Happy 100th, Gene Kelly!

by Lani

Gene Kelly could do it all. He could dance, that's for sure. He could also make you laugh one moment and tear up the next. He sang some of the most iconic songs in movie history. He not only starred in movies, he directed them. His choreography was exciting, athletic, and endlessly inventive.

Born in August 23, 1912, Gene Kelly would be 100 years old today. He first appeared on the screen in 1942's For Me And My Gal. Ten years later, he received an honorary Oscar for "his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography for film." Throughout his career he starred in some of the best musicals of Hollywood's golden age, including the back-to-back triumphs of An American in Paris in 1951 and Singin' in the Rain in 1952. You can see both those films, as well as 10 more classics, during Turner Classic Movies' day-long tribute to Kelly. Click here to see the line-up.

One of the things I love about Kelly's films is his unique choreography. With each project he seemed to take the opportunity to push the boundaries of dance on film. Here are some of the dances that make me say "Wow!" every time I watch them.

In 1944’s Cover Girl, Kelly and Stanley Donen devised an ingenious number in which Kelly and his “alter ego” dance together through the streets of New York.


It may not seem amazing to us now, but Gene’s duet with an animated Jerry the Mouse in 1945’s Anchors Aweigh was a cinematic first. This dance was another collaboration with Stanley Donen and Kelly admitted that without Donen “calling the shots” the sequence could not have been filmed.


Kelly takes a squeaky board and a sheet of newspaper and makes them his dance partners in this solo set to “You, Wonderful You” from 1950’s Summer Stock.



The “I Like Myself” number from 1955’s It’s Always Fair Weather is an heir to Kelly’s iconic title dance from Singin’ in the Rain. In both dances Kelly expresses the joy that comes with new romance, but now he’s upped the ante and put the dance on rollerskates.


But Kelly didn't always need innovative choreography to make jaws drop. In this clip from The Pirate (1948) the most amazing features are Kelly's bare legs - Yowza! If you needed proof that dancing requires strength and athleticism, just watch this. (The "sexy Gene Kelly Pirate ballet dance hot legs" of the video's title start at about the 4 minute mark.)



I hope you'll join me today in celebrating one of the true shining stars of dance, theatre, and film by enjoying a Gene Kelly film (or at least these film clips). It will definitely make you smile, and possibly make you say "Gotta dance!" yourself.