Information from IMDb
Date of Birth
23 August 1912,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Date of Death
2 February 1996,
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (complications from two strokes)
Birth Name
Eugene Curran Kelly
Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)
Spouse
Patricia Ward Kelly (20 July 1990 - 2 February 1996) (his death)
Jeanne Coyne (6 August 1960 - 10 May 1973) (her death) 2 children
Betsy Blair (22 September 1941 - 3 April 1957) (divorced) 1 child
Trade Mark
Known for his innovative, athletic style of dancing
Trivia
During World War II, he was a sailor stationed at the United States Naval Photographic Center in Anacostia, D.C. (where the documentary "Victory at Sea" (1952) was later assembled for NBC-TV). He starred in several Navy films while on active duty there and in "civilian" films while on leave.
Attended Peabody High School in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Ranked #26 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1992.
Kelly's father was Al Jolson's road manager in the 1920s.
Had three children: Kerry Kelly, with Betsy Blair, in 1942, and Bridget Kelly and Tim Kelly, with Jeanne Coyne, in the 1960s.
Had a half-moon shaped scar on his left cheek caused by a bicycle accident he had as a young boy.
Was dance consultant for Madonna's 1993 "Girlie Show" tour.
Attended Penn State University before transferring to University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated.
His first two wives were dancers. Actress Betsy Blair met Gene while she was a performer and he a choreographer in the show "Diamond Horseshoe". Second wife Jeanne Coyne was Gene's dancing assistant for many years before they married in 1960. A major talent in her own right, her dazzling footwork can be seen in the "From This Moment On" number alongside partner Bobby Van, Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Carol Haney and Bob Fosse in Kiss Me Kate (1953) (1953). She died of leukemia in 1973.
He and his younger brother Fred Kelly appeared together in a dancing vaudeville act. When Gene got his big break as Harry the hoofer in the dramatic Broadway production of "The Time of Your Life" in 1942, he was eventually replaced by brother Fred, who took it on the road and won a Donaldson award for his efforts.
Working on an autobiography at the time of his death.
Graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in economics.
Kennedy Center Honoree, 1982
A stage version of "Singin' in the Rain" was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2001 for Outstanding Musical Production, with choreography by Kelly.
Martial arts stars Jackie Chan and David Carradine both cite him as an influence.
Awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 510-515. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
He was voted the 42nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Was named the #15 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue"
Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 309-312. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959
Ray Bradbury's novel "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was dedicated to Kelly.
Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6153 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
His last movie musical was Xanadu (1980) co-starring Olivia Newton-John.
Had a fever of 103 degrees while filming the famous rain scene in Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Famed producer David O. Selznick signed Gene to his first Hollywood contract after seeing him star in "Pal Joey" while on Broadway. Though Gene had had other offers from studios, he chose to sign with Selznick mostly because his was the only studio that did not insist on a screen test before signing him. Selznick sold Kelly's contact to MGM before he could find a suitable role for him to appear in.
He and MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer shared a long standing feud stemming from even before Kelly entered the motion picture business. One evening after seeing Gene perform in "Pal Joey" on Broadway, Mayer met Kelly backstage and offered to sign him to MGM without a screen test. When Kelly later received a call from a MGM representative requesting a screen test, he insisted there was some sort of mistake saying he had Mayer's word he did not have to make one and told the rep to ask Mayer himself. When the rep did, he called back days later stating that he did talk to Mayer and that he still had to make a test. Gene was furious and wrote a scathing letter to Mayer for retracting his promise. For the first couple of years he worked for Mayer, Kelly was uncertain that Mayer even read the letter until Louis brought it up in an argument one evening.
Tony Martin the husband of MGM star/dancer Cyd Charisse said he could tell who she had been dancing with that day on an MGM set. If she came home covered with bruises on her, it was the very physically-demanding Gene Kelly, if not it was the smooth and agile Fred Astaire.
Was originally set to star as Don Hewes alongside Judy Garland in Easter Parade (1948). However, before filming began, he broke his leg, resulting in Fred Astaire coming out of retirement in order to replace him in the film.
Bob Fosse originally wanted him for a lead role in a musical film adaptation of the Maurine Dallas Watkins play "Chicago" around the early 1970s. He eventually gave up the choice, and Fosse opted to do a stage musical instead.
His death is mentioned in the Dream Theater song "Take Away My Pain" from their album "Falling into Infinity" released in 1997 with the lyric "he said look at poor Gene Kelly, I guess he won't be singing in the rain".
Joined the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity while studying at the University of Pittsburgh.
