Comedian Billy Kelly creates first family show on Long Island

Billy Kelly likes to give himself new year’s resolutions, and for this year it was to develop a “squeaky clean” comedy show that families could attend together.

Unlike most of us, Kelly has met his goal — he’s coming home to Long Island on Nov. 26 to perform a family show at Governors Comedy Club/The Brokerage in Bellmore, and he has released his first family comedy album, called, simply, “My First Comedy Album.”

“I’m really into this idea of a shared family comedy experience,” says Kelly, 45, whose routine includes a riff about the dictionary and a joke about being an Eagle Scout. One sample one-liner: “I was named after my father. But WAY after. Like 30 years after.”

Kelly grew up in North Bellmore and now lives in Pennsylvania. “This is my first show ever in my hometown,” he says. He’s a dad — he has two daughters, Lilly, 13, and Jane, 16.

Kelly had a few rules for his shtick: “Clearly, no one can die,” he says. And he can’t talk about anything kids can’t relate to, like going to work or paying taxes, he says.

The show is best for kids 8 and older, because while Kelly has some visual jokes, there’s also a lot of talking, which may not hold the attention of younger children.

Kelly is also a family musician, and was nominated for a best children’s album Grammy in 2015 for “Trees.”

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.