Editing Gene Kelly (section)

==Film career==

===1941–1945: Becoming established in Hollywood===
[[File:Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry Mouse ("Anchors Aweigh", 1945).gif|right|thumb|Gene Kelly dances with [[Jerry Mouse|Jerry]] of ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' in ''Anchors Aweigh'' (1945), a performance which changed at least one critic's opinion of Kelly's skills.]]

Selznick sold half of Kelly's contract to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] for his first motion picture: ''[[For Me and My Gal (film)|For Me and My Gal]]'' (1942) starring [[Judy Garland]]. Kelly said he was "appalled at the sight of myself blown up 20 times. I had an awful feeling that I was a tremendous flop." ''For Me and My Gal'' performed very well, and in the face of much internal resistance, [[Arthur Freed]] of MGM picked up the other half of Kelly's contract.<ref name="Thomas" /> After appearing in a [[B movie]] drama, ''[[Pilot No. 5]]'' (1943) and in ''[[Christmas Holiday]]'' (1944), he took the male lead in Cole Porter's ''[[DuBarry Was a Lady (film)|Du Barry Was a Lady]]'' (1943) with [[Lucille Ball]], in a part originally intended for [[Ann Sothern]]. His first opportunity to dance to his own choreography came in his next picture, ''[[Thousands Cheer]]'' (1943), in which he performed a mock-love dance with a mop. Unusually, in ''Pilot No. 5'', Kelly played the [[antagonist]].

In 1944 he achieved a significant breakthrough as a dancer on film when MGM lent him to [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] to work with [[Rita Hayworth]] in ''[[Cover Girl (film)|Cover Girl]]'', a film that foreshadowed the best of his future work.<ref name="Hess">{{cite book |last1= Hess |first1= Earl J. |last2= Dabholkar |first2= Pratibha A. |title= Singin' in the Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece |year= 2009 |publisher= University Press of Kansas |location= Lawrence |isbn= 978-0-7006-1656-5 |page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780700616565/page/33] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780700616565/page/33 }}</ref> He created a memorable routine dancing to his own reflection. Despite this, critic [[Manny Farber]] was moved to praise Kelly's "attitude", "clarity", and "feeling" as an actor while inauspiciously concluding, "The two things he does least well—singing and dancing—are what he is given most consistently to do."<ref>Farber, Manny, ''The New Republic'', May 15, 1944, as reprinted in ''Farber on Film'', Library of America, 2009, p. 163</ref>

In Kelly's next film, ''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]'' (1945), MGM gave him a free hand to devise a range of dance routines, including his duets with co-star [[Frank Sinatra]] and the celebrated animated dance with [[Tom and Jerry|Jerry Mouse]]—the animation for which was supervised by [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]]. That performance was enough for Farber to completely reverse his previous assessment of Kelly's skills. Reviewing the film, Farber enthused, "Kelly is the most exciting dancer to appear in Hollywood movies."<ref>[[Manny Farber|Farber, Manny]] (April 27, 1945) ''[[The New Republic]]'', republished in ''Farber on Film'' (2009) Library of America. p. 255</ref> ''Anchors Aweigh'' became one of the most successful films of 1945 and Kelly was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. In ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (1946)—which was produced in 1944 but delayed for release—Kelly collaborated with [[Fred Astaire]], for whom he had the greatest admiration, in "The Babbitt and the Bromide" challenge dance routine.

