Louis W. Kellman

Two more attempts at feature production followed: Discotheque Holiday (1966) and Sweet Love, Bitter (1967) which he co-produced. In the late '60's his lab and industrial production company which supported his feature film efforts, faltered. He sold the business and became involved in theatrical lighting.

In 1961 he produced the popular dramatic children's TV series, "Diver Dan".

In the early 1960's he unsuccessfully tried to raise funds and produce Frank and Eleanor Perry's David and Lisa and then turned his attention to television.

In 1955, using his lab and industrial film company as collateral he raised around $90,000 and produced his first feature, The Burglar, with Jayne Mansfield in her first starring role. The film was also the feature directing debut of Kellman's protege, Paul Wendkos. During the same period, Kellman developed a theatrical cell animated cartoon series called The Adventures of Li'l Davy and Dan'l Coon, about the friendship between young Davy Crockett and a talking raccoon. The series pilot played with The Burglar during its release but never went into full-scale production. Though The Burglar was sold to Columbia Pictures for around $200,000 profit, Kellman had difficulty finding investors for subsequent feature projects.

In the 1950's produced one non-theatrical film yearly for a charitable organization at no cost.

Lou Kellman began working in the film business in 1918, at age 12, as a projectionist at the Aurora Theater in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. He was concerned about starting shows on time and would crank the silent projector faster if it looked like things were running behind. . . or if he had to clear out the theater early because of a tossed stink bomb. In his late teens he began to shoot sporting events and produce industrials with his partner, Jim Littlefield. He had built a film laboratory in his North East Philadelphia garage and would process the footage (rack and tank method) himself. He is credited with being the first cameraman to shoot football games--a specialty--above ground level. The laboratory and production company eventually moved to Center City Philadelphia and became known as News Reel Lab. Prior to the formation of NFL Films, he and his crews traveled the U. S. shooting college football and all the NFL games. Kellman had always dreamed of making Philadelphia an East Coast feature film capital.