Gene Kelly (born August 23, 1912, Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S.—died February 2, 1996,Beverly Hills, California) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and motion-picture director whose athletic style ofdancing, combined with classicalballet technique, transformed themovie musical and did much to change the American public’sconception of male dancers.

One of five children born to a record company sales executive and a former actress, Kelly dreamed of becoming a professional athlete but was redirected into dancing by his mother. He studied ballet and otherdance forms. Kelly majored injournalism atPennsylvania State College (now University) andeconomics at theUniversity of Pittsburgh (A.B., 1933), but the allure of performing proved too strong to resist. He toured invaudeville with his brother Fred (later aprolific stage andtelevision director), and for several years he ran a successful dancing school inPittsburgh.

In 1938 he moved toNew York City and won a role as a chorus member inCole Porter’sLeave It to Me, figuring prominently in starMary Martin’s showstopping number “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” The following year he was cast in the flashy role of Harry the Hoofer inWilliam Saroyan’sPulitzer Prize-winning playThe Time of Your Life, and in 1940 he achieved stardom with his likeable interpretation of the raffish protagonist in theRichard Rodgers andLorenz HartmusicaldramaPal Joey. On seeing the play,film producerDavid O. Selznick offered Kelly aHollywood contract, and Kelly accepted, doing so because Selznick did not require a screen test of him. Before leavingNew York in 1941, Kelly choreographed the hit musicalBest Foot Forward (1941).

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Films of the 1940s:Cover Girl,Anchors Aweigh,The Pirate, andOn the Town

Kelly made his film debut oppositeJudy Garland inFor Me and My Gal (1942), immediately endearing himself to moviegoers with his carefreeacting and spontaneous athletic dancing style. It was not until he was loaned toColumbia Pictures to costar in theRita Hayworth musicalCover Girl (1944) that he was able to bring his own special artistic vision to the big screen. Before Kelly’s arrival, the movie musical had been divided into essentially two basic styles: the splashy, impersonal, girl-filled extravaganzas ofBusby Berkeley and theintimate personality vehicles ofFred Astaire. Kelly adroitly bridged the gap between Berkeley’s cinematic pyrotechnics and Astaire’s straightforward theatrical approach withCover Girl’s “Alter Ego” number, in which, with the aid of meticulously timed special-effects work, he performed a two-man “challenge dance” with himself. He introduced anotherinnovation inAnchors Aweigh (1945), when he danced with an animated-cartoon mouse (Jerry, of theTom and Jerry cartoons), and inThe Pirate (1948) he staged the first of his many filmed ballets, boldly blending solo dancing, mass movement, offbeat camera angles, and vibrant colours to tell a story in purely visual terms. Kelly also performed several dramatic roles during that period, most notably as D’Artagnan in the swashbucklerThe Three Musketeers (1948).

On the Town (1949), codirected by Kelly and his longtime assistantStanley Donen, furthertranscended the limits of the Hollywood soundstage with an unforgettable opening musical number filmed entirely on location in the streets ofNew York City.

Films of the 1950s:An American in Paris,Singin’ in the Rain, andBrigadoon

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Kelly surpassed that triumph two years later with theAcademy Award-winningAn American in Paris (1951). Climaxed by a spectacular 13-minute ballet that incorporated visual motifs of French Post-Impressionism, the film was singled out by critics and filmgoers alike as Kelly’s masterpiece. Since the mid-1970s, however, its reputation has been eclipsed bySingin’ in the Rain (1952), a witty and upbeat spoof ofHollywood during the talkie revolution. With its perfectly balanced mixture of singing, dancing, comedy, and romance,Singin’ in the Rain is now widely regarded as the greatest film musical ever made. His next released musical,Brigadoon (1954), directed byVincente Minnelli and based on theAlan Jay Lerner andFrederick LoeweBroadway hit, was not a critical or commercial success. Kelly’s decision to dropAgnes de Mille’s stagechoreography for new staging of his own designed for the wide-screenCinemascope format proved particularly controversial.

Kelly subsequently codirected with Donen and starred inIt’s Always Fair Weather (1955), a loose follow-up toOn the Town, which showcased Kelly’s creative choreography for Cinemascope. Equally praiseworthy (though a flop with the public) was his first solo directorial effort, the wordless concert featureInvitation to the Dance (filmed in 1952, released in 1956). But as the 1950s wore on, the movie musicalgenre fell victim to mounting production costs and diminishing box-office returns. Consequently, Kelly’s film career lost much of its momentum, though he made several credible dramatic appearances in such films asCrest of the Wave (1954).

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Films of the 1960s and beyond

After turning in a fine dramatic performance inInherit the Wind (1960), Kelly directedGigot (1962), a heart-tugging story filmed inParis and starringJackie Gleason as a mute man who takes a waif under his wing. Kelly also directed the comedyA Guide for the Married Man (1967), which starredWalter Matthau as the title character being tutored on how to efficiently cheat on his wife. That same year Kelly returned to France to play an American piano player inJacques Demy’s tribute to Hollywood musicalsLes Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967;The Young Girls of Rochefort).

Hello, Dolly! (1969) was Kelly’sadaptation of the Broadway hit starringBarbra Streisand, Matthau, andLouis Armstrong. Thewestern comedyThe Cheyenne Social Club (1970) starredHenry Fonda andJames Stewart as two cowboys who unwittingly inherit management of a brothel. Kelly’s finaldirecting credit was as codirector (with Jack Haley, Jr.) ofThat’s Entertainment, Part 2 (1976), the follow-up to the 1974 original’scompilation of highlights fromMGM musicals. He hosted the film with onetime costar Astaire.

Kelly’s final film as an actor was the cult favouriteXanadu (1980), a musical starring pop sensationOlivia Newton-John. Before retiring, his last roles were in the television miniseriesNorth and South (1985) andSins (1986).

During the last three decades of his life, Kelly received dozens of awards and honours, among them the FrenchLegion of Honour for his choreography of theParis Opéra Ballet “Pas de Deux” (1960) and a Life Achievement Award from theAmerican Film Institute.