==== Military service ====
Kelly was deferred from the [[Conscription in the United States|draft]] in 1940<ref name=":1" /> by the U.S. [[Selective Service System]] at the request of his employers, but was classified 1-A, eligible for induction, in October 1944 after an appeal to President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] by the head of the Selective Service in New York City.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 15, 1944 |title=Gene Kelly 1-A |page=2 |work=The Greenville News |agency=International News Service |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110322272/gene-kelly-1-a/ |access-date=September 27, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927235927/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110322272/gene-kelly-1-a/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Roosevelt personally upheld the appeal.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=Gene Kelly Made 1A on President's Order |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110322865/gene-kelly-made-1a-on-presidents-order/ |access-date=September 28, 2022 |work=Star Tribune |agency=United Press |date=October 14, 1944 |pages=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928000535/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110322865/gene-kelly-made-1a-on-presidents-order/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 1944, he was inducted into the armed forces, and at his request he was assigned to the U.S. Navy.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 21, 1944 |title=Gene Kelly Is Inducted |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/11/21/archives/gene-kelly-is-inducted.html |access-date=September 27, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927233821/https://www.nytimes.com/1944/11/21/archives/gene-kelly-is-inducted.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 16, 1944 |title=Gene Kelly Drafted |pages=11 |work=The Tennessean |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110321872/gene-kelly-drafted/ |access-date=September 27, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927234751/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110321872/gene-kelly-drafted/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He served in the [[United States Navy|U.S. Naval Air Service]] and was commissioned as [[lieutenant, junior grade]]. He was stationed in the Photographic Section, Washington, D.C., where he helped write and direct a range of documentaries – this stimulated his interest in the production side of filmmaking.<ref name="Hirschhorn" /><ref>According to Blair, p. 111, he directed [[Jocelyn Brando]] in a semidocumentary about war-wounded veterans.</ref> He was discharged in 1946.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 5, 1946 |title=Gene Kelly Makes It Clear He's a Serious Young Fellow |pages=27 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110408514/gene-kelly-makes-it-clear-hes-a/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=September 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929163317/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110408514/gene-kelly-makes-it-clear-hes-a/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===1946–1952: MGM===
After Kelly returned from Naval service, MGM had nothing planned and used him in a routine black-and-white movie: ''[[Living in a Big Way]]'' (1947). The film was considered so weak that the studio asked Kelly to design and insert a series of dance routines; they noticed his ability to carry out such assignments. This led to a lead part in his next picture, with Judy Garland and director [[Vincente Minnelli]]—a musical film version of [[S.N. Behrman]]'s play, ''[[The Pirate (1948 film)|The Pirate]]'' (1948), with songs by Cole Porter. ''The Pirate'' gave full rein to Kelly's athleticism. It features Kelly's work with [[the Nicholas Brothers]]—the leading black dancers of their day—in a virtuoso dance routine. Now regarded as a classic, the film was ahead of its time, but flopped at the box office.

[[File:An American in Paris (1951) trailer 1.jpg|thumb|[[Leslie Caron]] and Kelly in the trailer for ''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]'', 1951]]
MGM wanted Kelly to return to safer and more commercial vehicles, but he ceaselessly fought for an opportunity to direct his own musical film. In the interim, he capitalized on his swashbuckling image as [[d'Artagnan]] in ''[[The Three Musketeers (1948 film)|The Three Musketeers]]'' in 1948—and appeared with [[Vera-Ellen]] in the ''[[Slaughter on Tenth Avenue]]'' ballet in ''[[Words and Music (1948 film)|Words and Music]]'' (1948 again). He was due to play the male lead opposite Garland in ''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948), but broke his ankle playing volleyball. He withdrew from the film and persuaded [[Fred Astaire]] to come out of retirement to replace him.<ref name="Astaire">{{cite book | last = Astaire|first = Fred|title = Steps in Time|publisher = Heinemann|year = 1959|location = London|page = 291 | isbn = 0-241-11749-6 }}</ref>

In 1949 he starred in ''[[Take Me Out to the Ball Game (film)|Take Me Out to the Ball Game]]'', his second film with Sinatra, where Kelly paid tribute to his Irish heritage in "The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day" routine. This musical film persuaded Arthur Freed to have Kelly make ''[[On the Town (film)|On the Town]]'', also in 1949, in which he partnered with Frank Sinatra for the third and final time. A breakthrough in the musical film genre, it has been described as "the most inventive and effervescent musical thus far produced in Hollywood."<ref name="Thomas" />

