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Gene Kelly

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Birthdate

1912-08-23

Day of Death

1996-02-02

Place of Birth

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Gene Kelly

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.

Filmography (102)

⭐ 0 Role: (Archive Footage)

True Blue

2025
⭐ 6.5 Role: Self - Portrait Subject & Interviewee (archive footage)

Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood

2025
⭐ 7.4 Role: Self (archive footage)

Sid & Judy

2019
⭐ 7.2 Role: Various Roles (archive footage)

La La La

2018
No Image
⭐ 0 Role: Self

JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala

2017
⭐ 0 Role: Self (archive footage)

Directing Dolly: Gene Kelly Remembered

2013
⭐ 8.0 Role: Self - Guest

Frank Sinatra: Around the World

2011
⭐ 6.0 Role: (archive footage)

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing

2009
⭐ 0 Role: Self (archive)

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

2009
⭐ 0 Role: Joe D. Ross (archive footage) (uncredited)

Summer Stock: Get Happy!

2006
⭐ 8.0 Role: Don Lockwood (archive footage)

Happy Again

2006
No Image
⭐ 10.0 Role: Self (archive footage)

Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again

2005
No Image
⭐ 7.0 Role: Self (Archive Footage)

Easter Parade: On the Avenue

2005
⭐ 0 Role: Self (archive footage)

Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'

2005
⭐ 8.3 Role: Don Lockwood

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

2004