Gene Kelly - handsome. artistic, amazing

Not the nicest guy, though, OP. He was very much admired by many in Hollywood, but he was quite the task master when it came to teaching others his routines. There was a special on public television just a few years ago with interviews with his co-stars, ex-wife, children. Debbie Reynolds did not have a kind word to say, as she stated that he was verbally abusive (although, in his defense, she had very limited dance experience). Cyd Charisse put it better; she said that when she would come home from rehearsals at the studio, her husband knew whom she was dancing with in her next film. If she had black and blue marks, it was Kelly. If not, it was Astaire.%0D %0D The special was GENE KELLY, ANATOMY OF A DANCER.%0D %0D If you have a chance, check it out.%0D %0D

I would have fucked his holes

Thanks R1

I could appreciate his ass, I guess, but I always found him kind of aswxual. No real appeal - boudoir-wise.

Normal human beings capitalize titles, OP, you nitwit. But then you are the type to be enamored of Gene Kelly, for God's sake, after all.

Supremely talented man. But I've always found him smarmy.

[quote]For reasons irrelevant to this thread ...%0D %0D We'll be the judge of that, OP.

What Debbie failed to see, even in retrospect, was that Gene was a perfectionist and pushed her up to his standards, thus enabling her to create a leading role in one of the most beloved films in Hollywood history.%0D %0D That PBS documentary is wonderful. Though Gene doesn't come off as the nicest person, you can't watch it and not appreciate his unique talents.%0D %0D His ex-wife Betsy Blair is particularly engaging. I wish that Stanley Donen had also been interviewed...I would have liked to hear his take on the exact nature of his collaborations with Gene.

The bad blood between Donen and Kelly went too deep for Donen to even speak of him.

What happened between them?

A couple of people have bashed him, especially Arthur Laurents, but the vast majority seemed to have liked and admired him. It's particularly interesting to hear from his ex-wife, Betsy Blair, who was a talented actress and seemed to be smart and self-aware. She certainly had taste, having married Karel Reisz, the fine Czech-British director, after she divorced Kelly. In any event, she had nothing but good things to say about Kelly as a husband, father, ex-husband, friend, and person. Evidently, he was politically brave when most of Hollywood abandoned whatever principles they may have had.

There's no dispute that as an artist he was one of the incomparables. Everyone who worked with him said so. Even Debbie Reynolds now seems to recognize what R1 says; he made her a better dancer, a better performer, than she would have been without him. Yes, he was a taskmaster, but Ginger Rogers said the same about Fred Astaire, who rehearsed her until her feet bled, and then some. Thank God he did; the results are on the screen forever.

I think Gene Kelly's work with Judy Garland brought something out of her that no one did. She was sexy with him, not just poignant.

And boy was he beautiful.

I meant what R8 said, not R1. Sorry.

Am loving this thread! More on this fascinating and very good looking man! I could watch him all day.

Read the account of the making of IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER in Hugh Fordin's book on the Freed unit. Notably written when Kelly was alive, it pretty much goes into what a creep he was to his co-stars, particularly Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd.%0D %0D He was respected for his great talent, but he wasn't much liked.

Though Kelly was snatched up by MGM after becoming a Broadway star in Pal Joey, they couldn't find a property for him to star in after For Me and My Gal and allowed him to work at Columbia with Rita Hayworth.%0D %0D Seems crazy that MGM, with all their musical talents would have been crazy (and generous) enough to let him go.

Was Esther Williams interviewed for the PBS special? Didn't she also have some choice words about Kelly in her bio in regard to Take Me Out to the Ball Game?

Ham and cheese on Irish soda bread.%0D Meh.