Mini Biography
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the largest and most powerful studio in Hollywood when Gene Kelly arrived in town in 1941. He came direct from the hit 1940 original Broadway production of "Pal Joey" and planned to return to the Broadway stage after making the one film required by his contract. His first picture for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was For Me and My Girl (1942) with Judy Garland. What kept Kelly in Hollywood were "the kindred creative spirits" he found behind the scenes at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The talent pool was especially large during World War II, when Hollywood was a refuge for many musicians and others in the performing arts of Europe who were forced to flee the Nazis. After the war, a new generation was coming of age. Those who saw An American in Paris (1951) would try to make real life as romantic as the reel life they saw portrayed in that musical, and the first time they saw Paris, they were seeing again in memory the seventeen-minute ballet sequence set to the title song written by George Gershwin and choreographed by Kelly. The sequence cost a half million dollars (U.S.) to make in 1951 dollars. Another Kelly musical of the era, Singin' in the Rain (1952), was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for its National Film Registry. Kelly was in the same league as Fred Astaire, but instead of a top hat and tails Kelly wore work clothes that went with his masculine, athletic dance style. Gene Kelly died at age 83 of complications from two strokes on February 2, 1996 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Dale O'Connor
Personal Quotes
[on his working experience with Debbie Reynolds while filming Singin' in the Rain (1952) (1952)] I wasn't nice to Debbie. It's a wonder she still speaks to me.
There was no model for what I tried to do with dance . . . and the thing Fred Astaire and I used to bitch about was that critics didn't know how to categorize us. They called us tap dancers because that was considered the American style. But neither of us were basically tap dancers.
The contract system at Hollywood studios like MGM was a very efficient system in that because we were at the studio all the time we could rehearse a lot. But it also really repressed people. There were no union regulations yet, and we were all indentured servants - you can call us slaves if you want - like ballplayers before free agency. We had seven-year contracts, but every six months the studio could decide to fire you if your picture wasn't a hit. And if you turned down a role, they cut off your salary and simply added the time to your contract.
Kids talk to me and say they want to do musicals again because they've studied the tapes of the old films. We didn't have that. We thought once we had made it, even on film, it was gone except for the archives.
I arrived in Hollywood twenty pounds overweight and as strong as an ox. But if I put on a white tails and tux like [Fred Astaire], I still looked like a truck driver.
If Fred Astaire is the Cary Grant of dance, I'm the Marlon Brando.
I never wanted to be a dancer. It's true! I wanted to be a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Fred Astaire represented the aristocracy, I represented the proletariat.
There is a strange sort of reasoning in Hollywood that musicals are less worthy of Academy consideration than dramas. It's a form of snobbism, the same sort that perpetuates the idea that drama is more deserving of Awards than comedy.
[on his career] I took it as it came and it happened to be very nice.
[on Fred Astaire] I work bigger. Fred's style is more intimate. I'm very jealous of that when I see him on the small screen. Fred looks so great on TV. I'd love to put on a white tie and tails and look as thin as him and glide as smoothly. But I'm built like a blocking tackle.
[on Judy Garland] The finest all-around performer we ever had in America was Judy Garland. There was no limit to her talent. She was the quickest, brightest person I ever worked with.
[on Ginger Rogers] When Ginger Rogers danced with Fred Astaire, it was the only time in the movies when you looked at the man, not the woman.
