Kelly Reno, born
to cattle ranchers in Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....

 is a former juvenile actor

Child actor

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

 who was cast in the role of Alec Ramsey, the young boy who is marooned on a deserted island along with a horse, in The Black Stallion

The Black Stallion (film)

The Black Stallion is a 1979 American film based on the 1941 classic children's novel The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. It tells the story of Alec Ramsey, who is shipwrecked on a desert island, together with a wild Arabian stallion whom he befriends...

(based on the novel

The Black Stallion

The Black Stallion, known as "the Black" or "Shêtân", is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay...

 by Walter Farley

Walter Farley

Walter Farley was an American author, primarily of horse stories for children. Educated at Columbia, where he received a B.A. in 1941, his first and most famous work was The Black Stallion...

) at age 13.

Reno also appeared in the 1983 film adaptation of The Black Stallion Returns, alongside Vincent Spano

Vincent Spano

Vincent M. Spano is an American stage, film and television actor, and film director and producer. He received a Cable Ace Award nomination in 1988 for his role as Mark Ciuni in Il cugino americano.-Backround:...

.
His acting career was cut short when the pick-up truck he was driving was hit by a semi-truck

Semi-trailer

A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. A large proportion of its weight is supported by a road tractor, a detachable front axle assembly known as a dolly, or the tail of another trailer...

. He had severe injuries and the long recovery time put an end to his acting career.