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In this biography, the dancer, choreographer, actor and director is depicted as the complex and difficult man his family, friends and colleagues knew. The text investigates not only his triumphs, but also his late career struggles, stormy relationships and political ideas.
- Sales Rank: #1799267 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Watson-Guptill Publications
- Published on: 1999-12
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .92" h x 6.21" w x 9.26" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 256 pages
Features
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
The major strength of this accessible biography of the great stage and film dancer, choreographer, actor and director is Yudkoff's detailed treatment of Kelly's early years and his struggle to achieve professional success, although Kelly's later years devolve into something of a muddle. Kelly's mother enrolled her five children in dancing school and enjoined them to use their talent to supplement the blue-collar Irish Catholic family's income. Young Gene (1912-1996) complied by teaching children to dance at the local synagogue in Pittsburgh, before working his way through college by dancing in clubs. Later, he jettisoned law school to establish a family business, the Gene Kelly Studio of Dance. Kelly's big break came with the title role in the 1940 musical Pal Joey; he caught the eye of David O. Selznick, who brought him to Hollywood and gave him a part in For Me and My Gal (1942) with Judy Garland. Yudkoff vividly re-creates the famous Hollywood parties that Kelly and his first wife, Betsy Blair, hosted, featuring cutthroat charades and all night political discussions. His treatment of Kelly's personal life is less compelling, however: too much of it is based on speculation. Yudkoff touches on Kelly's left-wing politics during the red scare, but never really explains why Kelly was able to continue working while Blair was blacklisted. Unfortunately, he compresses into one chapter the last 45 years of Kelly's life, in which he remarried twice after a divorce from Blair, raised two children and undertook many creative projects. B&w illus. Agent, Linda Kroner. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Gene Kelly fans will relish this absorbing biography. Yudkoff (a writer and film producer) deftly narrates Kelly's journey from Pittsburgh to Broadway to Hollywood, sensitively telling behind-the-scenes stories and relating the details of Kelly's personal life--from his troubled first marriage, to the highly competitive game parties he held at his house, to his experiences during the McCarthy era. But it is the enormously fascinating material Yudkoff discovered about Kelly's early life that's most impressive. It was, we learn, the determination and intense work ethic he got from his mother as a child that carried him far from poverty in Pittsburgh. He and his siblings spent their youth performing at an impossible number of gigs to fulfill their mother's dreams and, later, to help make ends meet during the Depression. This is the real heart of the story--one of guts and triumph--that sets the stage for Kelly's creative achievements and lasting fame. A well-researched, honest, and respectful work, this is essential for fans and students of film history.
-Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Shamefully shoddy......
By CroonerDude
I have my own personal barometer to indicate whether or not a book is second-rate (or worse). I start counting the typos, and when I hit "five," I officially distrust the author/editors. I hit five by the third chapter and knew I was in for a bumpy ride. This author should have concentrated on spell-checking and fact-checking, rather than obsessing with his thinly veiled,homophobic assertions (as mentioned by another reader, his repeated reference to "Leo McCrary" nearly made me hurl the book across the room!). This really was a maddening read, and it is hardly the biography that the great Gene Kelly deserves. Makes one even sadder to ponder that Kelly's own autobiography was lost when his house burned down in the 80's. That would have been a helluva read.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
A mixed bag
By A Customer
I don't know why I'm writing a review since I agree with most everybody's comments, but perhaps I can help you decide if this book is for you. First off, this book is both good and bad. Good because it is the first book to be written about Gene Kelly in quite a while, but bad because the author uses techniques and makes little mistakes that weaken his work. Many readers complain that Yudkoff pretends to know what Gene was thinking during certain points. Indeed, Yudkoff does use a technique that makes the book more of a novel than a strict biography. For instance, he doesn't use the "In 1940, this happened. Later that same year, this happened. In early 1941 he did this." Yudkoff creates conversations that he has no knowledge of actually occuring but I believe he did this to make the biography more readable and enjoyable. Some parts I disagreed with, but I can see why he uses this approach. One thing that hurts Yudkoff's work is his fact checking. For instance, Gene Kelly was quoted as saying that Fred Astaire retired after his wife's death. This was not true, Astaire retired years before his wife passed away. What is true is that Gene Kelly was wrong when he said this. However, if the author had done any research and doublechecked sources, he could have added a note something like "although Gene said this, it was not true that Fred retired because of his wife's death" or something along those lines. Its not a major mistake but I think it shows that Yudkoff may not have researched his topic thoroughly. In another instance, Yudkoff states that Frank Sinatra, a friend and costar of Gene's, almost intentionally angered studio head Louis B. Mayer so he would be fired and able to make "From Here To Eternity". The truth is that Sinatra was fired and didn't make "Eternity" until a year or two later, the film hadn't even been mentioned at the time he was released from MGM. I'm sure that Gene Kelly knew this and its another example of the author not knowing his subject well enough. Good biographers are able to tell you about the lives of people close to their subject, as both Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra were to Gene Kelly. Like I said, the fact that Yudkoff doesn't know these things shows a lack of research. Yudkoff also doesn't provide notes, which I always appreciate in a biography. It lets the reader know what sources were checked, who said what, etc. For instance, if unsure about a quote you can check the notes and see if it came from a close friend, acquaintance, or a different biographer. The good side, as mentioned earlier, is that this is the first biography of legendary song and dance man Gene Kelly to come out in a long time. Kelly's life is interesting not only for films but also for his time in history. He was a committed liberal and during the times of McCarthy this could prove a liability. Though this was an interesting period, it was only one part of Kelly's life. Unfortunately, Yudkoff barely talks about his later life. There is not even a mention of Gene's third child being born. I would have appreciated more detail on Kelly's very happy second marriage, but Yudkoff barely gives any.
In conclusion, this biography does leave a lot to be desired. It is by no means a definitive book. However, its a decent introduction to Kelly and is the most commercially available bio on him. I recommend that you read it with an open mind, try to corroborate with other books, and if you can find Clive Hirschhorn's excellent biography of Gene Kelly. Its hard to find, but its more fulfilling and accurate than this.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Nothing New on Kelly Here
By Nora L. Mayers
The author tries, but fails, to adequately tell Gene Kelly's life story. There are so few materials on the life and career of Kelly that this book was eagerly anticipated by his fans. Unfortnately, this one doesn't make the grade. In his "novel" approach, the author attempts to crawl inside Kelly's mind as he sits watching the American Film Institute Awards in the 1980s. He thinks Kelly's thoughts and presents them to readers, as though he inhabits a secret corner of the choreographer/dancer's mind and is literally giving us "the inside scoop" on how Kelly felt about his life, career, and relationships. He also invites himself into closed door sessions (where he couldn't possibly have known what was being said between Kelly and Mayer, Kelly and Betsy Blair, Kelly and Jeanne Coyne, Kelly and Donen, etc.). The result is half novel/half biography, all failure. When the author finally does climb out of Kelly's mind back into the reality of the dancer's life, he doesn't get all of his facts straight. In one instance he reports that Vera Ellen saluted Kelly at the American Film Institute Awards. If so, she did it from the netherworld. Ellen had been dead for several years by the time of the AFI awards.
For some odd reason writers have a hard time writing about Kelly and doing it well. Perhaps it is because Kelly's life is devoid of serious scandel; there is nothing scurrilous on which to hang juicy rumors. Let's hope, then, that Kelly's widow, Pat Ward, will soon release the biography that Kelly, himself, was working on the last few years of his life. Then we'll REALLY know what Kelly was thinking, and not have to rely upon second-hand Kelly-think.
See all 32 customer reviews...
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