[[Stanley Donen]], brought to Hollywood by Kelly to be his assistant choreographer, received co-director credit for ''On the Town''. According to Kelly: "when you are involved in doing choreography for film, you must have expert assistants. I needed one to watch my performance, and one to work with the cameraman on the timing ... without such people as Stanley, [[Carol Haney]], and [[Jeanne Coyne]] I could never have done these things. When we came to do ''On the Town'', I knew it was time for Stanley to get screen credit because we weren't boss–assistant anymore but co-creators."<ref name="Thomas" /><ref>Blair, p. 104: "Gene was the central creative force in this initial collaboration, but he was always generous about Stanley's contribution ... Unfortunately, and mysteriously for me, Stanley, over the years, had been less than gracious about Gene."</ref> Together, they opened up the musical form, taking the film musical out of the studio and into real locations, with Donen taking responsibility for the staging and Kelly handling the choreography. Kelly went much further than before in introducing modern ballet into his dance sequences, going so far in the "Day in New York" routine as to substitute four leading ballet specialists for Sinatra, Munshin, Garrett, and Miller.<ref name="Hirschhorn" />

Kelly asked the studio for a straight acting role, and he took the lead role in the early [[Italian-American Mafia|Mafia]] melodrama ''[[Black Hand (1950 film)|Black Hand]]'' (1950). This exposé of organized crime is set in New York's "[[Little Italy]]" during the late 19th century and focuses on the [[Black Hand (extortion)|Black Hand]], a group that extorts money upon threat of death. In the real-life incidents upon which this film is based, it was the Mafia, not the Black Hand, who functioned as the villain. Filmmakers had to tread gingerly whenever dealing with big-time crime, it being safer to go after a "dead" criminal organization than a "live" one. There followed ''[[Summer Stock]]'' (1950)—Garland's last musical film for MGM—in which Kelly performed the "You, You Wonderful You" solo routine with a newspaper and a squeaky floorboard. In his book ''Easy the Hard Way'', [[Joe Pasternak]], head of another of MGM's musical units, singled out Kelly for his patience and willingness to spend as much time as necessary to enable the ailing Garland to complete her part.<ref name="Thomas" />

[[File:Singin' in the Rain trailer.jpg|thumb|267px|''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'' trailer: [[Donald O'Connor]], [[Debbie Reynolds]] and Kelly, 1952]]

Then followed in quick succession two musicals that secured Kelly's reputation as a major figure in the American musical film. First, ''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]'' (1951) and—probably the most admired of all film musicals—''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'' (1952). As co-director, lead star, and choreographer, Kelly was the driving force in both of these films. [[Johnny Green]], the head of music at MGM at the time, said of him,

<blockquote>Gene is easygoing as long as you know exactly what you are doing when you're working with him. He's a hard taskmaster and he loves hard work. If you want to play on his team you'd better like hard work, too. He isn't cruel, but he is tough, and if Gene believed in something, he didn't care who he was talking to, whether it was [[Louis B. Mayer]] or the gatekeeper. He wasn't awed by anybody, and he had a good record of getting what he wanted.<ref name="Thomas" /></blockquote>

''An American in Paris'' won six Academy Awards, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]. The film also marked the debut of 19-year-old ballerina [[Leslie Caron]], whom Kelly had spotted in Paris and brought to Hollywood. Its dream ballet sequence, lasting an unprecedented 17 minutes, was the most expensive production number ever filmed at that time. [[Bosley Crowther]] described it as, "whoop-de-doo ... one of the finest ever put on the screen."<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> Also in 1951, Kelly received an honorary Academy Award for his contribution to film musicals and the art of choreography.

[[File:Singin' In The Rain Lobby Card 1 (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, and Gene Kelly from a [[lobby card]] for ''Singin' in the Rain'']]
The following year, ''Singin' in the Rain'' featured Kelly's celebrated and much imitated solo dance routine to the title song, along with the "Moses Supposes" routine with Donald O'Connor and the "Broadway Melody" finale with [[Cyd Charisse]]. Though the film did not initially generate the same enthusiasm ''An American in Paris'' created, it has subsequently overtaken the earlier film to occupy its current pre-eminent place in the esteem of critics.