And MGM lent him to Universal to co-star with Deanna Durbin in CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY (an underrated noir)! MGM got Abbott & Costello (Universal's biggest stars) in return.%0D %0D Columbia had the rights to PAL JOEY and wanted to borrow Kelly again to work with Heyworth and Vivienne Segal (recreating her Broadway role as Vera) - but Cohn wouldn't lend Rita to MGM in return. Kelly was heartbroken not to re-create his Broadway star-making role.%0D %0D Likewise, Fox wanted Kelly opposite Grable in SWEET ROSIE O'GRADY, but Zanuck wouldn't lend Betty to MGM. Fox got Robert Young instead.

Hayworth, not Heyworth! yikes!

Has anone ever seen LIVING IN A BIG WAY with Kelly and Marie (The Body) McDonald? - another Universal loan-out to MGM.

I wonder if, considering he was a dancer, if Gene Kelly was hit on by a lot of gay men in the entertainment industry.

Gee, Ya Think? :)%0D %0D Cole Porter cast him as a chorus boy in LEAVE IT TO ME, which made Mary Martin a star in 1938.%0D %0D Larry Hart cast him in PAL JOEY.

According to Esther Williams, Gene wanted Judy Garland to star in Take Me Out to the Ballgame but for whatever reason, that did not work out. Judy did make In the Good Old Summertime that same year but she was in her final MGM drugged out mess days, too. So Gene got Esther. Well, she was TALLER than he was, which pissed him off! In a two shot close up when they were sitting together, she towered over him. She allegedly said to him, "Just tuck one leg under you and suck it up" or something to that effect. %0D %0D She said that she had a new car at that time, too, and that Gene and Frank Sinatra teased her unmercifully about it, for some reason.%0D %0D They filmed a dance number called "Baby Doll," which ended with them falling into a fountain of water. When they completed it, they discovered that the cameraman had forgotten to put film in the camera! The number was simply not re-shot. I believe there is some existing footage of the number somewhere, though, but haven't seen it in any of the That's Entertainment films.

Judy Garland helped him out tremendously in his first film, For Me and My Gal. He was indebted to her for the rest of his career and was very vocal about it. It is also why he agreed to do Summer Stock with her, to help HER out during a career low. That film was a torturous experience for all but he and Judy were glowing onscreen.

He was one of the true great Hollywood stars. And his dancing! You don't see talent like that anymore. %0D %0D He and Astaire had completely different dance styles but they did have this in common: they made it look so EASY. The dance routines they did in the MGM musicals were hard, hard work but they made it look like a breeze. That's what Debbie Reynolds soon discovered when she did "Singing In The Rain"; that she would have to work her butt off to make the punishing dance numbers look effortless.

[quote]Ginger Rogers said the same about Fred Astaire, who rehearsed her until her feet bled, and then some. Thank God he did; the results are on the screen forever. %0D %0D I don't think I want to see bloody feet on the screen.%0D

Yes, but Ethan Mordden made a very astute comment that (paraphrasing) "Astaire dances to express emotion, Kelly dances to show what a great guy he is."

Love Summerstock. It's a lot of fun. Sad that judy is hefty in the opening shower/tractor scene. Thank god she slimmed down post-wrap for Get Happy which was shot several weeks after the film was wrapped.

[quote]Kelly dances to show what a great guy he is.%0D %0D That seems to be the case in most of the films I've seen him in except one. Several weeks ago, I saw "Summer Stock" for the first time and was amazed to see a very different Kelly. He seemed to be totally enjoying the dancing instead of showing off his dancing. He didn't have the attitude he displays in other films and it was much more enjoyable.

Great ass, but by all accounts a miserable sonofabitch

The story goes that Garland walked in on Gene plowing her husband Vincente Minnelli during the filming of THE PIRATE. Legend has it that was one of the reasons (plus the pills) that she lost it during the shooting of the Voodoo number.%0D %0D Probably just a nasty rumor.

Probably a closet case. Thus the anger issues. I mean what straight man dances for a living?

I shall always remember him for his work in front of the camera in XANADU and behind it in HELLO DOLLY.

