South African-born motion picture and television actor of the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Nominated for two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor for "The Luck of the Irish" (1948) and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967). Cousin of actors Edmund Gwenn and Arthur Chesney. As a character actor, Cecil Kellaway was easily recognized by millions of moviegoers, even though they usually could not remember his name. However, producers, well aware of his polished, often funny and effectively underplayed performances, employed the heavyset, round‐faced, cherubic actor in more than 75 feature films since his arrival in Hollywood in 1938. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, he was named for Cecil Rhodes, the British empire builder and a friend of his father, Edwin John Kellaway. He decided on an acting career as a youth, soon after he arrived in England to continue his schooling, where he appeared in a variety of stage productions that began with "The Girls of Gothenburg." Eventually, he emigrated to Australia, where he got parts in a succession of plays and films. There was a convention of RKO officials in Australia in 1937. Those attending it saw "It Isn't Done," a film that Kellaway wrote, directed and starred in, at a cost of about $50,000. It impressed them and their bosses in Hollywood enough to offer him a contract. But he was also lent to other studios, where he was able to appear in more important features. Among these were Samuel Goldwyn's "Wuthering Heights" and "Intermezzo," which introduced Ingrid Bergman to American audiences. But Mr. Kellaway, who once remarked good-naturedly that he couldn't recall the titles of most his films, did appear in a fair number of films that stick in the memory. He portrayed many priests, doctors, amiable professors, butlers and family friends. Among these were his portrayal of the aging husband in the 1946 remake of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Harvey," "Portrait of Jennie," "Brother Orchid," "I Married a Witch," "Kitty," "Frenchman's Creek," "My Heart Belongs to Daddy and "Star‐Spangled Rhythm." He was featured in the 1960 Broadway musical "Greenwillow," which starred Anthony Perkins, and in recent years he also appeared on television.