Gene Kelly
Birthday: 23 August 1912, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Birth Name: Eugene Curran Kelly
Height: 173 cm
Eugene Curran Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third son of Harriet Catherine (Curran) and James Patrick Joseph Kelly, a phonograph salesman. His father was of Irish descent and his mot ...Show More
I never wanted to be a dancer. It's true! I wanted to be a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I never wanted to be a dancer. It's true! I wanted to be a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
[on Guys and Dolls (1955) I was born to play Sky Masterson the way [Clark Gable] was born to play Rh Show more
[on Guys and Dolls (1955) I was born to play Sky Masterson the way [Clark Gable] was born to play Rhett Butler, but those bastards at MGM refused to loan me out. Hide
There is a strange sort of reasoning in Hollywood that musicals are less worthy of Academy considera Show more
There is a strange sort of reasoning in Hollywood that musicals are less worthy of Academy consideration than dramas. It's a form of snobbism, the same sort that perpetuates the idea that drama is more deserving of Awards than comedy. Hide
The contract system at Hollywood studios like MGM was a very efficient system in that because we wer Show more
The contract system at Hollywood studios like MGM was a very efficient system in that because we were at the studio all the time we could rehearse a lot. But it also really repressed people. There were no union regulations yet, and we were all indentured servants--you can call us slaves if you want--like ballplayers before free agency. We had seven-year contracts, but every six months the studio could decide to fire you if your picture wasn't a hit. And if you turned down a role, they cut off your salary and simply added the time to your contract. Hide
[on Fred Astaire] I work bigger. Fred's style is more intimate. I'm very jealous of that when I see Show more
[on Fred Astaire] I work bigger. Fred's style is more intimate. I'm very jealous of that when I see him on the small screen. Fred looks so great on TV. I'd love to put on a white tie and tails and look as thin as him and glide as smoothly. But I'm built like a blocking tackle. Hide
I arrived in Hollywood 20 pounds overweight and as strong as an ox. But if I put on a white tails an Show more
I arrived in Hollywood 20 pounds overweight and as strong as an ox. But if I put on a white tails and tux like [Fred Astaire], I still looked like a truck driver. Hide
[on his supposed rivalry with Fred Astaire ] If we had any resentment, it was not with each other bu Show more
[on his supposed rivalry with Fred Astaire ] If we had any resentment, it was not with each other but with the journalists who talked about two highly individual dancers as if they were one person. For instance, the sort of wardrobe I wore--blue jeans, sweatshirt, sneakers--Fred would never have been caught dead in. He was always immaculate at rehearsals, while I was always in an old shirt. Fred's steps were small, neat, graceful and intimate where mine were ballet-oriented and athletic. But we were never rivals. Hide
There was no model for what I tried to do with dance . . . and the thing Fred Astaire and I used to Show more
There was no model for what I tried to do with dance . . . and the thing Fred Astaire and I used to bitch about was that critics didn't know how to categorize us. They called us tap dancers because that was considered the American style. But neither of us were basically tap dancers. Hide
If Fred Astaire is the Cary Grant of dance, I'm the Marlon Brando.
If Fred Astaire is the Cary Grant of dance, I'm the Marlon Brando.
[on Ginger Rogers] When Ginger Rogers danced with Fred Astaire, it was the only time in the movies w Show more
[on Ginger Rogers] When Ginger Rogers danced with Fred Astaire, it was the only time in the movies when you looked at the man, not the woman. Hide
The fact is that [Fred Astaire] and myself were in no way similar, nor even the best male dancers ar Show more
The fact is that [Fred Astaire] and myself were in no way similar, nor even the best male dancers around. There were ballet dancers vastly superior to both of us, but they of course never reached our mass audiences, so Fred and I got the cream of the publicity and naturally we were compared. Hide
Kids talk to me and say they want to do musicals again because they've studied the tapes of the old Show more
Kids talk to me and say they want to do musicals again because they've studied the tapes of the old films. We didn't have that. We thought once we had made it, even on film, it was gone except for the archives. Hide
Fred Astaire represented the aristocracy, I represented the proletariat.
Fred Astaire represented the aristocracy, I represented the proletariat.
[on Judy Garland] The finest all-around performer we ever had in America was Judy Garland. There was Show more
[on Judy Garland] The finest all-around performer we ever had in America was Judy Garland. There was no limit to her talent. She was the quickest, brightest person I ever worked with. Hide
I have a lot of George M. Cohan in me--it's an Irish quality, a jaw-jutting, up-on-your-toes cockine Show more
I have a lot of George M. Cohan in me--it's an Irish quality, a jaw-jutting, up-on-your-toes cockiness--which is a good quality for a dancer to have. Hide
[on his working experience with Debbie Reynolds while filming Singin' in the Rain (1952) (1952)] I w Show more
[on his working experience with Debbie Reynolds while filming Singin' in the Rain (1952) (1952)] I wasn't nice to Debbie. It's a wonder she still speaks to me. Hide
[on his career] I took it as it came and it happened to be very nice.
[on his career] I took it as it came and it happened to be very nice.
[on Louis B. Mayer in a segment of That's Entertainment III: Behind the Screen (1994) when other MGM Show more
[on Louis B. Mayer in a segment of That's Entertainment III: Behind the Screen (1994) when other MGM stars were singing Mayer's praises] I didn't like him. He didn't like me. It was mutual. Hide
Gene Kelly's FILMOGRAPHY
All
as Actor (47)
as Director (2)
Gene Kelly'S roles
