French Jedi
You’ll want to watch until at least 01:08… (Thanks to Jennifer for bringing this to our attention.) Google+
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Gene Kelly in My Life As a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey Through Hollywood
In his memoir My Life As a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey Through Hollywood, Tom Mankiewicz devotes a few pages to Gene Kelly. Embedded below as a PDF, the first instance discusses (no surprises here) Kelly’s competitive spirit and hairpieces. Perhaps the most amusing part: He had three different toupees made for him. One was quite modest, his “I’m just sitting around with friends” toupee. The next was slightly fuller, his “I’m going into Beverly...
Read MoreDebbie Reynolds, A Ladder, Some Gum, and Gene’s Toupee
Our pal over at the New York Post, Lou Lumenick, is currently attending the Turner Classic Film Festival where, last night, he and many other fans screened the 60th Anniversary digital restoration of Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Lou also was there for Debbie Reynolds’s introduction. His report: Warners’ new 60th anniversary digital restoration of “Singin’ in the Rain” had its world premiere Saturday night at Grauman’s Chinese, and it’s a richly...
Read MoreEngagement Pictures based on Singin’ in the Rain
Engagement photos based on Singin’ in the Rain from Callaway Gable Photography. Several more pictures are featured on Junebug...
Read More“I’ve a Secret: I Want to Be Gene Kelly”
Here’s a charming story from NPR on poet and musician Andrew Kreider, who admits, thirty years after realizing it, that all he wants in life is “to be Gene Kelly.” Clocking in at only 5 minutes, the tale is well worth your time. Moreover, I can almost guarantee it will bring a smile to your face, especially if you’ve ever wanted to strap on a pair of tap shoes and try out the art yourself. Download Now (4.58...
Read MoreFootball, Marching Band, and Kissing Mr. Kelly
Underneath the delightful post “Of the Marvelous Gene Kelly,” I noticed the following comment and couldn’t help but embed it here as well. Thanks for letting us share your story, Beth! I actually kissed Gene Kelly. It’s true! He came to my university to give an “in-service” to our dance department and they had him come out to the football game that Saturday and wave to the crowd (he would have been in his early ’70s at the time). I was in the marching band on...
Read MoreThe Birthday Present Ethel Kennedy Would Never Forget
My virtual pal and New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick caught an early screening of the HBO documentary Ethel (2011), which details the life and times of Ethel Kennedy, Bobby’s wife/widow and mother to their eleven children. One scene from the film reminded him of me and other Gene Kelly fans… Ethel Kennedy’s starry birthday surprise from...
Read MoreCarl Sandburg on Gene Kelly
I love Twitter. This morning via Twitter, author Jennifer Niven shared with me the following poem by American poet/author/editor Carl Sandburg. Niven also recalled visiting Gene Kelly in 1983 at his Beverly Hills home while her mother, author Penelope Niven, interviewed him for a biography on Carl Sandburg (the poet and Hollywood star were friends). “Gene was magical,” she tweeted. “So kind and warm and funny and gracious. So real. I fell in love with him and have been in love...
Read MoreBroadway Legend Michael Crawford on Gene Kelly
For Broadway.com, Matt Wolf interviews Broadway legend (and former Phantom of the Opera) Michael Crawford. Among the topics they cover is Gene Kelly’s direction in Hello Dolly! (1969). The section citing Gene is reprinted below; the rest of the interview may be found here. Your screen role as Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! got a new burst of attention from the Oscar-winning animated film Wall-E. I suddenly had street cred! [Laughs.] I had this enquiry asking would I mind if they used...
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