Art Kelly, who portrayed former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary in a recurring role on Late Show with David Letterman, has died.
A cause of death has not yet been determined. According to his brother Andre, Kelly was found at his home Friday, July 4th. A friend had requested a wellness check after not hearing from him for several days.
A longtime Late Show staffer from the early 2000s through Letterman’s retirement in 2015, Kelly served as the receptionist on the 12th floor at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where Letterman’s office was located.
It was there where he was approached by the show’s writers in 2008 to play Singletary. In an interview with Mike Chisholm of The Letterman Podcast, Kelly recalled not knowing who the NFL hall-of-famer was when he was first asked to portray him on the show.
Still, after studying tape of the coach and with the help and assurances of Letterman’s writers, his first appearance as Singletary was such a hit with Letterman that he was asked to reprise it the very next episode.
He went on to play Singletary a total of 26 times on the show, at one point earning praise from The New York Times as “the best thing on the tube since Tina Fey did Sarah Palin.”
While his portrayal of Singletary was fiery and intense, Chisolm of The Letterman Podcast recalls being charmed by Kelly’s quirky enthusiasm, describing him “a real light in this world who was always so respectful of Dave and the entire production team.”
Our condolences to all who knew and loved Kelly.