No doubt Kelly was grateful to Garland for the break she gave him in FOR ME AND MY GAL, repaying her in SUMMER STOCK, but I think Kelly had a very reserved attitute to Judy after she left MGM, describing her as "Not a great dancer, but a fine one." I think his head got VERY big after SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, and he kept her at arms length. His one scheduled appearance with her on her TV show (never taped, but scripted) includes only one number, "Tea For Two". Judy was sceduled to do most of her numbers with Nat King Cole. Kelly was never asked back.

His brother Fred taught dancing to the Queen of England and her late sister Margaret.%0D %0D His all-dance film INVITATION TO THE DANCE has so much brilliance in it, for dance-aficionados it is mandatory viewing. I always hoped Warners would release a restored DVD of the film, but these days (if we are lucky) it will most likely get dumped into the Warner Archives.

Kelly was acutely aware of the gay rep of male dancers, and answered in his TV special "Dancing: A Man's Game" (which featured , where he tries to butch up the profession by including sports stars like Johnny Unitas and Mickey Mantle. Oh, and Dick Button is there too.%0D %0D It does sound like an interesting show...curious if there are any "gay" jokes in it.

He was horrible to Barbra on the set of "Hello Dolly" Refused to reign in Walter Matthau's nasty behavior, and wouldn't even take her late night calls going over the days shoot and performance. %0D %0D Didn't like the finished product of "Xanadu" but became good friends with Olivia.

According to Arthur Laurents' "Original Story" Kelly, who hosted a Sunday afternoon tennis game at him home,was so furious that he was beaten by two gay men that he stomped off the court with so much anger he broke his foot ... the day before "Good Old Summertime" was to begin shooting -- so Van Johnson got the part.

I'm glad Van Johnson got the part. I just watched it for the first time this weekend and VJ and Judy were great - same goes for S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall and Spring Byington. It was a delightful film.

r 38, that was EASTER PARADE that Kelly lost because of his injury, not SUMMERTIME.

r38, that is not correct. Gene broke his ankle and had to pull out of Easter Parade. Fred Astaire was unoffically "retired" at that point but Kelly suggested him for the part. Fred Astaire effectively came out of retirement to work with Judy Garland. Film historians have noted that the musical number orchestrations were created for Kelly and if you really watch the film closely, you can see that is the case. Drum Crazy and A Couple of Swells were not something normally Fred would have done. The Drum Crazy number is very athletic, very Gene Kelly, not "suave" and elegant like typical Astaire song and dance. And, although he LOVED doing the tramp Couple of Swells number, it took several tries before he could even get his COSTUME to look like a tramp.

Very apt, R27. She nailed it. That smug look-at-me smile on Kelly's face is a huge turn off.

Didn't Debbie Reynolds say Astaire helped her out on SitR when he found her hiding to get away from Kelly for a few minutes?

I bet his hole held many, [italic] MANY, [/italic] untold secrets....

"but the vast majority seemed to have liked and admired him"%0D %0D LOL. Um, no. He was a bitch -- a total pain in the ass besides being a perfectionist. Breaking his ankle while having a temper tantrum just about sums him up. I think Betsy Blair was just so happy to be out of the marriage while she was still young, hence her upbeat attitude abut him in the documentary.%0D %0D And DON'T even start to think Kelly was gay or D.E. will throw a the biggest tamtrum you're ever seen.

"D.E."?!?!

[quote]DON'T even start to think Kelly was gay or D.E. will throw a the biggest tamtrum you're ever seen.%0D %0D No, his tantrum would be worse if you claim Lena Horne was a lesbian. There are several celebs kept in the closet by D.E.%0D

Dwight Eisenhower?!?!?

David Ehrenstein?

I notice D.E. has had nothing to say here since the LH bio came out a year ago. Could it be because there were several lesbian affairs strongly hinted in the life of the then still alive Miss Horne?

