Tim Donnelly, who portrayed the fun-loving firefighter Chet Kelly on all six seasons of the 1970s NBC series Emergency!, has died. He was 77.
Donnelly died Friday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of complications from surgery, his older brother, director Dennis Donnelly, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Donnelly had appeared on the Jack Webb-produced shows Dragnet and Adam-12 when he was cast as Chet on the Webb-produced Emergency!, which starred Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as firefighter/paramedics and Robert Fuller, Julie London and Bobby Troup as doctors.
Working out of Station 51 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Donnelly was on 122 episodes of the series, which ran from January 1972 until May 1977. His character was known for pulling practical jokes at the firehouse.
Timothy David Donnelly was born in Los Angeles on Sept. 3, 1944. His father, Paul Donnelly, was a production vice president at Universal Pictures, and his mother, Eileen, was a housewife and daughter of actor Pat O’Malley.
Donnelly made his onscreen debut as a teenager in Baby Face Nelson (1957). He also appeared in The Toolbox Murders (1978) and on episodes of Hawaii Five-O, Project U.F.O., Vega$ and The A-Team, all directed by his brother.
Survivors also include his daughter, Ashley, sister Kathleen and two grandsons.
Source: Hollywood