===1953–1957: Decline of Hollywood musicals===
At the peak of his creative powers, Kelly made what in retrospect some see as a career mistake.<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> In December 1951, he signed a contract with MGM that sent him to Europe for 19 months to use MGM funds frozen in Europe to make three pictures while personally benefiting from tax exemptions. ''[[Invitation to the Dance (film)|Invitation to the Dance]]'', a pet project of Kelly's to bring modern ballet to mainstream film audiences. It was beset with delays and technical problems, and flopped when finally released in 1956.

[[File:Its Always Fair Weather photo.JPG|thumb|[[Michael Kidd]], Kelly, and [[Dan Dailey]] in ''[[It's Always Fair Weather]]'' (1955), directed by Kelly and [[Stanley Donen]], their last collaboration]]

When Kelly returned to Hollywood in 1953, the film musical was beginning to feel the pressures from television, and MGM cut the budget for his next picture ''[[Brigadoon (film)|Brigadoon]]'' (1954), with Cyd Charisse, forcing him to make the film on studio backlots instead of on location in Scotland. This year also had him appear as a guest star with his brother Fred in the "I Love to Go Swimmin' with Wimmen" routine in ''[[Deep in My Heart (1954 film)|Deep in My Heart]]'' (1954).

MGM's refusal to lend him out for ''[[Guys and Dolls (film)|Guys and Dolls]]'' and ''[[Pal Joey (film)|Pal Joey]]'' put further strains on his relationship with the studio. He negotiated an exit to his contract that involved making three further pictures for MGM. The first of these, ''[[It's Always Fair Weather]]'' (1955), co-directed with Donen, was a musical satire on television and advertising, and includes his roller-skate dance routine to ''I Like Myself'', and a dance trio with [[Michael Kidd]] and [[Dan Dailey]] that Kelly used to experiment with the widescreen possibilities of [[Cinemascope]].

MGM had lost faith in Kelly's box-office appeal, and as a result ''It's Always Fair Weather'' premiered at 17 drive-in theaters around the Los Angeles metroplex. Next followed Kelly's last musical film for MGM, ''[[Les Girls]]'' (1957), in which he joined [[Mitzi Gaynor]], [[Kay Kendall]], and [[Taina Elg]]. The third picture he completed was a co-production between MGM and himself, a B-film, ''[[The Happy Road]]'' (1957), set in his beloved France, his first foray in a new role as producer-director-actor. After leaving MGM, Kelly returned to stage work.

===1958–1996: After MGM===
In 1958, Kelly directed [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]'s musical play ''[[Flower Drum Song]]''.<ref>In an episode foreshadowing his later conflicts with the studio, [[Elia Kazan]] in the late 1940s offered Kelly the role of Biff in ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' on Broadway, but MGM refused to release him. cf. Blair, p. 112</ref> Early in 1960, Kelly, an ardent Francophile and fluent French speaker, was invited by A. M. Julien, the general administrator of the [[Palais Garnier|Paris Opéra]] and [[Opéra-Comique]],<ref name="Thomas" /> to select his own material and create a modern ballet for the company, the first time an American had received such an assignment. The result was ''Pas de Dieux'', based on [[Greek mythology]], combined with the music of [[George Gershwin]]'s ''[[Concerto in F (Gershwin)|Concerto in F]]''. It was a major success, and it led to his being honored with the ''Chevalier'' de la [[Légion d'Honneur]] by the French Government.

