“Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer” was a made-for-television documentary that first aired in 2002. Now available to watch and own, I pounced on it like a starving bird on a worm – I’m sure you’ve noticed my deep and abiding love for that man. The film was a fascinating look behind the scenes at what made Gene great.
He was born into a family of dancers. His mother opened a dance studio and for years, that’s how the Kellys earned their living. As a principle teacher in that studio, Gene realized at an early age what a contribution he was making to the family income, and requested that the studio be named after him. It was, and that was the beginning.
After working for his family for a time, Gene decided he wanted to go to New York and get a job as a choreographer. That didn’t happen, but he did land a job on Broadway. After playing two small parts, he was cast in “Pal Joey,” which launched his career. He went straight from that to his first film, “For Me and My Gal,” with Judy Garland, and he never looked back from there.
Wanting to bring a more modern flair to dance, he stayed away from the more European forms of ballet the other dancers favored, and he developed his own style. A perfectionist in everything, he soon was given creative rights in his films and began experimenting more and more with different camera angles, dance moves, and music.
The dance number “Singin’ in the Rain” for which he would become world famous was created mostly on a whim. He was given the piece of music and told to make something of it, and he did. It’s the number most recognized of any other number in musical history, but it also was nearly his undoing, as he was judged on those merits the rest of his life, and the producers felt like he couldn’t quite measure up to the success he’d accomplished there. But he kept working and kept pushing the envelope, going into directing and more choreography.
His need for perfectionism alienated him from some of his co-stars, including Debbie Reynolds, who hated working with him but credits him for everything she was able to do from that point on. A master at his craft, he thought everyone else should strive for the same type of perfection and became frustrated when they didn’t.
Over his lifetime, he married three times, losing his first wife to divorce, his second to leukemia, and his third outlived him. He died in 1996 of complications following two strokes.
The documentary included numerous film clips of past performances, including rare footage of him as “Pal Joey.” We hear from former friends and partners about this man who was Gene Kelly. Even those who did not personally care for him expressed their great admiration for him as a dancer, a professional, and an artist.
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