Gene Kelly

Acting

Born Aug 23, 1912

From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Died Feb 02, 1996

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.

Gene Kelly

Known For

40 Carats

Singin' in the Rain

What a Way to Go!

Inherit the Wind

An American in Paris

Let's Make Love

Night of 100 Stars

The Three Musketeers

On the Town

Brigadoon

Filmography — Acting

40 Carats

Singin' in the Rain

What a Way to Go!

Inherit the Wind

An American in Paris

Let's Make Love

Night of 100 Stars

The Three Musketeers

On the Town

Brigadoon

The Young Girls of Rochefort

Xanadu

Ziegfeld Follies

Summer Stock

Cover Girl

Anchors Aweigh

That's Entertainment, Part II

Words and Music

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

Showbiz Goes to War

That's Entertainment!

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

It's Always Fair Weather

Les Girls

Du Barry Was a Lady

Mickey's 50

Judy Garland: By Myself

That's Dancing!

The Lion Roars Again

Deep in My Heart

The Pirate

Black Hand

Reporters

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

Thousands Cheer

Sid & Judy

Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues

James Bond: The First 21 Years

Marjorie Morningstar

It's a Big Country

Christmas Holiday

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Seagulls Over Sorrento

Love Is Better Than Ever

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story

Jack and the Beanstalk

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years

The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell

For Me and My Gal

Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies

That's Entertainment! III

Twenty Years After

A Bing Crosby Christmas

La La La

The Happy Road

Viva Knievel!

Living in a Big Way

NBC: The First Fifty Years

It's Showtime

Pilot #5

The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli

Invitation to the Dance

The Young Girls Turn 25

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical

The Cross of Lorraine