Kelly was born in Brooklyn, New New York He is the son of James Francis Kelly, a Bell System splicer and World World War II veteran, and Joan Marie Kelly, a housewife. Kelly grew up in Valley Stream, New York, where he attended Valley Stream South High School.
Kelly is of English and Irish descent. He has three siblings. Kathleen, Kevin, and Brian.
He is a related to Audrey Munson the 1910s model who appeared nude.
In 1988, Kelly moved his family to Florida to raise his four kids. At his wife"s urging, he auditioned for the local theater.
One role led to another, until Kelly found himself being cast in leading roles, in back-to-back productions. Kelly studied the Eric Morris process of acting, under Kathy Laughlin, and soon found himself booking his share of the few film and television roles available in the southeast at that time.
Kelly soon left his job at the Post Office to work full-time as an actor and moved to Los Los Angeles
Only two months later, he landed a television role. Kelly appeared as the train conductor in the Season 5 finale of the Administrative Management College television series Mad Men on June 10, 2012. The conductor orders Campbell to apologize, he refuses and insults the conductor.
The conductor punches him in the face and orders him off the train.
Kelly lives with his family in Los Angeles county.
