Kelk began his career as a child actor in the 1930s. He made his film debut Sam in the 1931
short Play Ball, made by
Warner Bros. In 1932, he was cast as a snobby bow-tied boy named "Georgie Bassett" in the
Penrod Vitaphone comedy shorts. The shorts were similar to the popular and long running
Our Gang shorts, and were based on books by
Booth Tarkington. At age 10, Kelk appeared in the 1934 drama
Born to Be Bad. Percy in
Flare Path (1942–1943), Elliot Smollens in
Tenting Tonight (1947), and Herbie in
Me and Juliet (1953–1954). Kelk's debut in network radio came on
The Cohens, which starred
Fanny Brice. and in January 1946 he joined the cast of
Celebrity Club on CBS. He played
Jimmy Olsen from 1940 to 1947 on the radio show
The Adventures of Superman and Homer Brown, best friend of Henry Aldrich on the teenage radio comedy
The Aldrich Family. He had the role of Oliver in the soap opera
Valiant Lady. From 1949 to 1950, Kel reprised his role as Homer Brown in the
television adaptation of
The Aldrich Family. During the 1950s, Kelk continued with roles in both film and television. In 1951, he starred in title role on the
NBC live sitcom
Young Mr. Bobbin. The series debuted on August 26, 1951, and was canceled after one season. Kelk later had guest starring roles on
Those Whiting Girls,
The Lineup,
Date with the Angels and
Leave It to Beaver. He also appeared in bit parts in
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and
The Pajama Game (1957). From 1958 to 1959, Kelk had a recurring role as obstetrician Dr. Bo Boland during the first season of the
ABC sitcom
The Donna Reed Show. It was Kelk's final acting role. ==Death==