Filmography
Actor
1986 Sins (TV mini-series)d
– Episode #1.3 (1986) … Eric Hovland
– Episode #1.2 (1986) … Eric Hovland
– Episode #1.1 (1986) … Eric Hovland
1985 North and South (TV mini-series)
– Episode #1.6 (1985) … Sen. Charles Edwards (credit only)
– Episode #1.5 (1985) … Sen. Charles Edwards (credit only)
– Episode #1.4 (1985) … Sen. Charles Edwards (credit only)
– Episode #1.3 (1985) … Sen. Charles Edwards (credit only)
– Episode #1.2 (1985) … Sen. Charles Edwards
all 6 episodes »
1984 The Love Boat (TV series)
– Polly's Poker Palace/Shop Ahoy/Double Date/The Hong Kong Affair/Two Tails of a City: Part 1 (1984) … Charles Dane
– Polly's Poker Palace/Shop Ahoy/Double Date/The Hong Kong Affair/Two Tales of a City: Part 2 (1984) … Charles Dane
1980 Xanadu..Danny McGuire
1979 The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (TV series)– Episode #1.5 (1979)
1977 Viva Knievel!...Will Atkins
1976 America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music (TV movie)...Host / Oscar Hammerstein II
1976 The Dorothy Hamill Special (TV movie)
1973 40 Carats...Billy Boylan
1971 The Funny Side (TV series)...Host
1967 Les Demoiselles de Rochefort...Andy Miller
1967 Jack and the Beanstalk (TV movie)...Jeremy Keen, Proprietor (Peddler)
1964 What a Way to Go!...Pinky Benson
1962-1963 Going My Way (TV series)
– A Tough Act to Follow (1963) … Father Chuck O'Malley
– Hear No Evil (1963) … Father Chuck O'Malley
– Florence, Come Home (1963) … Father Chuck O'Malley
– Custody of the Child (1963) … Father Chuck O'Malley
– Reformation of Willie (1963) … Father Chuck O'Malley
all 30 episodes »
1960 Inherit the Wind...E. K. Hornbeck
1958 Marjorie Morningstar...Noel Airman
1958 Something for the Girls
1957 Les Girls...Barry Nichols
1957 The Happy Road...Michael J. Andrews
1957 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV series)t– The Life You Save (1957) … Tom T. Triplet
1956 Invitation to the Dance...The Clown in 'Circus' / The Marine in 'Ring Around the Rosy' / Sinbad in 'Sinbad the Sailor'
1956 The Magic Lamp (short)...Sinbad (voice)
1955 It's Always Fair Weather...Ted Riley
1954 Deep in My Heart...Specialty in 'Dancing Around'
1954 Brigadoon...Tommy Albright
1954 Seagulls Over Sorrento...Lt. 'Brad' Bradville (USN)
1952 The Devil Makes Three...Capt. Jeff Eliot
1952 Singin' in the Rain...Don Lockwood
1951 It's a Big Country...Icarus Xenophon
1951 An American in Paris...Jerry Mulligan
1950 If You Feel Like Singing...Joe D. Ross
1950 Black Hand...Giovanni E. 'Johnny' Columbo
1949 On the Town...Gabey
1949 Everybody's Cheering...Eddie O'Brien
1948 The Three Musketeers...D'Artagnan
1948 The Pirate...Serafin
1947 Living in a Big Way...Leo Gogarty
1945 Ziegfeld Follies...Gentleman ('The Babbit and the Bromide')
1945 Anchors Aweigh...Joseph Brady
1944 Christmas Holiday...Robert Manette
1944 Cover Girl...Danny McGuire
1943 The Cross of Lorraine...Victor
1943 Thousands Cheer...Private Eddie Marsh
1943 Pilot #5...Vito S. Alessandro
1943 Du Barry Was a Lady...Alec Howe/Black Arrow
1942 For Me and My Girl...Harry Palmer
Soundtrack
2012 Sawako no asa (TV series)
– Jay Kabira (2012) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain")
2011 Gent de paraula (TV series)
– Episode #1.17 (2011) (performer: "New York, New York")
2010 Wishful Drinking (TV documentary) (performer: "Singing in the Rain")
2010 Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood (TV mini-series documentary)
– The Attack of the Small Screens: 1950-1960 (2010) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain" - uncredited)
2009 50 años de (TV series)
– Calle (2009) (performer: "Singin' In the Rain")
2009 Dancing with the Stars (TV series)
– Round Three: Results Show (2009) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain" - uncredited)
2009 Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing (video documentary) (performer: "New York, New York" - uncredited, "Make Way for Tomorrow" - uncredited)
2008 Parashat Ha-Shavua (TV series)
– VaYakhel (2008) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain")
2008 Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical Treasure (TV documentary) (performer: "New York, New York" - uncredited, "An American in Paris Ballet" - uncredited, "Good Morning" - uncredited, "Alter Ego Dance" - uncredited, "Dig-Dig-Dig Dig for Your Dinner" - uncredited, "Our Love Is Here to Stay" - uncredited, "Singin' in the Rain" - uncredited)
2007 Por Toda Minha Vida (TV series documentary)
– Nara Leão (2007) (performer: "Singing in the Rain")
2007 American Masters (TV series documentary)
– Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends (2007) (performer: "I Got Rhythm")
