Nurse Kellye
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| M*A*S*H character | |
| Nurse Kealani Kellye | |
|---|---|
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Gender | Female |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Black |
| Home city | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Film portrayer | None |
| Television portrayer | Kellye Nakahara |
| First appearance | 5 O’Clock Charlie (Uncredited) |
| Last appearance | "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" |
First Lt. Kealani Kellye was a fictional character on the TV series M*A*S*H. She was portrayed by Kellye Nakahara. She appeared in 86 episodes of the series, more episodes than some main characters, such as Henry Blake and Trapper John. In her first appearances, her name changed several times before it finally settled on "Nurse Kellye"; for example, she was referred to as "Nurse Able" in her first appearance in A Full Rich Day. The first name "Kealani" was never spoken on screen, but according to interviews with the actress, that was the first name used on set when referring to the character [1]. As late as season 10, Major Winchester referred to Kellye as "Lt. Nakahara" in "The Birthday Girls."
She described herself as "part Chinese, part Hawaiian" in "Life Line", and speaks Japanese fluently as revealed in "Communication Breakdown". She had great pride in her Asian American heritage and frequently took umbrage at racial slurs leveled by Frank Burns and cultural slights exhibited by Major Winchester. Her family lives in Honolulu according to her statements in the final episode.
Despite being a longtime member of the nursing staff of the 4077th, she was almost never the subject of romantic interests from surgeons, even to the point of being conspicuously overlooked. She occasionally paired up with Major Winchester for social occasions, and was seen dancing with Corporal Radar O'Reilly a few times. She finally confronted Hawkeye Pierce over his attitude regarding her in the episode "Hey, Look Me Over". Later, in that episode, Pierce went to the nurses tent to deliver her a bouquet. To his surprise, Kellye answered the door wearing a colorful kimono and her hair untied -- she was entertaining a young visiting lieutenant.
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