[[File:Inherit the wind trailer (5) Gene Kelly.jpg|thumb|Kelly as Hornbeck in ''[[Inherit the Wind (1960 film)|Inherit the Wind]]'', 1960]]

In 1960, Kelly continued to make some film appearances, such as Hornbeck in the Hollywood production of ''[[Inherit the Wind (1960 film)|Inherit the Wind]]'' and as himself in ''[[Let's Make Love]]''. However, most of his efforts were now concentrated on film production and directing. In Paris, he directed [[Jackie Gleason]] in ''[[Gigot (film)|Gigot]]'' (1962), but the film was drastically recut by [[Seven Arts Productions]] and flopped.<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> Another French effort, [[Jacques Demy]]'s homage to the MGM musical, ''[[The Young Girls of Rochefort]]'' (''Les Demoiselles de Rochefort'', 1967), in which Kelly appeared, was a box-office success in France and nominated for Academy Awards for Best Music and Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation), but performed poorly elsewhere.

He was asked to direct the 1965 film version of ''[[The Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music]]'', which had already been turned down by Stanley Donen. He escorted [[Ernest Lehman]], the screenwriter, out of his house, saying, "Go find someone else to direct this piece of shit."<ref name="wsj">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-sound-of-music-story-by-tom-santopietro-1425069491|title=Book Review: 'The Sound of Music Story' by Tom Santopietro|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=February 27, 2015|access-date=May 18, 2015|last1=Eyman|first1=Scott|archive-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527160652/http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-sound-of-music-story-by-tom-santopietro-1425069491|url-status=live}}</ref>

His first foray into television was a documentary for [[NBC]]'s ''[[Omnibus (U.S. TV series)|Omnibus]]'', ''Dancing is a Man's Game'' (1958), in which he assembled a group of America's greatest sportsmen—including [[Mickey Mantle]], [[Sugar Ray Robinson]], and [[Bob Cousy]]—and reinterpreted their moves choreographically, as part of his lifelong quest to remove the effeminate stereotype of the art of dance, while articulating the philosophy behind his dance style.<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> It gained an [[Emmy]] nomination for choreography and now stands as the key document explaining Kelly's approach to modern dance.

Kelly appeared frequently on television shows during the 1960s, including ''[[Going My Way (TV series)|Going My Way]]'' (1962–63), which was based on the [[Going My Way|1944 film of the same name]]. It enjoyed great popularity in Roman Catholic countries outside the US.<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> He also appeared in three major TV specials: ''[[The Julie Andrews Show]]'' (1965), ''New York, New York'' (1966), and ''[[Jack and the Beanstalk (1967 film)|Jack and the Beanstalk]]'' (1967)—a show he produced and directed that again combined cartoon animation and live dance, winning him an [[Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Children's Program.

[[File:Hello, Dolly!1.jpg|thumb|[[Walter Matthau]] with [[Barbra Streisand]] in ''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly!]]'', 1969]]
In 1963, Kelly joined [[Universal Pictures]] for a two-year stint. He joined [[20th Century Fox]] in 1965, but had little to do—partly due to his decision to decline assignments away from Los Angeles for family reasons. His perseverance finally paid off, with the major box-office hit ''[[A Guide for the Married Man]]'' (1967), in which he directed [[Walter Matthau]]. Then, a major opportunity arose when Fox—buoyed by the returns from ''The Sound of Music'' (1965)—commissioned Kelly to direct ''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' (1969), again directing Matthau along with [[Barbra Streisand]]. The film was nominated for [[42nd Academy Awards|seven Academy Awards, winning three]].

