Patricia Kelly Pens Passionate Essays About Gene Kelly & Discusses AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Patricia Kelly reflects on the life and career of Gene Kelly!

Historian and executor of the Gene Kelly Estate, Patricia Ward Kelly, recently penned two thoughtful and revealing essays on the work of her late husband, iconic Hollywood and Broadway star Gene Kelly, and the essays are now available to view in full.

Kelly shares of the upcoming new stage adaptation of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, "When I learned recently that so many of my good friends were cast in the upcoming "reimagining" of An American in Paris, I eagerly went to the website to read about the new production scheduled to premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on December 10, 2014, and to open in New York City next spring. Because the movie was such an important part of Gene's career -- and meant so much to him personally -- I was surprised not to see him even mentioned on the page."

Kelly continues, "Gene would be the last person to want new generations to mimic his work. He always encouraged young people to take what he did and go beyond. Similarly, he would never wish for those following in his footsteps to forget the important role he and others played in both the creation and execution of the masterpiece that begat this new production."

Furthermore, Kelly reveals even more in the second essay, beginning, "The outpouring of responses I received for my piece about Gene and the upcoming stage production of An American in Paris prompted me to think about creativity and influences and the question -- from whence comes art? Early in our conversations, Gene answered the question for me. 'I believe that everyone has been influenced by people before him -- or events or happenings,' he said. 'The best just don't simply spring full-blown from the earth. They're picking up a seed that has been planted before.'"

Check out the original essay here and the second essay here.

Visit the official Gene Kelly site here.

Additionally, check out my extensive 2012 InDepth InterView with Patricia Ward Kelly available here.