Gene Kelly
Born August 23, 1912 (Age: 113)
•
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Biography
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks, and the likable characters that he played on screen. 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. Kelly is best known today for his performances in films such as Cover Girl (1944), Anchors Aweigh (1945), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, On the Town (1949), which was his directorial debut, An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Brigadoon (1954), and It's Always Fair Weather (1955). Kelly made his film debut with Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal (1942), and followed by Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), Thousands Cheer (1943), The Pirate (1948), Summer Stock (1950), and Les Girls (1957) among others. After musicals he starred in two films outside the musical genre: Inherit the Wind (1960) and What a Way to Go! (1964). In 1967, he appeared in French director Jacques Demy's musical comedy The Young Girls of Rochefort opposite Catherine Deneuve. Kelly solo directed the comedy A Guide for the Married Man (1967) starring Walter Matthau, and later the extravagant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969) starring Barbra Streisand, recognized with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Kelly co-hosted and appeared in Ziegfeld Follies (1946), That's Entertainment! (1974), That's Entertainment, Part II (1976), That's Dancing! (1985), and That's Entertainment, Part III (1994). His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical, and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences. Kelly received an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements; the same year, An American in Paris won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors (1982) and from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute. In 1999, the American Film Institute also ranked him as the 15th greatest male screen legend of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks, and the likable characters that he played on screen. 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.
Kelly is best known today for his performances in films such as Cover Girl (1944), Anchors Aweigh (1945), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, On the Town (1949), which was his directorial debut, An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Brigadoon (1954), and It's Always Fair Weather (1955). Kelly made his film debut with Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal (1942), and followed by Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), Thousands Cheer (1943), The Pirate (1948), Summer Stock (1950), and Les Girls (1957) among others. After musicals he starred in two films outside the musical genre: Inherit the Wind (1960) and What a Way to Go! (1964). In 1967, he appeared in French director Jacques Demy's musical comedy The Young Girls of Rochefort opposite Catherine Deneuve. Kelly solo directed the comedy A Guide for the Married Man (1967) starring Walter Matthau, and later the extravagant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969) starring Barbra Streisand, recognized with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Kelly co-hosted and appeared in Ziegfeld Follies (1946), That's Entertainment! (1974), That's Entertainment, Part II (1976), That's Dancing! (1985), and That's Entertainment, Part III (1994).
His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical, and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences. Kelly received an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements; the same year, An American in Paris won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors (1982) and from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute. In 1999, the American Film Institute also ranked him as the 15th greatest male screen legend of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
Read more
Filmography
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
2009
•
as (archive footage)
•
Age: 97
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
2009
•
as Self (archive)
•
Age: 96
Summer Stock: Get Happy!
2006
•
as Joe D. Ross (archive footage) (uncredited)
•
Age: 93
Happy Again
2006
•
as Don Lockwood (archive footage)
•
Age: 93
No Image
Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again
2005
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 92
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
2005
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 92
No Image
Easter Parade: On the Avenue
2005
•
as Self (Archive Footage)
•
Age: 92
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004
•
as Don Lockwood
•
Age: 91
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004
•
as Self - Actor (archive sound)
•
Age: 91
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 90
That's Entertainment! III
1994
•
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
•
Age: 81
The Young Girls Turn 25
1993
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 80
Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
1990
•
as Self
•
Age: 78
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
1990
•
as Self
•
Age: 77
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town
1988
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 75
The Movie Palaces
1987
•
as Self
•
Age: 74
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
•
as Self
•
Age: 74
That's Dancing!
1985
•
as Self - Host
•
Age: 72
No Image
Sylvie Vartan: Live in Las Vegas
1982
•
as Self
•
Age: 70
Reporters
1981
•
as Self
•
Age: 68
Xanadu
1980
•
as Danny McGuire
•
Age: 67
Olivia Newton-John: Hollywood Nights
1980
•
as Self
•
Age: 67
Lucy Moves to NBC
1980
•
as Self
•
Age: 67
The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait
1978
•
as Self
•
Age: 66
Mickey's 50
1978
•
as Self
•
Age: 66
Cinderella at the Palace
1978
•
as Host
•
Age: 66
Ersatz
1978
•
as Don Lockwood (voice) (archive sound)
•
Age: 65
No Image
Yabba Dabba Doo! The Happy World of Hanna-Barbera
1977
•
as Self - Host
•
Age: 65
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
•
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
•
Age: 63
The Sandy Duncan Special
1974
•
as Self
•
Age: 62
That's Entertainment!
1974
•
as Self - Host / Narrator
•
Age: 61
Frank Sinatra: Ol' Blue Eyes is Back
1973
•
as Self - Guest Performer
•
Age: 61
40 Carats
1973
•
as Billy Boylan
•
Age: 60
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
1973
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 60
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 59
Behind the screens : Les demoiselles de Rochefort
1966
•
as Self
•
Age: 53
The Julie Andrews Show
1965
•
as Self
•
Age: 53
What a Way to Go!
1964
•
as Pinky Benson
•
Age: 51
No Image
Hollywood: The Golden Years
1961
•
as Self - Host
•
Age: 48
Let's Make Love
1960
•
as Gene Kelly (uncredited)
•
Age: 48
Inherit the Wind
1960
•
as E.K. Hornbeck
•
Age: 47
Dancing, a Man's Game - Gene Kelly
1958
•
as Self
•
Age: 46
Marjorie Morningstar
1958
•
as Noel Airman
•
Age: 45
Invitation to the Dance
1956
•
as Host / Pierrot / The Marine / Sinbad
•
Age: 43
It's Always Fair Weather
1955
•
as Ted Riley
•
Age: 43
Deep in My Heart
1954
•
as Performer in Dancing Around
•
Age: 42
Brigadoon
1954
•
as Tommy Albright
•
Age: 42
Seagulls Over Sorrento
1954
•
as Lieutenant Bradville
•
Age: 41
Summer Stock
1950
•
as Joe D. Ross
•
Age: 38
The Costume Designer
1950
•
as Self (archive footage)
•
Age: 37
Black Hand
1950
•
as Giovanni E. 'Johnny' Columbo
•
Age: 37
The Story of Submarine Warfare in the Pacific
1945
•
as Narrator (voice)
•
Age: 33
Ziegfeld Follies
1945
•
as Gentleman (segment "The Babbit and the Bromide")
•
Age: 33
Anchors Aweigh
1945
•
as Joseph Brady
•
Age: 32
Combat Fatigue Irritability
1945
•
as Seaman Bob Lucas
•
Age: 32
For Me and My Gal
1942
•
as Harry Palmer
•
Age: 30