This buoyant American film star of the 1940s and 50s was a renowned dancer-choreographer, the embodiment of proletariat good-guy cheer and a key figure in shaping the golden age of the Hollywood musical.Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Kelly was the son of a theatrical manager and actress. He and his brother Fred performed a dance act for the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. After an unsuccessful screen test for RKO in 1935, Kelly turned to stage work, making his Broadway debut in the chorus of "Leave It to Me" in 1938. After a dramatic turn in William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life" (1939), he
