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Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996), better known as Gene Kelly, was an American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer. Kelly was a virtuoso dancer, known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks and the likable characters that he played on screen. He is probably best known today for his performance in Singin' in the Rain. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Kelly among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking at No. 15.
Upbringing
In 1931 Kelly enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), to study economics where he joined the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1933.[2] In 1930, his family started a dance studio on Munhall Road in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In 1932, it was renamed The Gene Kelly Studio of the Dance. A second location was opened in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1933. While still an undergraduate student and later as a student at Pitt's School of Law, Gene was a teacher at the dance studio. Eventually, though, he decided to pursue his career as a dance teacher and entertainer full-time and so dropped out of law school after two months. In 1937, having successfully managed and developed the family's dance school business, he moved to New York City in search of work as a choreographer.[1] Stage careerAfter a fruitless search, Kelly returned to Pittsburgh, to his first position as a choreographer with the Charles Gaynor musical revue Hold Your Hats at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in April, 1938. Kelly appeared in six of the sketches, one of which, "La Cumparsita", became the basis of an extended Spanish number in Anchors Aweigh eight years later. His first Broadway assignment, in November 1938, was as a dancer in Cole Porter's Leave It to Me as the American ambassador's secretary who supports Mary Martin while she sings "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". He had been hired by Robert Alton who had staged a show at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and been impressed by Kelly's teaching skills. When Alton moved on to choreograph One for the Money he hired Kelly to act, sing and dance in a total of eight routines. His first career breakthrough was in the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Time of Your Life, which opened on November 11, 1939, where for the first time on Broadway he danced to his own choreography. In the same year he received his first assignment as a Broadway choreographer, for Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe. His future wife, Betsy Blair was a member of the cast, they began dating and were married on October 16, 1941.
Offers from Hollywood began to arrive but Kelly was in no particular hurry to quit New York. Eventually, he signed with David O. Selznick, agreeing to go to Hollywood at the end of his commitment to Pal Joey, in October 1941. Prior to leaving he also choreographed the stage production of Best Foot Forward. Kelly did not return to stage work until his MGM contract ended in 1957, and in 1958 he directed Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play Flower Drum Song. Early in 1960 Kelly, an ardent Francophile and fluent French speaker, was invited by A. M. Julien, the general administrator of Paris Opera to select his own material and create a modern ballet for the company, the first time an American received such an assignment. The result was Pas de Dieux, based on Greek mythology combined with the music of George Gershwin's Concerto in F. It was a major success, and led to his being honored with the Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur by the French Government. Film careerImage:Singin Rain.jpg Gene Kelly performing in Singin' in the Rain Image:1kelly1.gif Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry in Anchors Aweigh (1945) Kelly's first motion picture was For Me and My Gal (1942) with Judy Garland. He went on to make a number of classic musicals, including An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952). His most notable moments on film include:
PersonalKelly was married to Betsy Blair for 16 years (1941 - 1957) and they had one child, Kerry. He was married to Jeanne Coyne from 1960 till her death in 1973 and they had two children Bridget and Tim. He was married to Patricia Ward from 1990 until his death in 1996. Kelly died on February 2, 1996, in Beverly Hills, California, after suffering two strokes, at the age of 83. Gene Kelly in popular culture
Stage workAs Actor:
As Crew Member:
FilmographyAs Actor: Television work
Awards and Honors
References
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