Kelly, Gene

Eugene Curran Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 1912, the third of five children of James Patrick and Harriet (Curran) Kelly . His father was a traveling gramophone salesman; his strong-willed, stage-struck mother encouraged her children to take lessons in music, dance, and French. Gene and his younger brother Fred excelled at dance, but Gene far preferred playing sports. He admitted, “I hated dancing.... I thought it was sissy. I bless her now for making...