Charles David Kelman (May 23, 1930 – June 1, 2004) was an American ophthalmologist, surgeon, inventor, jazz musician, entertainer, and Broadway producer.

Kelman was given the National Medal of Technology by President George H. W. Bush and recognized as the Ophthalmologist of the Century by the International Congress of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in Montreal, Canada.

Kelman served as clinical professor of ophthalmology at New York Medical College and individually taught his techniques to many surgeons around the world.

He began playing the harmonica at a young age and performed on a radio show, The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour.

After inventing phacoemulsification, in part to promote the procedure, he began appearing regularly on television, first on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1975.

He developed a musical comedy routine which he performed on television as well as in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Carnegie Hall in New York, alongside several notable jazz musicians and entertainers.

[5] His father was a Jewish immigrant from Greece who never received the proper compensation and recognition for his inventions,[4] including the first tar-free cigarettes and cellophane Christmas wreaths.

[5] Kelman also learned to play the saxophone and clarinet, receiving professional training from musicians in the big band era.

[1][10] In 1964, he applied for a research grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation to further investigate freezing techniques in eye surgery and, in an addendum to the application, proposed "a method for removing a cataract through an incision small enough so that no hospitalization will be required."

[11] In 1967, Kelman secretly conducted his first surgery on a blind patient, awaiting enucleation, who volunteered knowing that the procedure would not bring back his vision.

[11] On July 25, 1967, Kelman and his co-inventor Anton Banko filed a patent application to register a phacoemulsification device for cataract surgery.

The technique and similar tools have also been adopted and used in neurosurgery to remove tumors from the brain and spinal cord,[18] and subsequently ushered a trend of minimally-invasive outpatient surgical procedures.

[9][11] At 1973 Welsh Cataract Symposium, surgeons presented results of negative outcomes from the procedure with actual patients paraded as evidence.

In 1974, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) sponsored a comparative study of phacoemulsification, which found that the procedure was as effective as ICCE.

Kelman decided to promote the procedure to the general public and, on February 21, 1975, appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

[9] The first International Congress on Phacoemulsification and Cataract Methodology sponsored by Foundation for Ophthalmic Education was held the same year and the procedure began to gain wider acceptance.

[20] When the foldable IOL was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration in 1984, the clear advantage of Kelman's phacoemulsification was fully realized.

[21] Kelman treated many celebrities including Joe Frazier, Lionel Hampton, Rex Harrison, Ann Miller, Jan Peerce, and William B.

[5] He co-wrote "Le Petit Déjeuner (Paroles et Musique de François Charpin et Charles Kelman)" which was later recorded by the French singer Jean Sablon.

[9] Just as his medical practice flourished, Kelman's celebrity grew after appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1975, where he sang a song about a blind girl and promoted his surgical innovations.

[5][9] He continued to appear regularly on television shows hosted by Merv Griffin, Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman.

[10] The Marrano, a musical he wrote based on a premise that the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus was Jewish, also previewed in Cape Cod in 1992.

[36] In 1982, he was a recipient of the Congressional Salute in the U.S. Senate, 97th Congress, in Washington, D.C.[37] In 1985, Kelman presented the first American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Innovator's Lecture.