Editing Gene Kelly (section)

==Stage career==
After a fruitless search for work in New York, Kelly returned to Pittsburgh to his first position as a choreographer with the Charles Gaynor musical revue ''Hold Your Hats'' at the [[Pittsburgh Playhouse]] in April 1938. Kelly appeared in six of the sketches, one of which, ''[[La cumparsita]]'', became the basis of an extended Spanish number in the film ''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]'' eight years later.

His first [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] assignment, in November 1938, was as a dancer in [[Cole Porter]]'s ''[[Leave It to Me!]]''—as the American ambassador's secretary who supports [[Mary Martin]] while she sings "[[My Heart Belongs to Daddy]]". He had been hired by [[Robert Alton]], who had staged a show at the Pittsburgh Playhouse where he was impressed by Kelly's teaching skills. When Alton moved on to choreograph the musical ''One for the Money'', he hired Kelly to act, sing, and dance in eight routines. In 1939, he was selected for a musical revue, ''One for the Money'', produced by the actress [[Katharine Cornell]], who was known for finding and hiring talented young actors.

Kelly's first big breakthrough was in the [[Pulitzer Prize]]–winning ''[[The Time of Your Life]]'', which opened on October 25, 1939—in which, for the first time on Broadway, he danced to his own choreography. In 1939, he received his first assignment as a Broadway choreographer, for ''[[Billy Rose]]'s Diamond Horseshoe''. He began dating a cast member, [[Betsy Blair]], and they got married on October 16, 1941.

In 1940, he got the lead role in [[Rodgers and Hart]]'s ''[[Pal Joey (musical)|Pal Joey]]'', again choreographed by Robert Alton. This role propelled him to stardom. During its run, he told reporters: "I don't believe in conformity to any school of dancing. I create what the drama and the music demand. While I am a hundred percent for ballet technique, I use only what I can adapt to my own use. I never let technique get in the way of mood or continuity."<ref name="Thomas" /> His colleagues at this time noticed his great commitment to rehearsal and hard work. [[Van Johnson]]—who also appeared in ''Pal Joey''—recalled: "I watched him rehearsing, and it seemed to me that there was no possible room for improvement. Yet he wasn't satisfied. It was midnight and we had been rehearsing since 8 in the morning. I was making my way sleepily down the long flight of stairs when I heard staccato steps coming from the stage ... I could see just a single lamp burning. Under it, a figure was dancing ... Gene."<ref name="Thomas" />

Offers from Hollywood began to arrive, but Kelly was in no hurry to leave New York. Eventually, he signed with [[David O. Selznick]], agreeing to go to Hollywood at the end of his commitment to ''Pal Joey'', in October 1941. Prior to his contract, he also managed to fit in choreographing the stage production of ''[[Best Foot Forward (musical)|Best Foot Forward]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weinraub |first1=Bernard |title=The Man Who Helped Kelly Put His Best Foot Forward |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/08/movies/the-man-who-helped-kelly-put-his-best-foot-forward.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=October 31, 2019 |date=February 8, 1996 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031154445/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/08/movies/the-man-who-helped-kelly-put-his-best-foot-forward.html |url-status=live }}</ref>