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.
Acting (91 movies)
Singin' in the Rain
1952
Inherit the Wind
1960
An American in Paris
1951
Cover Girl
1944
On the Town
1949
What a Way to Go!
1964
Christmas Holiday
1944
For Me and My Gal
1942
Marjorie Morningstar
1958
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
1949
The Pirate
1948
Black Hand
1950
The Three Musketeers
1948
40 Carats
1973
That's Dancing!
1985
The Life You Save May Be Your Own
1957
Summer Stock
1950
Ziegfeld Follies
1945
Les Girls
1957
Du Barry Was a Lady
1943
Thousands Cheer
1943
Xanadu
1980
The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait
1978
Invitation to the Dance
1956
Anchors Aweigh
1945
It's Always Fair Weather
1955
Brigadoon
1954
Showbiz Goes to War
1982
Jack and the Beanstalk
1967
It's a Big Country
1951
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
Viva Knievel!
1977
The Cross of Lorraine
1943
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
1982
Pilot #5
1943
The Devil Makes Three
1952
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
Living in a Big Way
1947
The Happy Road
1957
Seagulls Over Sorrento
1954
The Young Girls Turn 25
1993
Ersatz
1978
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995
Words and Music
1948
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
1990
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
1973
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
2005
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
1986
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
1988
That's Entertainment!
1974
Frank Sinatra: Ol' Blue Eyes is Back
1973
Directing Dolly: Gene Kelly Remembered
2013
Deep in My Heart
1954
A Bing Crosby Christmas
1998
Reporters
1981
Dancing, a Man's Game - Gene Kelly
1958
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
That's Entertainment! III
1994
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
2000
Olivia Newton-John: Hollywood Nights
1980
The Movie Palaces
1987
Let's Make Love
1960
Combat Fatigue Irritability
1945
Lucy Moves to NBC
1980
James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983
Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
1990
Twenty Years After
1944
The Sandy Duncan Special
1974
The Julie Andrews Show
1965
Happy Again
2006
The Costume Designer
1950
Love Is Better Than Ever
1952
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town
1988
La La La
2018
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
It's Showtime
1976
Mickey's 50
1978
The Story of Submarine Warfare in the Pacific
1945
Sid & Judy
2019
Frank Sinatra: Around the World
2011
The Young Girls of Rochefort
1967
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
1979
Night of 100 Stars
1982
True Blue
2025
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
2009
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
2009
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004
Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood
2025
Behind the screens : Les demoiselles de Rochefort
1966
Summer Stock: Get Happy!
2006
Directing (15 movies)
Singin' in the Rain
1952
A Guide for the Married Man
1967
On the Town
1949
The Cheyenne Social Club
1970
Hello, Dolly!
1969
The Tunnel of Love
1958
Invitation to the Dance
1956
Gigot
1962
Jack and the Beanstalk
1967
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
American in Paris
1964
The Happy Road
1957
It's Always Fair Weather
1955
Combat Fatigue Irritability
1945
Dancing, a Man's Game - Gene Kelly
1958
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Invitation to the Dance | 1956 | Writer |
| The Happy Road | 1957 | Producer |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | 1967 | Producer |
| The Cheyenne Social Club | 1970 | Producer |