Gene Kelly (1912–1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer and choreographer whose work in motion pictures spans from 1942 to 1996. He is probably best known today for his performances in musicals, notably An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Kelly made his Hollywood film debut in For Me and My Gal (1942), co-starring with Judy Garland.[1] Afterward, he went on to work as an actor, dancer and subsequently, choreographer, in a series of musical films. In these films, his choreography included experiments with a combination of dance and animation (Anchors Aweigh and Invitation to the Dance) and dance scenes involving special effects (including the "Alter Ego" number from Cover Girl and the split-screen dance number from It's Always Fair Weather).[2][3] In addition to his work as an actor and choreographer, Kelly directed or co-directed several films, some of which did not feature him in an acting role. Kelly appeared in several non-musical dramatic and comedy films as well.
Kelly received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance in Anchors Aweigh (1945) and won an Honorary Academy Award for his work in An American in Paris (1951).[4] He was voted the 15th most popular film actor on the American Film Institute’s millennium list, while Singin' in the Rain was voted the most popular movie musical of all time.[1][5]This filmography below contains a chronological listing of Gene Kelly's feature films. His musicals are indicated with a beamed eighth note symbol (♫).
Filmography
| Year | Title | Functioned as | Notes Kelly's musical numbers | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Actor | Choreographer | Role | ||||
| 1942 | For Me and My Gal ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Harry Palmer | Co-choreographer "When You Wore a Tulip", "Ballin' the Jack", "Tramp Dance", "Frenchie, Frenchie" | [6][7] |
| 1943 | Pilot #5 | No | Yes | No | Vito S. Alessandro | [8][9] | |
| DuBarry Was a Lady ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Alec Howe / The Black Arrow | Co-choreographer "Do I Love You, Do I", "Friendship" | [10][11] | |
| Thousands Cheer ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Private Eddie Marsh | Co-choreographer "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" | [12][11] | |
| The Cross of Lorraine | No | Yes | No | Victor | [13][11] | ||
| 1944 | Cover Girl ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Danny McGuire | Co-choreographer "The Show Must Go On", "Long Ago (and Far Away)", "Alter Ego" | [14] |
| Christmas Holiday | No | Yes | No | Robert Manette | [15] | ||
| 1945 | Anchors Aweigh ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | GM2 Joseph Brady[16] | Co-choreographer "The Mexican Hat Dance", "The Worry Song" (w/Tom and Jerry), "La Cumparsita!" | [17] |
| Combat Fatigue Irritability | No | Yes | No | Seaman Bob Lucas | Short military training film | [18] | |
| 1946 | Ziegfeld Follies ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Himself | Co-choreographer "The Babbit and the Bromide" | [19][16] |
| 1947 | Living in a Big Way ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Leo Gogarty | Co-choreographer "It Had to Be You", "Fido and Me", dance on half-completed apartment house | [20][21] |
| 1948 | The Pirate ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Serafin | Co-choreographer "Be a Clown", "The Pirate Ballet", Niña" | [22][23] |
| The Three Musketeers | No | Yes | Yes | d'Artagnan | Co-choreographer of action sequences | [24][25] | |
| Words and Music ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Himself | "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" | [26][25] | |
| 1949 | Take Me Out to the Ball Game ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Eddie O'Brien | Co-choreographer "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", "The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day", "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg", "Yes, Indeedy", "Strictly U.S.A." | [27][28] |
| On the Town ♫ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Gabey | Co-choreographed and co-directed by Stanley Donen "New York, New York", "We're Going on the Town", "Prehistoric Man", "Main Street", "Count on Me", "A Day in New York", "That's All There is Folks" | [29][30] | |
