Hit Squad" in first-run American syndication from 1987-1988. In 2004 he wrote, directed and starred in the low-budget comedy A Lousy Ten Grand.