2007 The Pirate: A Musical Treasure Chest (video documentary short) ("Be a Clown")
2001 On the Edge (performer: "Singin' in the Rain")
1998 The Object of My Affection (performer: "You Were Meant for Me")
1997 MGM Sing-Alongs: Searching for Your Dreams (video short) (performer: "The Worry Song")
1997 MGM Sing-Alongs: Friends (video short) (performer: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame")
1995 Friends (TV series)
– The One with Phoebe's Husband (1995) (performer: "Singing in the Rain" - uncredited)
1995 Forget Paris (performer: "Love Is Here To Stay")
1994 Leon (performer: "I Like Myself")
1994 That's Entertainment! III (documentary) (performer: "On the Town" 1944 - uncredited, "Ballin' the Jack" 1913 - uncredited, "You Wonderful You" 1950 - uncredited, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" 1936 - uncredited, "An American in Paris Ballet" 1936 - uncredited, "Fit as a Fiddle" 1932 - uncredited, "The Heather on the Hill" 1947 - uncredited)
1992 MGM: When the Lion Roars (TV mini-series documentary)
– The Lion in Winter (1992) (performer: "The King Who Couldn't Dance The Worry Song" - uncredited, "New York, New York" - uncredited, "Be a Clown" - uncredited, "An American in Paris Ballet" - uncredited, "Singin' in the Rain" - uncredited, "Good Morning" - uncredited, "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean" - uncredited)
1991 Great Performances (TV series)
– The Fred Astaire Songbook (1991) (performer: "The Babbitt and the Bromide")
1989 Somebody or The Rise and Fall of Philosophy (short) (performer: "You Are My Lucky Star")
1986 Precious Images (documentary short) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain")
1986 Frankenstein Punk (short) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain")
1985 Moonlighting (TV series)
– Knowing Her (1985) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain")
1985 That's Dancing! (documentary) (performer: "Moses", "Sinbad the Sailor", "The Binge")
1980 The Muppet Show (TV series)
– Episode #5.1 (1980) (performer: "You Wonderful You" - uncredited)
1980 Xanadu (performer: "Whenever You're Away From Me")
1980 Olivia Newton-John: Hollywood Nights (TV special) (performer: "Makin' Movies")
1979 Der ganz normale Wahnsinn (TV series)
– Viertes Kapitel (1979) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain" - uncredited)
1976 That's Entertainment, Part II (documentary) (performer: "For Me and My Gal" 1917 - uncredited, "Be a Clown" 1948 - uncredited, "Color Change" 1976 - uncredited, "Shubert Alley" 1976 - uncredited, "Good Morning" 1939 - uncredited, "I Got Rhythm" 1930 - uncredited, "I Begged Her" 1944 - uncredited, "Love Is Here to Stay" 1938 - uncredited, "Cartoon Sequence" 1976 - uncredited, "Sinbad the Sailor" 1956 - uncredited, "Broadway Rhythm" 1935 - uncredited, "I Like Myself" 1954 - uncredited, "Finale" 1976 - uncredited)
1976 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (TV series)
– Episode dated 4 May 1976 (1976) (performer: "I've Got A Crush On You" - uncredited, "For Me and My Gal" - uncredited)
1976 It's Showtime (documentary) (performer: "Fido and Me" - uncredited)
1974 That's Entertainment! (documentary) (performer: "Singin' in the Rain" 1929 - uncredited, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" 1908 - uncredited, "The Babbitt and the Bromide" 1927 - uncredited, "Be a Clown" 1948 - uncredited, "The Pirate Ballet" 1948 - uncredited, "New York, New York" 1944 - uncredited, "The King Who Couldn't Dance The Worry Song" 1945 - uncredited, "The Broadway Ballet" 1935 - uncredited, "An American in Paris Ballet" 1951 - uncredited)
1973 Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra (TV special documentary) (performer: "We Can't Do That Anymore", "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", "For Me and My Gal", "New York, New York", "Nice and Easy")
1971 A Clockwork Orange (performer: "Singin' In the Rain")
1967 Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (performer: "Andy Amoureux" - uncredited, "De Hambourg à Rochefort" - uncredited, "Les Rencontres" - uncredited, "Concerto ballet" - uncredited)
1967 Jack and the Beanstalk (TV movie) (performer: "Half Past April, and a Quarter to May", "A Tiny Bit of Faith", "It's Been Nice", "The Woggle-Bird Song", "One Starry Moment" Reprise)
1964 What a Way to Go! (performer: "I Think that You and I Should Get Acquainted", "Musical Extravaganza")
1963 The Danny Kaye Show (TV series)
– Episode #1.5 (1963) (performer: "Ballin' the Jack")
1959 The Gene Kelly Show (TV movie) (performer: "For Me and My Gal")