| 1950 | Black Hand | No | Yes | No | Giovanni E. "Johnny" Columbo | [31][32] | |
| Summer Stock ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Joe D. Ross | Co-choreographer "Dig-Dig-Dig-Dig for Your Supper", "You, Wonderful You" (dance with newspaper), "All for You", "Hillbilly Heaven" (plus Garland number "Get Happy") | [33][34] | |
| 1951 | An American in Paris ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Jerry Mulligan | Co-choreographer "Tra-La-La", "By Strauss", "I Got Rhythm", "'S Wonderful", "Our Love Is Here to Stay", "An American in Paris ballet" | [35][36] |
| It's a Big Country | No | Yes | No | Icarus Xenophon | [37][38] | ||
| 1952 | Love Is Better Than Ever | No | Yes | No | Himself (unbilled cameo) | [39] | |
| Singin' in the Rain ♫ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Don Lockwood | Co-choreographed and co-directed by Stanley Donen "Singin' in the Rain", "Fit as a Fiddle", "Good Mornin'", "You Were Meant For Me", "Broadway Ballet" (plus O'Connor number: "Make 'Em Laugh") | [40][38] | |
| The Devil Makes Three | No | Yes | No | Capt. Jeff Eliot | [41][42] | ||
| 1954 | Brigadoon ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Tommy Albright | Co-choreographer "The Heather on the Hill", "Almost Like Being in Love", "The Chase", "From This Day On" | [43][44] |
| Seagulls Over Sorrento (US release title: Crest Of The Wave) | No | Yes | No | Lt. "Brad" Bradville (USN) | Filmed in the United Kingdom | [45][46] | |
| Deep in My Heart ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Himself | Co-choreographer "Dancing Around" | [47][48] | |
| 1955 | It's Always Fair Weather ♫ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Ted Riley | Co-choreographed and co-directed by Stanley Donen "The Time Has Come For Parting" (dance with trash can lids), "Once Upon a Time", "I Like Myself" | [49][50] |
| 1956 | Invitation to the Dance ♫ | Yes | Yes | Yes | The Clown / The Marine / Sinbad | "Circus", "Ring Around the Rosie", "Sinbad the Sailor" | [51][52] |
| 1957 | The Happy Road | Yes | Yes | No | Michael J. Andrews | [53][54] | |
| Les Girls ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Barry Nichols | Co-choreographer "Les Girls", "Ça c'est l'amour", "The Rope Dance", "Why Am I So Gone About That Girl", "You're Just Too, Too" | [55][56] | |
| 1958 | Marjorie Morningstar | No | Yes | No | Noel Airman | [57] | |
| The Tunnel of Love | Yes | No | No | [58][59] | |||
| 1960 | Inherit the Wind | No | Yes | No | E. K. Hornbeck | [60] | |
| Let's Make Love | No | Yes | Yes | Himself (cameo) | Co-choreographer | [61] | |
| Gigot | Yes | No | No | [62] | |||
| 1964 | What a Way to Go! | No | Yes | Yes | Pinky Benson | Co-choreographer "Musical Extravaganza" | [63] |
| 1967 | The Young Girls of Rochefort ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Andy Miller | Choreographer | [64] |
| A Guide for the Married Man | Yes | No | No | [65] | |||
| 1969 | Hello, Dolly! ♫ | Yes | No | No | [66] | ||
| 1970 | The Cheyenne Social Club | Yes | No | No | [67] | ||
| 1973 | 40 Carats | No | Yes | No | Billy Boylan | [68] | |
| 1974 | That's Entertainment! ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Himself (co-host) | Co-choreographer | [69][70] |
| 1976 | That's Entertainment, Part II ♫ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-choreographer and director of new sequences "That's Entertainment" | [71][72] | |
| 1977 | Viva Knievel! | No | Yes | No | Will Atkins | [71] | |
| 1980 | Xanadu ♫ | No | Yes | Yes | Danny McGuire | Co-choreographer | [73] |
| 1985 | That's Dancing! ♫ | No | Yes | No | Himself (co-host) | [74] | |
| 1994 | That's Entertainment! III ♫ | No | Yes | No | [75] | ||
| 1997 | Cats Don't Dance | No | No | Yes | "Dedicated to our friend and collaborator, Gene Kelly" | [76][77] | |
- Choreography credits per Billman.[78]
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Billman, Larry (1997). Film Choreographers and Dance Directors. North Carolina: McFarland and Company. ISBN 0-89950-868-5.
- Eames, John Douglas (1982). The MGM Story. New York, NY: Crown. ISBN 978-0517019924.
- Thomas, Tony (1991). The Films of Gene Kelly: Song and Dance Man. Secaucus, NJ: Kensington Books. ISBN 0-8065-0543-5.
External links
- Gene Kelly at IMDb
- Gene Kelly at the TCM Movie Database