In 1966, Kelly starred in a musical television special for [[CBS]] titled ''Gene Kelly in New York, New York''.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.woodyallenpages.com/2014/08/votw-woody-allen-on-gene-kelly-1966-tv-special|title= Woody Allen On Gene Kelly 1966 TV Special|website= Woody Allen pages|date= August 10, 2014|access-date= April 2, 2020|archive-date= June 13, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200613124128/http://www.woodyallenpages.com/2014/08/votw-woody-allen-on-gene-kelly-1966-tv-special/|url-status= live}}</ref> The special focuses on Gene Kelly in a musical tour around [[Manhattan]], dancing along such landmarks as [[Rockefeller Center]], [[the Plaza Hotel]], and [[the Museum of Modern Art]], which serve as backdrops for the show's entertaining production numbers.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-03-26/gene-kelly-television|title= Gene Kelly on Television|website= UCLA.edu|access-date= April 2, 2020|archive-date= June 14, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200614045648/https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-03-26/gene-kelly-television|url-status= live}}</ref> The special was written by [[Woody Allen]], who also stars alongside Kelly. Guest stars included choreographer [[Gower Champion]], British musical comedy star [[Tommy Steele]], and singer [[Damita Jo DeBlanc]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-03-26/gene-kelly-television|title= Gene Kelly Television|website= UCLA.edu|access-date= April 2, 2020|archive-date= June 14, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200614045648/https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-03-26/gene-kelly-television|url-status= live}}</ref>

In 1970, he made another television special: ''Gene Kelly and 50 Girls'', and was invited to bring the show to [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], which he did for an eight-week stint on the condition he be paid more than any artist had ever been paid there.<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> He directed veteran actors [[James Stewart]] and [[Henry Fonda]] in the comedy Western ''[[The Cheyenne Social Club]]'' (1970), which performed poorly at the box office. In 1973, he worked again with Frank Sinatra as part of Sinatra's [[Emmy]]-nominated TV special, ''[[Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra]]''.

In 1974, he appeared as one of many special narrators in the surprise hit ''[[That's Entertainment!]]'' In 1976, he directed and co-starred with his friend Fred Astaire in the sequel ''[[That's Entertainment, Part II]]''. It was a measure of his powers of persuasion that he managed to coax the 77-year-old Astaire—who had insisted that his contract rule out any dancing, having long since retired—into performing a series of song-and-dance duets, evoking a powerful nostalgia for the glory days of the American musical film.

Kelly was a guest on the 1975 television special starring Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, "Our Love Is Here to Stay," appearing with his son, Tim, and daughter, Bridget. He starred in the poorly received action film ''[[Viva Knievel!]]'' (1977), with the then high-profile stuntman, [[Evel Knievel]]. Kelly continued to make frequent TV appearances. His final film role was in ''[[Xanadu (film)|Xanadu]]'' (1980), a flop despite a popular [[Xanadu (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] that spawned five Top 20 hits by the [[Electric Light Orchestra]], [[Cliff Richard]], and Kelly's co-star [[Olivia Newton-John]].<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> In Kelly's opinion, "The concept was marvelous, but it just didn't come off."<ref name="Thomas" />

In 1980, he was invited by [[Francis Ford Coppola]] to recruit a production staff for American Zoetrope's ''[[One from the Heart]]'' (1982). Although Coppola's ambition was for him to establish a production unit to rival the [[Arthur Freed|Freed Unit]] at MGM, the film's failure put an end to this idea.<ref name="Hirschhorn" /> In November 1983 he made his first Royal Variety Performance before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, at London's Theatre Royal. Kelly served as executive producer and co-host of ''[[That's Dancing!]]'' (1985), a celebration of the history of dance in the American musical. Kelly's final on-screen appearance was to introduce ''[[That's Entertainment! III]]'' (1994). His final film project was the animated film ''[[Cats Don't Dance]]'', not released until 1997, for which Kelly acted as an uncredited choreographic consultant. It was dedicated to his memory.

In 1993, Kelly was hired by [[Madonna]] and her brother [[Christopher Ciccone]] to do the choreography for part of Madonna's [[The Girlie Show (Madonna)|The Girlie Show]] tour, but he was quickly dismissed due to the very different visions that Kelly and the Ciccones had about the performers he was to direct and their dancing abilities.<ref name=Ciccone2>{{cite book|last1=Ciccone|first1=Christopher|last2=Leigh|first2=Wendy|date=2008|title=Life with My Sister Madonna|publisher=Gallery Books|page=211|isbn=9781439109267}}</ref>