Gene Kelly
Awards & Honours
6
Awards Won
7
Honours
2
Rankings
3
Covers
2
Records
Gene Kelly received some of the highest honors the entertainment industry and the nation can bestow. He was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1951, a rare recognition that celebrated his singular contributions to the art of dance on film. The Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts, both in 1982, acknowledged his cultural impact. The American Film Institute gave him its Life Achievement Award in 1985, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award the same year. These honors reflect a career that not only entertained millions but fundamentally changed how dance is used in storytelling.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Honorary Academy Award
For his versatility as an actor, singer, dancer and director, and especially for his contributions to the art of dance in film.
Kennedy Center Honors
Recognized for lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts.
National Medal of Arts
Awarded by the President of the United States for outstanding contributions to the arts.
French Legion of Honour
Awarded for his contributions to French culture and the arts.
Hollywood Walk of Fame Star
Star at 1541 Vine Street for motion pictures.
AFI Life Achievement Award
Honored for his career and contributions to film.
Cecil B. DeMille Award
Golden Globe lifetime achievement award.
Rankings & Lists
Greatest Male Dancers of All Time
100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
Magazine Covers
Time
1951-09-03
Gene Kelly: The Dancer Who Changed the Movies
Life
1952-05-05
Singin' in the Rain Star
The Saturday Evening Post
1952-03-22
Hollywood's Dancing Dynamo
Records & Feats
First live-action dancer to interact with an animated character on film
Kelly danced with Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh (1945), a pioneering combination of live action and animation.
Longest single-take dance sequence in a musical film
The title number of Singin' in the Rain was filmed in a single continuous take, a technical feat for its time.