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David Patrick Kelly is an American actor and musician best known for his role as Luther in the 1979 film The Warriors. David portrayed T-Bird in the 1994 film The Crow.

Early Life[]

David Patrick Kelly was born on January 23, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan to accountant Robert Kelly and his wife Margaret Kelly. His paternal great granduncle is reverend William Corby.

As an undergraduate in college, David wrote music for musical productions in Detroit. David graduated cum laude with a BA from the University of Detroit.

Career[]

David made his debut in the film The Warriors in 1979 as the main antagonist Luther, where he utters his famous line “Warriors...come out to play-ee-ay!!”, which he improvised. He was also in movies such as Commando, The Crow, Last Man Standing and the first two John Wick films. David also had a number of appearances in popular television series such as Twin Peaks, Miami Vice, Gossip Girl, and the Law & Order franchise. David has also performed in a few Off-Off Broadway theater productions in the past, these include C.O.R.F.A.X (Don’t Ask), An Altar to Himself, and Mr. Jello. David also performed alongside Keira Knightley in the roundabout theater company’s production of Helen Edmundson’s adaptation of Therese Raquin. David has won a number of awards during his career. David won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes  Film Festival for his performance in Wild at Heart. David also sang and played mandolin on the soundtrack for the musical Once which won a Grammy. He also received a Connecticut critics Circle award for his performance in Tartuffe.

Personal Life[]

David married writer and fellow actor Juliana Francis in 2005. They have one daughter Margarethe born in 2008.

Trivia[]

  • The scene where Eric kills T-Bird, David had filmed with Brandon Lee’s stunt double as Brandon had died sometime before
  • David Patrick Kelly and Brandon Lee had a mutual friend in common and knew each other before The Crow.
  • David bought a vintage copy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost book for The Crow
  • David practices martial arts and has a second-degree black belt in Seido karate and is a practitioner of three forms of tai chi (Chen, Yang and Palm)
  • David was a big Bruce Lee fan but didn't tell Brandon until a few days before he died.
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