I don't get the accusations of Kelly's "smug-faced attitude," which was really maybe just seen in his comic dances like Fit as a Fiddle and Gotta Dance! where he's playing the character of a kind of shlub. What numbers specifically show that look: the title number from SITR? Surely you're not serious! %0D %0D

R50 not the title tune but GOTTA SING, GOTTA DANCE for sure.

In Summer Stock I can't help but notice how they begin by dressing chubby Judy in dark dresses with full skirts and then a BLACK dress....very odd for life on the farm. Then they finally just give up and stick her in a pair of oversized overalls!%0D %0D Her figure in the Get Happy number in the man's tux jacket and fedora at the end of the film after months in rehab is shocking in comparison.

He was so handsome and I can never get over how he managed to do that dance with Jerry the cartoon mouse from the Tom and Jerry cartoon show. It was like they were REALLY dancing together!

Olivia had very nice things to say about him after Xanadu. Maybe he had mellowed with age.

I know he was a smug asshole and R27's quote describes him perfectly, but man, his dancing and dance numbers are just amazing. I was watching An American in Paris the other day and was in awe like always, he was an incredible talent.%0D %0D I love It's Always Fair Weather with Gene on rollerskates and Cyd Charrisse in the boxing ring number, plus it's got this sarcastic and cynical tone to it that I love.

He made a huge mistake in the mid 50's by moving his family to Europe to take advantage of some tax breaks of some kind. His career lost momentum and he never regained it. It was after It's Always Fair Weather, (1954), which was a flop for the studio. That movie was supposed to be a follow up or sequel to On The Town, sort of a "what happened to the sailors a decade after the war ended." The problem with the film was that it was too dark, too dismal. The sailors (as the screenplay was written) realized that, years on, they had little to nothing in common and didn't even LIKE each other. It was more of a psychological drama than a feel good romp. The other problem was they did not get the original CAST back. Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd were NOT Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin. I also think this was the film where he and Stanley Donen had a HUGE friendship/partnership ending feud of some kind. Never sure exactly what went wrong between those two.%0D %0D Anyway, the movie musical was already dying when Kelly went to Europe. He worked on Invitation to the Dance while over there, an "artsy" dance film with lots of animation. It, too, would be a flop, (not unlike The Pirate) since it was considered too "avante garde," too "outre" for the mainstream. Kelly could not regain his career momentum by the time he returned to Hollywood, making his last good musical, Les Girls in 1957. Then, as far as HIS role in the American movie musical? Done. He made more movies, of course. Marjorie Morningstar (1958), Inherit The Wind (1959) and others. But his reign as king of the movie musical lasted from about 1944 to 1955, a decade.

Gene was a rather lackluster director in his later years, too. He directed the Cheyenne Social Club and Hello Dolly but nothing ever really had his "stamp" on it as a "Kelly production." His genius was in FRONT of the cameras. He did not get the love from Barbra during Hello Dolly for sure. She told someone "I am being directed by a TAP DANCER!" Yikes!

True, his move to the UK - where he made several now-forgotten dramas besides the musial INVITATION TO THE DANCE, seriously stalled his career. MGM had a musical version of Tom Sawyer all ready to go with him as the star (but not as Tom) and he decided against it. In later years he expressed his regret that he did not do more musicals when he had the chance.

He and Jean Hagen are HILARIOUS in the talkie version of The Singing Cavalier, or whatever it was called.%0D %0D DL Experts, why didn't Singing in the Rain propel Jean Hagen into bigger stardom? Did she ever make another film after that? I only have vague childhood memories of her as Danny Thomas' first TV wife on Make Room for Daddy.

I can see you, R59

I can only imagine that after the huge success of Singing in the Rain and An American in Paris, it became very difficult for Gene to find material that really challenged and interested him.%0D %0D Didn't he also direct the original Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song?

Wow, lots of Gene fans here. If any of you are on Twitter, there's a Gene Kelly fansite...

