Orry-Kelly was a three time Oscar winner who worked with celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn. He has credits on 300 films which include titles like Casablanca, 42nd Street and Some Like It Hot. When he died in 1964 his pallbearers included Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Billy Wilder and George Cukor and his eulogy was read by Jack Warner.

You would expect a man like this to be widely celebrated and known in his home country, especially his hometown. And yet, ask the majority of people in Kiama if they know who Orry-Kelly is and they would be hard-pressed to give you an answer.

Yes, Orry-Kelly was born in Kiama in 1897 and lived here until he moved to Sydney at age 17. He won three Academy Awards in 1951, 1957 and 1959 and he is known for the way he would tailor the clothes toward the actor and the character.

Other than a few artefacts featured in the Pilot’s Cottage Museum and the Orry-Kelly stage in Hindmarsh Park - Orry has not had much prominence in his hometown.

President and Secretary of the Kiama Historic Society Sue Eggins says that this is an improvement as when she joined the organisation in the middle of the 1980’s they had no record of Orry-Kelly at all.

“No one knew or had heard of Orry-Kelly, I hadn’t heard about him and we didn’t even have a file on him in the museum. We had a file on his father William Kelly, but nothing on Orry. All they had was that they thought his name was Horace,” says Eggins.

Eggins first found out about Orry in 1994 when she was handed an 8 page Vogue Magazine article written by Karin Upton Baker.

“That was just a wonderful article,” says Eggins. “And from that I started talking about him. I’ve probably done a hundred talks all over - some for the historic society, the library, Probus clubs, the Lions club, Apex clubs, lots of bus groups that come to the museum - so I’ve been preaching about him but still no one seems to have heard of him.”

In 2015, Australian Director Gillian Armstrong (Little Women) released the film Women He’s Undressed, a documentary film about Orry’s life. Eggins is credited as a researcher for the film.

“The producer Damien Parer came down a number of times and then Gillian Armstrong contacted me and she came down a number of times with Katherine Thompson, who was the scriptwriter for the film,” says Eggins.

“I drove them around the town, showing them the different places. I picked a lot of spots that they could film from, they wanted photos without the highway and the trainline so I showed them that. I picked out a dozen photos from the archive, which were photos of the town around 1890 and the 1900s as that’s when Orry would have lived here.”

Eggins felt the film might have brought Orry-Kelly back into the spotlight, but she still feels he hasn’t got enough awareness in the local area. As a result, Eggins and a group of individuals called Kiama Icons and Artists are planning a major event to celebrate Orry in July, 2025 at The Sebel.

“He was a little boy in Kiama who went off to become a Hollywood star. He was the only Australian for a long time with three oscars. It’s been ten years since the film, so anything to get Orry back into the spotlight,” says Eggins.

“This event will celebrate Orry’s life, his movies, fashion, art, plays - everything. And I just hope that he finally gets that recognition he deserves.”

If you're interested in supporting this celebration, join Kiama Icons and Artists on December 1 at 3 PM at The Sebel. Together, we can honour Orry-Kelly and ensure his legacy is remembered. More information about the event can be found here.