Mister Kelly’s was owned and operated by brothers Oscar and George Marienthal, whose Chicago empire included the London House, an upscale jazz supper club, and the theatrically oriented Happy Medium.
[4][5] The nightclub was destroyed on December 8, 1955 when a fire started in a grease chute and spread through a ventilator into the club.2 Mister Kelly’s was rebuilt and reopened on August 29, 1956[6] with a new policy of standup singers.
[14] Other entertainers who played the club early in their careers included Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Flip Wilson, Bill Cosby, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Shelley Berman, Nancy Wilson, Shecky Greene, Jackie Vernon, Jackie Mason, Eartha Kitt, Joan Rivers, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Aretha Franklin, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Bob Newhart.
In 1971, Paul Wimmer bought Mister Kelly's from Art's and Leisure and he and his managing partner, Jerry Dambra instituted new policies that were more informal; the maître d' wore a casual suit instead of a tuxedo.
Film reviewer Peter Sobcynzkski called it "fascinating," noting that it showed "how Mister Kelly's not only transformed from a nightclub into a institution, but helped to make the corner of Rush and Bellevue into arguably the epicenter of American popular culture during its heyday.
In addition to the exhibit scheduled to run March 21 to July 20, 2024, the Newberry offered a related series of public programs, adult education courses, and screenings of Live at Mister Kelly's.
[24][25] Among the notables who performed at Mister Kelly’s were Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Ramsey Lewis, Barbra Streisand, Julie London, Anita O'Day, Abbey Lincoln, Lou Rawls, Eartha Kitt, Oscar Peterson, Liza Minnelli, Dionne Warwick, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, Muddy Waters, Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, Morgana King, Rufus with Chaka Khan, Lainie Kazan, Carmen McRae, Rod McKuen, Buddy Greco, Bette Midler, B.B.
King, Carly Simon, Phoebe Snow, The Mamas & the Papas, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, Melissa Manchester, Mel Torme, Oliver, Barry Manilow, Spanky and Our Gang, and Captain and Tennille.
Comedians who also performed at Mister Kelly's included the likes of Shecky Greene, Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Woody Allen, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, George Carlin, The Smothers Brothers, Freddie Prinze, Robert Klein, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Flip Wilson, Tim and Tom, Redd Foxx, Phyllis Diller, Bob Newhart, Jackie Mason, Fred Willard, Don Adams, Jack E. Leonard, Ace Trucking Co., Steve Martin, Dick Cavett, Marilyn Michaels, Totie Fields, Godfrey Cambridge, Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen, Lily Tomlin and Dick Gregory.