Biografía Gene Kelly

While Gene Kelly's dream of playing baseball for the Pittsburgh

Pirates never panned out, he segued his athleticism into some

powerful dancing. Kelly proved to be exceptional as a

actor, singer, choreographer and director. In a variety of

musicals for MGM, he often played diamonds in the rough -- a

boorish wolf with a twinkle in his eye who would come around by

the film's end. Yet he always managed to exude charm in his acting

and grace in his footwork. As a director/choreographer, he devised

new film techniques andintroduced unusual dance numbers, including

dancing with a cartoon character and dancing with a shadowy

reflection of himself.

MATRIMONIOS

'Betsy Blair' (qv) (1941 - 1957)

'Jeanne Coyne' (qv) (1960 - 1973)

'Patricia Ward' (qv) (1990 - present)

ANECDOTARIO

* Kelly was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1992.

* Kelly was awarded the American Film Institute Lifetime

Achievement Award in 1985.

* He was awarded the National Medal of Freedom from Pres. Clinton

in 1994.

* Kelly's father was Al Jolson's road manager in the 1920s.