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Gene Kelly
Age: 83 (passed away Feb. 2nd, 1996)
Height: 170 cm
Birth Place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Born: Aug. 23rd, 1912
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Gene Kelly's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: M-G-M 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 M-G-M was For Me and My Gal (1942) with Judy Garland (I). What kept Kelly in Hollywood were "the kindred creative spirits" he found behind the scenes at M-G-M. 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.
TRIVIA:
- Kelly's father was 'Al Jolson' (qv)'s road manager in the 1920s.
- His first two wives were dancers. Actress 'Betsy Blair' (qv) met Gene while she was a performer and he a choreographer in the show "Diamond Horseshoe". Second wife 'Jeanne Coyne' (qv) 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 (I)' (qv), 'Ann Miller (I)' (qv), 'Tommy Rall' (qv), 'Carol Haney' (qv) and 'Bob Fosse' (qv) in _Kiss Me Kate (1953)_ (qv) (1953). She died of leukemia in 1973.
- Had a half-moon shaped scar on his left cheek caused by a bicycle accident he had as a young boy.
- He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1994 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
- (October 1997) Ranked #26 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
- He was awarded the National Medal of Freedom from President 'Bill Clinton (I)' (qv) in 1994.
- 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
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