© 2025 Blue Ridge Public Radio
Blue Ridge Mountains banner background
Your source for information and inspiration in Western North Carolina.
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

From Fear To Fame: The Tale Of Martha Kelly

WUNC | By Dana Terry,
Frank Stasio
Published August 29, 2018 at 12:12 PM EDT
Actor/Comedian Martha Kelly is on the "No Refunds" tour during her break from filming the FX series "Baskets." Her tour hits Asheville, Charlotte and Durham.
courtesy of Martha Kelly
Actor/Comedian Martha Kelly is on the "No Refunds" tour during her break from filming the FX series "Baskets." Her tour hits Asheville, Charlotte and Durham.
Actor/Comedian Martha Kelly is on the "No Refunds" tour during her break from filming the FX series "Baskets." Her tour hits Asheville, Charlotte and Durham.
Credit courtesy of Martha Kelly
Actor/Comedian Martha Kelly is on the "No Refunds" tour during her break from filming the FX series "Baskets." Her tour hits Asheville, Charlotte and Durham.

When Martha Kelly was 18, she knew comedy was her career of choice. Paralyzed by fear, Kelly took what appeared to be an easier road and enrolled in college.

Host Frank Stasio talks with comedian Martha Kelly.

This road eventually lead her right back to her burning desire to make people laugh. In 2016, Kelly gained national attention for the breakout role of Martha Brooks on the FX comedy series “Baskets,” co-starring Zach Galifianakis and Louie Anderson. Kelly joins host Frank Stasio to talk about her “No Refunds” comedy tour, and bucking the Hollywood system to find fame. Kelly performs in Friday, Aug. 31 at Sly Grog Lounge in Asheville; Saturday, Sept. 1 at The Factory Comedy Room at Hyde Brewing/Suffolk Punch in Charlotte; and Sunday, Sept. 2 at Motorco Music Hall in Durham.

 

From the FX series "Baskets":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV4ce6E8Dsk

 

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio
Dana Terry
Dana is an award-winning producer who began as a personality at Rock 92. Once she started creating content for morning shows, she developed a love for producing. Dana has written and produced for local and syndicated commercial radio for over a decade. WUNC is her debut into public radio and she’s excited to tell deeper, richer stories.
See stories by Dana Terry
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio