Madison native living out his dream

Madison native living out his dream

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A Madison County native went from high school graduate to Hollywood star.

Bobby Kelly graduated from Madison Central High School in 2011 and is now the Director of Development for Magnolia Hill Productions at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.

“I grew up loving to sing and perform for people who wanted to watch and listen,” Kelly said. “I took part in a lot of things like high school plays at Madison Central. I never really ventured too far outside of Mississippi.”

Kelly attended Ole Miss, envisioning a future as a psychiatrist until he met Sam Haskell through the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy scholarship program.

Magnolia Hill Productions was started by Sam Haskell, who is also a native of Mississippi. Haskell earned his ranking in Hollywood among the industry’s best through his 27-year career at the renowned William Morris Agency, where became one of the most powerful agents and dealmakers in the business. His wife, Mary Donnelly Haskell, is a former Miss Mississippi.

Kelly was introduced to Sam and Mary through The Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy and they both served as his mentors for two years at Ole Miss.

“I still to this day don’t fully know how I was chosen for the program. I remember writing a short document of why I thought I was a good candidate, and I was insanely lucky since there were thousands of other candidates for them to choose,” Kelly said. “It was there that I met Sam and his wife, who was the chair of the council.”

Kelly said he made a name for himself by participating in musical theatre in New Orleans.

“After about two years I wanted to move on to something else, so I called Sam,” he said. “He told me I could come to Los Angeles and start work. In late January of 2017, I arrived in there and started work.”

While at Magnolia Hill, Kelly worked on the set of country music star Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, which received a 2020 Emmy nomination for Best TV Movie for the Heartstrings episode, These Old Bones. He also helped produce and did some acting in Dolly and Sam’s upcoming Christmas musical movie, Christmas on the Square. Both Heartstrings and Christmas On the Square have premiered or will soon premiere on Netflix.

“I felt like a giddy middle schoolboy when I met Dolly Parton. She’s absolutely amazing,” he said. “I still pinch myself and keep realizing that I’ve been able to work with all of these creative minds. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would drive past the iconic Warner Bros. water tower to get to my office every day and that I would help to produce movies that would actually be on television. I always remember where it started, right at home in Madison, Mississippi.”

Kelly has also worked with Debbie Allen, the director, producer, and choreographer of Christmas on the Square, which Dolly Parton will be acting in.

“Christmas on the Square is a Netflix film that will be available in November of this year,” he said.

Kelly was promoted to his current position of Director of Development at the end of 2019.

Bobby is the son of Chris and Laura Kelly of Madison and the brother of Cole, Hayes, and Kenley. His grandparents are Carnis and Shirley Kelly is from Madison. His maternal grandparents are the late Penny and Kenny Trammell of Jackson.






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