# Bobby Connelly
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{{short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bobby Connelly
| image = A Child for Sale.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Bobby Connelly and [Creighton Hale](/source/Creighton_Hale)(l). 1920.
| birth_name = Robert Joseph Connelly
| birth_date = {{birth date|1909|04|04}}
| birth_place = [Brooklyn, New York](/source/Brooklyn%2C_New_York), U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1922|07|05|1909|04|04}}
| death_place = [Lynbrook, Nassau County, New York](/source/Lynbrook%2C_New_York), U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1913–1922}}
[[File:Humoresque (1920) - 5.jpg|thumb|L-R: [Dore Davidson](/source/Dore_Davidson), Bobby Connelly with [Miriam Battista](/source/Miriam_Battista) in ''[Humoresque (1920 film)](/source/Humoresque_(1920_film))'' ]]
'''Robert Joseph Connelly''' (April 4, 1909 – July 5, 1922) was an American [child actor](/source/child_actor) of silent films. He is one of the first male child stars of American motion pictures beginning his career in 1913 at the age of four.[[http://www.allmovie.com/artist/bobby-connolly-p14503 Bobby Connelly profile], allmovie.com; accessed August 10, 2015.]
==Career==
Connelly's parents were vaudeville performers, and young Connelly began in films with the [Kalem](/source/Kalem) company. His sister Helen also had a career as a child actress. In 1914 Connelly switched to [Vitagraph Studios](/source/Vitagraph_Studios), which were based primarily in New York and New Jersey, close to where Connelly and his family lived. He appeared in films with major players of the day, and in 1914–15 portrayed "Sonny Jim" in a series of shorts about the adventures of a young boy.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}
right|thumb|Connelly in "Sonny Jim" film fragment
In 1917, he got his own series of films with his name in the title to emphasize his star billing. His career pertains primarily with the Vitagraph studios, but occasionally he would appear in other studios' productions, such as ''[Humoresque](/source/Humoresque_(1920_film))'' produced by [Paramount Pictures](/source/Paramount_Pictures) in 1920. ''Humoresque'', a story by [Fannie Hurst](/source/Fannie_Hurst) was a huge hit in 1920 and is one of Connelly's few films to survive.[[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/H/Humoresque1920.html ''Humoresque''(1920)], silentera.com; accessed August 10, 2015.]
On stage, Connelly acted in ''Man and Wife'' at [Proctor's Theater](/source/Proctor's_Theater_(Yonkers%2C_New_York)) in [Yonkers, New York](/source/Yonkers%2C_New_York).[{{cite news |title=Bobby Connelly is just fine on stage also |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67813652/bobby-connelly/ |access-date=January 17, 2021 |work=The Yonkers Herald |date=April 1, 1921 |page=5|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}]
==Death==
In 1917, Connelly was diagnosed with [endocarditis](/source/endocarditis). Nevertheless, he was still allowed to keep a heavy work schedule. In 1922, Connelly became ill after completing work on the film ''[Wildness of Youth](/source/Wildness_of_Youth)''. He died of [bronchitis](/source/bronchitis) at his home on July 5, 1922, at the age of 13.[[https://www.nytimes.com/1922/07/07/archives/bobby-connelly-dead-child-screen-star-dies-of-bronchitis-at-his.html New York Times "BOBBY" CONNELLY DEAD.; Child Screen Star Dies of Bronchitis at His Home...(Friday July 7, 1922)]]
==Selected filmography==
*''[Salvation Joan](/source/Salvation_Joan)'' (1916)
*''[The Suspect](/source/The_Suspect_(1916_film))'' (1916)
*''[A Prince in a Pawnshop](/source/A_Prince_in_a_Pawnshop)'' (1916)
*''[Her Right to Live](/source/Her_Right_to_Live)'' (1917)
*''[The Seal of Silence](/source/The_Seal_of_Silence)'' (1918)
*''[Beyond the Law](/source/Beyond_the_Law_(1918_film))'' (1918)
*''[Out of a Clear Sky](/source/Out_of_a_Clear_Sky)'' (1918)
*''[The Road Through the Dark](/source/The_Road_Through_the_Dark)'' (1918)
*''[The Unpardonable Sin](/source/The_Unpardonable_Sin_(1919_film))'' (1919)
*''[A Child for Sale](/source/A_Child_for_Sale)'' (1920)
*''[The Flapper](/source/The_Flapper)'' (1920)
*''[Humoresque](/source/Humoresque_(1920_film))'' (1920)
* ''[Other Men's Shoes](/source/Other_Men's_Shoes)'' (1920)
* ''[A Wide Open Town](/source/A_Wide_Open_Town)'' (1922)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 39.
==External links==
{{Commons category|Bobby Connelly}}
* {{IMDb name|175050}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Bobby}}
Category:1909 births
Category:1922 deaths
Category:American male child actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male silent film actors
Category:Deaths from bronchitis
Category:Male actors from Brooklyn
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:People from Lynbrook, New York
{{US-film-actor-1900s-stub}}
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bobby Connelly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Connelly) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Connelly?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.