Celebrity Birthday of the Day – August 23

Gene Kelly was an American actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, producer and director, and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who has never heard of him. Kelly became a star with MGM studios right when MGM was the biggest name in movie production in Hollywood in the 1940s, and his atheletic and energetic dancing and singing made him instantly famous. Acting in films such as Anchors Aweigh (which got him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and featured him dancing with Jerry the mouse from Tom and Jerry) and The Pirate (with Judy Garland), the film which Kelly will always be associated with first and foremost is definitely Singing in the Rain – in my opinion, one of the best movie musicals of all time. Kelly died in 1996 at the age of 83, but his legacy will live on for years to come. Fun fact: martial arts stars Jackie Chan and David Carradine have both cited Kelly as one of their influences.

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