Gene Kelly in “Singing in the Rain“

Today we celebrate an amazing man. As a child he was the first man I ever developed a crush on through his movies. He was an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, director and much more. I will always remember him dancing with Jerry Mouse, Frank Sinatra & the leggy Cyd Charisse. Today he would have been 100 y/o.

According to Wikipedia.com;

Eugene Curran “Gene” Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director, producer, and choreographer. Kelly was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks and the likeable characters that he played on screen.

Although he is known today for his performances in Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris, he was a dominant force in Hollywood musical films from the mid 1940s until this art form fell out of fashion in the late 1950s. His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical film, and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences.

Kelly was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors, and from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute; in 1999, the American Film Institute also numbered him 15th in their Greatest Male Stars of All Time list.

Kelly

He last worked in 1994 on Thats Entertainment III. He passed away 2 years later. I cried so hard when he did.

Related articles

• Gene Kelly: Rare Photos of a Song and Dance Legend (life.time.com)
• Gene Kelly does Summer Stock (onceuponascreen.wordpress.com)
• FLASH SPECIAL: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN Splashes Back (broadwayworld.com)