[quote]I notice D.E. has had nothing to say here since the LH bio came out a year ago. %0D %0D I think he's still posting without using his name. "Meh" is one of his favorite expressions and that pops up in downer posts all the time. "Meh" is a good way to remember him. His writing is meh. His outlook on life is meh. Has he ever written anything upbeat or humorous? His entire life can be summed up on what should be his gravestone: David Ehrenstein - meh!

what's meh?

"Meh" means, "blah," "whatever," "so what," "boring," "who cares," that sort of thing. Just a sound to make to indicate that one is decidedly "underwhelmed" about something. Another similar word is "feh."%0D %0D Turn the corners of your mouth down when you say it.

Gene's wife Betsy was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Both she and Gene were pretty left leaning. Gene went with a big group of celebs to Washington to protest the actions of HUAC in 1947. The group included Bogart, Bacall, Danny Kaye, Evelyn Keyes and I think Edward G. Robinson.

He would have been much better than Astaire in Easter Parade since Astaire looked more like Judy's father than date interest. When they couldn't have Kelly for it, they should have gone for Van Johnson.

I agree. Rita was the last time Astaire had a partner who actually looked age-appropriate. She and Judy are his only partners where you look at THEM and not HIM.

His falling out with Donen was over Donen's wife Jeanne Coyne, who later became Gene Kelly's second wife.

Betsy Blair was blacklisted because she was a communist, although not a registered one. Gene introduced her, she was only 17 when she married him, to several very politically radical friends of his. When she tried officially join the communist party they rejected her because they thought her marriage to Gene, who was known as a progressive, was more advantageous to them PR wise.

He was much more politically radical than most people ever realized.

Yes, he mellowed later in age.

I never cared that much for his 2 biggest hits - Singing in the Rain (The Bandwagon is better) or American in Paris which I find unwatchable (Nina Foch is the best thing in it) - Brigadoon is ok but wasn't a major hit, but I LOVE Its Always Fair Weather and could watch it anytime - again, Dolores Gray is the scene-stealer here but they are all terrific. Gene's movie career was winding down after that - I love Les Girls too (for Kay Kendall and the other 2) but it wasn't a Kelly film as such, then he turned to directing but was noting special behind the camera. %0D %0D Its nice to see him though older in the 1967 French musical The Young Girls of Rochefort by Jacques Demy. %0D %0D I saw him being interviewed in about 1975 in London by chatshow host Michael Parkinson and he signed that biography on him for me afterwards and was quite pleasant. But really in his prime he was far too smarmy and egotistical.

You have to remember that Esther Williams is a massive bitch, and a lying one to boot. The memories of any star she worked with are always going to be suspect.

That said, I've no doubt Gene Kelly was a difficult person and many of his colleagues seem to have decidedly c

'Its nice to see him though older in the 1967 French musical The Young Girls of Rochefort by Jacques Demy.'%0D %0D I was about to comment on this film and how it kind of creeped me out. There are scenes of Kelly trying to evoke some of his past successes by wearing his standard black sweater and tight pants combo, but he's too old to be wearing the outfit and it shows. Not to mention he's sporting a very cheap toupee. %0D %0D I think the movie where he's at his smarmiest is BRIGADOON. I enjoy IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER but mainly for Dolores. I like him best in COVER GIRL. He was always good as the tough guy on the make until he made it. If you watch most of his films, there's almost always a nasty edge to his characters.%0D

Gene Kelly did indeed owe his career to Judy Garland (as did Tom Drake) what is sad to me ? the fact that Judy did gain some weight , after throwing a bottle of pills away she was given no time to recoup.... so back to the drugs.And to show what a nice guy Kelly was? she looked very good and did the number in a tux , well Kelly decided that to even things up he should have a dance alone , which resulted in the "paper tearing" solo. By the way, I have to believe that their is a place somewhere in between someone having bloody feet and throwing up to" so tired you can't go on any longer" in which you come back the next day and start all over again. Sorry, but never will you hear me say a person needs to have bloody swollen feet to show and become a great dancer, that it ludacris. I wonder how many peiople feed these lines to the women who after awhile either started to believe them or found it easier to just let the MEN have all the glory.

