Kelly, Eugene Curran

▪ 1997

      ("GENE"), U.S. dancer, actor, choreographer, and director (b. Aug. 23, 1912, Pittsburgh, Pa.—d. Feb. 2, 1996, Beverly Hills, Calif.), revolutionized the motion picture musicals of the 1940s and '50s by taking his dance numbers off Hollywood sound stages and out onto the streets in scenes that featured athleticism in contrast to the aristocratic elegance of Fred Astaire. Kelly blended the techniques of ballet, tap, and jazz in choreography that reflected his own robust, acrobatic style and created innovative scenarios in which, for example, he danced with an "alter ego" image of himself, in Cover Girl (1944), and with a cartoon mouse, in Anchors Aweigh (1945). Kelly studied dance as a child, and after graduating (1933) from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in economics, he taught dance, danced in vaudeville with his brother, and directed local plays. He debuted on Broadway in 1938—as a chorus boy in Leave It to Me—and the next year was featured in The Time of Your Life. The title role in Pal Joey followed in 1940 and led to a Hollywood contract. In 1942 Kelly starred in his first motion picture, For Me and My Gal. For MGM he made such films as Anchors Aweigh, The Pirate (1948), and An American in Paris (1951). The latter, which ended with a nearly 20-minute ballet, won the Academy Award for best picture, and Kelly was given a special Oscar for his contributions to film musicals. It was while on loan to Columbia for Cover Girl, however, that he first collaborated with director Stanley Donen and began the experimentation that changed the face of movie musicals, creating dance numbers that utilized motion picture techniques and that advanced the plot rather than serving merely as entertainment. In 1949 Kelly and Donen co-directed On the Town, about three sailors on leave in New York City, which broke film musical tradition by being shot entirely on location. Their next effort was Singin' in the Rain (1952), which many consider the finest of all screen musicals. Among the films that he directed but did not appear in were Hello, Dolly! (1969) and The Cheyenne Social Club (1970). Kelly was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute (1985) and the National Medal of the Arts (1994).

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