Monday, November 05, 2012
Pitt celebrates Gene Kelly's life and career
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: We thought we knew him -- the swashbuckling pirate, the romantic sailor on shore leave in New York, or the silent film star jumping puddles on a rain-soaked street, his face often wrapped in a bright Irish smile.
On Thursday night, Gene Kelly came home, in a way, escorted by his third wife, Patricia Ward Kelly, who graces the stage of the Benedum Center every spring during the Gene Kelly Awards that honor area high school musicals.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I was not aloud to watch tv growing up, but we did have every single Gene Kelly movie. So I watched those about 30 times apiece and loved every second of it. I always felt honored to grow up in the same area as Gene Kelly. Especially when I got to have dinner with Patricia Kelly right before the Kelly awards my senior year of highschool(the ceremony mentioned in the article). I talked to her bout how much of a fan I was, and she told me alot about his life. It was really cool to see this article here, it gave me some good old fashioned nostalgia. I hope this event gets plenty of publicity, which I'm sure it will, Gene Kelly is a man worthy of remembering!
Hearing all the little snip bits about his life in this article only makes me want to have met him so much more. I grew up watching Gene Kelly in Brigadoon and listening to the crazy stories from when my moms roommate dated Gene Kelly's son, always wishing I could go back in time and work on one of his films. But even then I still didn't know half the things mentioned in this article and since I wasn't at the Kelly awards I'll probably have no way of ever knowing. All I can hope is that when the book comes out all those brilliant little anecdotes will be in it, because he really was a brilliant performer, and from the sound of it, a brilliant person as well.
I absolutely LOVE Gene Kelly. The first film I saw of his was On the Town and was amazed at how easy he made tap dancing look. He was graceful in his ballet and ballad routines, yet energetic and fluid in his tap dances. I think I have seen almost every one of his films, and I can definitely understand Lucy Fischer; Gene was an extremely attractive man. I can't say I am very surprised at what this article has to say about him because I already read "Gene Kelly: A Life of Dance and Dreams," but I can understand how fascinating his life is. I think it is fantastic how the Awards honor area high school musicals and encourage the arts in Pittsburgh. Today, it is very hard to come across a school who values their arts programs as much as science or math departments. We need these awards and encouragement to keep the arts going.
I had never known much about Gene Kelly other than his famous "Singing in the Rain". My grandmother would tell me stories about how Gene Kelly was one of her favorite actors and the way he performed was magical. I knew there were award ceremonies with awards named after famous people (namely the Tommy Tune awards in Texas), but I didn't know that Gene Kelly had the same thing. I think it's fantastic to remember such a unique performer in that way, because it helps remember the legacy they left behind.
Post a Comment