While I am a hundred percent for ballet technique, I use only what I can adapt to my own use. As co-director, lead star, and choreographer, Kelly was the central driving force in both of these films. His family and pets escaped and he suffered a burnt hand. Athletic and energetic, Kelly was the king of the musicals in the 1940s and '50s. He is probably best known today for his performances in musicals, notably An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952). Johnny Green, the head of music at MGM at the time, said of him, Gene is easygoing as long as you know exactly what you are doing when you're working with him. starring Mary Martin, and One For the Money. Gene Kelly was born in 1910s. [46], Kelly appeared as actor and dancer in musical films. In 1999, the American Film Institute also ranked him as the 15th greatest male screen legend of Classic Hollywood Cinema. Kelly appeared in six of the sketches, one of which, La cumparsita, became the basis of an extended Spanish number in the film Anchors Aweigh eight years later. Eugene Curran “Gene” Kelly was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style. In 1970, he made another television special: Gene Kelly and 50 Girls and was invited to bring the show to Las Vegas, Nevada—which he did for an eight-week stint on the condition he be paid more than any artist had ever been paid there. Debbie Reynolds. [14] Kelly served as executive producer and co-host of That's Dancing! The initials "G.I." Max was the Music arranger that taught Henry Mancini, Sammy Nestico, Jerry Fielding, Billy Strayhorn to name a few musical stars. Eugene Curran Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third son of Harriet Catherine (Curran) and James Patrick Joseph Kelly, a phonograph salesman. [40] After his departure from the Catholic Church, Kelly became an agnostic, as he had previously described himself. Despite all of Then, a major opportunity arose when Fox—buoyed by the returns from The Sound of Music (1965)—commissioned Kelly to direct Hello, Dolly! He was a great example of 20th century filmed dance, famous for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks and the likeable characters that he played on screen. His first wife, Betsy Blair, was suspected of being a communist sympathizer, and when United Artists, which had offered Blair a part in Marty (1955), were considering withdrawing her under pressure from the American Legion, Kelly successfully threatened MGM's influence on United Artists with a pullout from It's Always Fair Weather unless his wife was restored to the part. He starred in two short-lived programs—Going My Way, an adaptation of the 1944 Bing Crosby movie, and a 1971 variety show called The Funny Side. "[11] He was also heavily influenced by an African-American dancer, Robert Dotson, whom he saw perform at Loew's Penn Theatre around 1929. They had one child, Kerry (b. Dancing legend (and actor/singer to boot), whose "Singin' in the Rain" is an enduring classic. He starred in, choreographed, or co-directed some of the most well-regarded musical films of the 1940s and 1950s, until they fell out of fashion in the late 1950s. (1969), again directing Matthau along with Barbra Streisand. In 1947, he was part of the Committee for the First Amendment, the Hollywood delegation that flew to Washington to protest at the first official hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Alec Guinness. First Name Gene #3. I don't object to that as long as they don't dance effeminately. Gene Kelly - The Start of Hollywood Success, Movies and Career Highlights: 'Singin' in the Rain'. It was beset with delays and technical problems, and flopped when finally released in 1956. (1974), That's Entertainment, Part II (1976), That's Dancing! "[34] In particular, he wanted to create a completely different image from that associated with Fred Astaire, not least because he believed his physique did not suit such refined elegance: "I used to envy his cool, aristocratic style, so intimate and contained. This led to a lead part in his next picture, with Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli—a musical film version of S.N. With such classic movie musicals as Singin’ In The Rain, Anchors Aweigh, On The Town and An American In Paris, Gene Kelly came to symbolise American post-war optimism. After leaving MGM, Kelly returned to stage work. His father worked as a phonograph salesman. [11], In 1931, Kelly enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh to study economics, joining the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. [32], According to Delamater, Kelly's work "seems to represent the fulfillment of dance-film integration in the 1940s and 1950s". Ballet gave him the same feeling of exhilaration, and in 1933, he was convinced it was the most satisfying form of self-expression. He appeared as one of many special narrators in the surprise hit That's Entertainment! References. Kelly was admitted to the University of Pittsburgh Law School. "[11] His colleagues at this time noticed his great commitment to rehearsal and hard work. He boldly blended solo dancing, mass movement and offbeat camera angles to tell a story in purely visual terms. 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 de la Légion d'Honneur by the French Government. Kelly is remembered for his lead role in Singin' in the Rain, regarded by some as the best dance film ever made. Examples of this abound in Kelly's work and are well illustrated in the "Prehistoric Man" sequence from On the Town and "The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day" from Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Clive Hirschhorn (Author) 4.8 out of 5 stars 13 ratings. This separation was prompted, in part, by a trip Kelly made to Mexico in which he became convinced that the church had failed to help the poor in that country. He isn't cruel, but he is tough, and if Gene believed in something, he didn't care who he was talking to, whether it was Louis B. Mayer or the gatekeeper. [14] He became involved in the university's Cap and Gown Club, which staged original musical productions. ', Gene Simmons is best known as the frontman for KISS, the rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s, as well as for his TV show 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels. His maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Derry, Ireland, and his maternal grandmother was of German ancestry. I didn't dance again until I was 15. 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