1957 Les Girls (performer: "Les Girls" - uncredited, "You're Just Too Too!" - uncredited, "Why Am I So Gone About that Gal?" - uncredited, "The Rope Dance" - uncredited)
1956 Invitation to the Dance (performer: "Circus", "Ring Around The Rosy", "Sinbad the Sailor")
1955-1956 MGM Parade (TV series)
– Episode #1.19 (1956) (performer: "The Babbitt and the Bromide")
– Episode #1.11 (1955) (performer: "For Me and My Gal" - uncredited)
– Episode #1.10 (1955) (performer: "For Me and My Gal" - uncredited)
– Episode #1.2 (1955) (performer: "I Like Myself" - uncredited)
1955 It's Always Fair Weather (performer: "March, March" 1955 - uncredited, "The Time for Parting" 1955 - uncredited, "Once Upon a Time" 1955 - uncredited, "I Shouldn't Have Come" 1955 - uncredited, "I Like Myself" 1955 - uncredited)
1954 Deep in My Heart (performer: "I Love to Go Swimmin' with Wimmen")
1954 Brigadoon (performer: "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean" - uncredited, "The Heather on the Hill" - uncredited, "Almost Like Being in Love" - uncredited, "The Heather on the Hill" reprise - uncredited)
1952 Singin' in the Rain (performer: "Singin' in the Rain" 1929 - uncredited, "Fit as a Fiddle" 1932 - uncredited, "You Were Meant For Me" 1929 - uncredited, "Moses" 1952 - uncredited, "Good Morning" 1939 - uncredited, "Broadway Rhythm Ballet" 1952 - uncredited, "Singin in the Rain in A-Flat" 1929 - uncredited, "You Are My Lucky Star" 1935 - uncredited)
1951 An American in Paris (performer: "Our Love Is Here to Stay" 1937 - uncredited, "By Strauss" 1936 - uncredited, "Tra-la-la This Time It's Really Love" 1922 - uncredited, "I Got Rhythm" 1930 - uncredited, "'S Wonderful" 1927 - uncredited, "An American in Paris Ballet" - uncredited)
1950 If You Feel Like Singing (performer: "All for You" - uncredited, "Dig-Dig-Dig Dig For Your Dinner" - uncredited, " Howdy Neighbor Happy Harvest" - uncredited, "Heavenly Music" - uncredited, "You Wonderful You" - uncredited, "Portland Fancy" - uncredited)
1949 On the Town (performer: "New York, New York", "A Day in New York", "Prehistoric Man" - uncredited, "Main Street" - uncredited, "On the Town" - uncredited, "Count on Me" - uncredited, "That's All There Is, Folks" - uncredited)
1949 Everybody's Cheering (performer: "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", "Yes, Indeedy" - uncredited, "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" - uncredited, "Strictly U.S.A." - uncredited, "The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore upon St. Patrick's Day" - uncredited)
1948 Words and Music (performer: "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue")
1948 The Pirate (performer: "Nina" - uncredited, "Mack the Black" - uncredited, "Be a Clown" - uncredited)
1947 Living in a Big Way (performer: "Fido and Me" - uncredited, "It Had to Be You" - uncredited, "Ring Around the Rosie", "Go in and Out the Window", "Here We Go Looby Loo", "One Two Three O'Lairy", "See-Saw", "Yankee Doodle")
1945 Ziegfeld Follies (performer: "The Babbitt and the Bromide")
1945 Anchors Aweigh (performer: "We Hate to Leave" 1944 - uncredited, "I Begged Her" 1944 - uncredited, "If You Knew Susie" 1925 - uncredited, "The King Who Couldn't Dance The Worry Song" 1945 - uncredited, "The Mexican Hat Dance" 1933 - uncredited, "La Cumparsita" 1937 - uncredited, "Chiapanecas While There's Music There's Romance / The Celebrated Mexican 'Clap Hands' Song" 1938 - uncredited, "Anchors Aweigh Reprise #2" 1906 - uncredited)
1944 Cover Girl (performer: "MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW", "PUT ME TO THE TEST", "LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY", "ALTER-EGO DANCE" / "PUT ME TO THE TEST")
1943 Du Barry Was a Lady (performer: "Do I Love You?" 1939, "Song of the Rebellion" 1943, "Friendship" 1939)
1942 For Me and My Girl (performer: "For Me and My Gal" 1917 - uncredited, "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny Oh!" 1917 - uncredited, "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose" 1914 - uncredited, "They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me" 1917 - uncredited, "Ballin' the Jack" 1913 - uncredited, "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France" 1917 - uncredited, "Oh Frenchy" 1918 - uncredited / "For Me and My Gal" 1917 - uncredited)
Director
1976 That's Entertainment, Part II (documentary) (new sequences)
1970 The Cheyenne Social Club
1969 Hello, Dolly!
1967 A Guide for the Married Man
1967 Jack and the Beanstalk (TV movie)
1964 American in Paris (TV movie)
1962 Gigot
1958 The Tunnel of Love
1957 The Happy Road
1956 Invitation to the Dance
1955 It's Always Fair Weather
1952 Singin' in the Rain
1949 On the Town
