MEDIA RELEASE
Getting Down to Earth with the REEL McCoy
DeForest Kelley’s former personal assistant will appear on New Day Northwest August 2nd
SEATTLE (Yellow Balloon Publications) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Today Kristine M. Smith confirmed an upcoming August 2nd appearance during a segment of KING5 TV’s morning talk show New Day Northwest. The segment will throw a spotlight on Smith’s decades-long association and friendship with DeForest Kelley, the iconic actor who portrayed Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in Star Trek: The Original Series™ and six subsequent motion pictures in the Star Trek film series.
Smith’s stirring saga—from meeting Kelley while on the outermost reaches of fandom in 1968 to serving from his bedside during the last three months of his life in 1999—is a page-turner from beginning to end.
“DeForest Kelley (De) launched my writing career back in 1969,” Smith explained. “I met him during a parade in Wenatchee in 1968 and wrote a creative writing essay about him for an extra credit English assignment. My teacher liked it so much that he commanded me to send De a copy. I did so, hesitantly, figuring the actor probably heard accolades about himself ten times a day; how could one more possibly make any kind impression on him?
“Mr. Kelley liked the essay so much that he sent it to the New York company that published TV Star Parade magazine. The publisher printed the essay in a special holiday edition of the magazine. Needless to say, my parents had to peel me off the ceiling. To have my favorite actor launch my freelance writing career while I was still wet behind the ears was just too much for this teenager. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Little did I know that this first generous act of De’s would lead to many others and to a friendship that would extend to his final breath.”
Smith’s newly-expanded book about her association with the actor, DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best’, debuted in January this year at Amazon in three different formats: Kindle and two soft covers, one with full-color images inside, the other with black and white images inside. The title has received 5-star reviews across the board.
A newly-completed audio book of the same title, narrated by Smith and produced by a fellow DeForest Kelley aficionado, Rod Janpol, will debut the last week of July at YellowBalloonPublications.com. The audio version will include an actual series of voicemail messages which the author received from the Kelleys and other Hollywood notables, including A.C. Lyles, Harve Bennett, Tippi Hedren and Teresa Victor, Leonard Nimoy’s secretary during the television series. There will also be a PDF version of the title. These two options will be available exclusively at Yellow Balloon Publications.
Asked how she landed the gig with New Day Northwest on August 2nd, Smith smiled.
“Every five years or so I haul myself out of dry dock and offer to appear at science fiction conventions and on radio and TV to talk about my dear friend De. This year—the 50th anniversary of the television debut of the original series—is no different, except that I expect it will be the last time I will do this.
“I was fresh-faced and fifteen when the series debuted in 1966. Now I’m 65 and facing a few health challenges. So these 2016 appearances may well be my swan songs. We’ll see!
“For anyone who wants to vicariously meet the REAL McCoy up close and personal and then pick my brain afterward for additional insights about DeForest Kelley now’s the time! So come see me. I would love to meet you!”
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For more information about DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best or author and copywriter Kristine M. Smith, please call 253.474.6240, email kris@wordwhisperer.net or visit YellowBalloonPublications.com.