Had sex appeal and muscularity. Looked like he'd smell of sweat. Better than that dancing twig any day..

He's dead, you know.

He was an amazing dancer/choreographer. And very handsome and sexy. He was also a total perfectionist and would work his co-stars to death.

In her memoir Debbie Reynolds said that when they did their first kiss in "Singing In The Rain" he jammed his tongue in her mouth. She immediately recoiled and he toned it down after that.

Even though he was very attractive and sexy, he still seemed ridiculous as the love interest for actresses young enough to be his daughter, like Debbie Reynolds or Leslie Caron. He looked more like their father than a lover.

I saw him recently on one of those TCM shows that feature Tonight Show with Johnny Carson interviews. He was incredibly boring and uninteresting, not funny or amusing at all.

Time takes care of everything. Catch Gene in the 1980s campfest, Sins, with Joan Collins.

That role and his ridiculous rug are sure to have had a humbling effect on him.

And who could forget that awful wig he wore?

Was he hung?

The wig was fabulousness personified.

Every number in "Summer Stock" belongs in a much better film, but "Get Happy", and Gene's paper-tearing number ("You Wonderful You") are the two finest, so who cares how they got there!

[quote]Was he hung?

I'll say! When Gene stuffed your ass, it stayed stuffed!

Kelly had, bar none, the most edible looking ass in Hollywood history.

Gene was an insufferable asshole to work with. He also had a habit of picking out a chorus boy to fuck while making a movie or doing a play, then dumping him as soon as it was over.

R84 and you know this how?

Ronald Reagan supposedly went to Kelly when he was concerned his son, Ron Jr., might be gay because he was becoming a ballet dancer. Reagan felt Gene could give him some insight as to how many male dancers were actually gay.

Tomorrow is Gene Kelly Day on TCM:

Summer Stock

The Pirate

Brigadoon

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

The Three Musketeers

Anchors Aweigh

Singin' in the Rain

Inherit the Wind

On the Town

It's Always Fair Weather

Cover Girl

Yes there were many stories about how he was not a very nice person. Very difficult to work with. That might have been due in part to how much of a perfectionist he was.

It's interesting contrasting him with Fred Astaire. Both great dancers but so different. Fred was really smooth and graceful, light footed. With Gene it was a lot of masculinity for a dancer and physical, athletic energy. But both of them great and Gene could act and sing too. So many multi talented people back then. They don't make em like that anymore...

I used to like watching the old movies when I was a kid and I think I had an early crush on him.

[quote] Yes there were many stories about how he was not a very nice person. Very difficult to work with. That might have been due in part to how much of a perfectionist he was.

Is there a recommended book about him that talks about this?

[quote] Was he hung?

I've heard stories that Gene used to do a "whirly-bird' maneuver with his penis and would occasionally show this talent off to studio friends.

As a preteen this was my porn:

In pirate shorts, he was Blazin' Hot!

R90, I read that he would bend it into a pretzel shape, sprinkle it with salt, then ask people on the sound stage if they wanted a bite.

Gene's body was so limber. I've often wondered if was able to suck his own cock.

He did that in a lot of his dance numbers, but the censors always cut that part out.

R91, from what I've read, it's very appropriate that, in the photo, the giant cock is behind Frankie.

limber?....he could kiss his own freckle

Betsy Blair's memoir. It's good. She was Gene's 1st wife.

Didn't read all the comments but the first thing that came to mind is that he may have been a legendary dancer but he was a COLOSSAL dick. His dickishness was legendary, and this was known in the days before the internet. I think I even remember a book that quoted some of the mean things he said about Debbie Reynolds when she shot Singing in the Rain.

Bumping this thread. Watched An American in Paris last night. My God, he was a great dancer.

Gene has sex appeal. Fred is a performing stick insect.

Fuck this thread. Ten years old. Start a new one asshole if you have something new to say.