Date of Birth

23 August 1912, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of Death

2 February 1996, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

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 Girl (1942) with Judy Garland. 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.

During World War II he was a sailor stationed at the U S Naval Photographic Center in Anacostia, DC (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, Pa.

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

"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.

He wore a hairpiece (toupee).

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.

Price:  £60.00