---
name: "William Kelley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-kelley"
fi1m_id: "william-kelley"
imdb_id: "nm0446015"
tmdb_id: 57122
wikidata_id: "Q2579582"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "27 May 1929"
died: "3 February 2003"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-24T06:31:05.174149+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Kelley

## Identity

William Kelley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-kelley
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** william-kelley
- **IMDb ID:** nm0446015
- **TMDB ID:** 57122
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2579582
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kelley_(screenwriter), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2579582, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0446015/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57122

Writer. Born 27 May 1929 in Staten Island, New York, USA. Died 3 February 2003.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 27 May 1929, Staten Island, New York, USA
- **Died:** 3 February 2003
- **Active:** 1955–1985
- **Frequently works with:** [Earl W. Wallace](https://film.one/person/earl-w-wallace.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 86 (1), 1980s 84 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kelley_(screenwriter), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2579582, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0446015/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57122

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Witness*](https://film.one/film/witness.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

William Kelley was an American screenwriter and television producer. Born in Staten Island, New York, he began writing for television in the late 1960s and accumulated more than 150 credits, including episodes of *Gunsmoke*, *Kung Fu*, *Columbo* and *T. J. Hooker*.

Kelley is best known for his work on the 1985 film *Witness*, directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford. He shared the story credit with Earl W. Wallace and Pamela Wallace, and the screenplay credit with Wallace. The film earned the trio the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1986, as well as a Writers Guild of America Award.

He met Wallace while both were working on *Gunsmoke* in the 1970s; the *Witness* story originated from an earlier idea Kelley had developed for that series. Kelley also wrote several television films and produced episodes of *The Dukes of Hazzard*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, latimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Witness* (1985), Fi1m 84, Story, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/witness.md)
- *Columbo* (1971), Fi1m 86, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/columbo.md)

## Complete filmography (15)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Blue Lightning* (1986), Co-Producer, Screenplay
- *Witness* (1985), Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/witness.md)
- *The Demon Murder Case* (1983), Writer
- *T. J. Hooker* (1982), series, Writer
- *Enos* (1980), series, Writer
- *The Winds of Kitty Hawk* (1978), Writer
- *Kate McShane* (1975), series, Story
- *Three for the Road* (1975), series, Writer
- *Petrocelli* (1974), series, Writer
- *Kung Fu* (1972), series, Writer
- *Columbo* (1971), series, Story — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/columbo.md)
- *Judd, for the Defense* (1967), series, Writer
- *Route 66* (1960), series, Writer
- *Gunsmoke* (1955), series, Writer
- *Dopey Dicks* (1950), as Driving Headless Robot (uncredited)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 1986: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *Witness*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-kelley