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.