Encyclopedia Of Detroit

John Kelly was a Detroit area newscaster and talk show host who along with his wife Marilyn Turner are best known for their long running program Kelly & Company. Kelly grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman in World War II and the Korean War. He got his start in broadcasting as a program director and production manager at a television station in Rockford, Illinois. He joined Detroit’s WJBK-TV (Channel 2) as a reporter and anchorman in 1965. His work with newsman Jac LeGoff and weathercaster Jerry Hodak helped make WJBK-TV the top-rated newscast in metro Detroit.

Kelly moved to WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) in 1972. WJBK-TV weathercaster Marilyn Turner moved to WXYZ-TV the following year. Turner and Kelly both divorced, began a relationship together, and were married in December 1974.

Kelly & Company was a personable, guest-oriented talk show taped in front of a live studio audience. As Detroit’s premier local talk show, it became a key component of Channel 7’s image in the community. The duo also hosted the afternoon program Good Afternoon Detroit for four years. Kelly & Company was Detroit’s last locally-produced non-news program when it went off the air.

John Kelly passed away in 2016 at the age of 88.