'Singin' in the Rain' director Stanley Donen dies at 94

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Stanley Donen, the former dancer who directed some of Hollywood’s greatest musicals including Gene Kelly’s landmark "Singin' in the Rain," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "On the Town," has died at age 94, according to media reports.

Donen, who was given an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar in 1998 and wowed the crowd with an impromptu song-and-dance routine, died of a heart attack on Thursday in New York City, the Chicago Tribune said, citing one of his sons, Mark Donen.

The former Broadway dancer brought hugely imaginative dance sequences to film – Fred Astaire danced up a wall and across a ceiling in "Royal Wedding" (1951) – during a career that established him as one of the masters of the movie musical.

A poster for Stanley Donen's 1952 comedy "Singin' in the Rain" starring Gene Kelly (R) and Debbie Reynolds. /VCG Photo

But Donen also excelled in other genres, directing the witty Faustian comedy "Bedazzled" (1967) with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, the romance-thriller "Charade" (1963) with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, and the romantic comedy "Indiscreet" (1958) with Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

"Singin' in the Rain" (1952), which Donen co-directed with Kelly, is a song-and-dance classic hailed by the American Film Institute in 2006 as the greatest movie musical ever made.

The film boasts one of most memorable sequences in the history of American cinema – Kelly singing the title song while carrying an umbrella and dancing through a downpour on a street-scene set in an acrobatic, virtuoso solo performance.

Dan Burton, in the role of Don Lockwood from the 1952 American musical comedy film originally played by Gene Kelly, performs on stage in the musical "Singin' in the Rain" during a dress rehearsal at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris, March 9, 2015. /VCG Photo

The movie, set in the Hollywood of 1927 as films transitioned from silent to talkies – was only a modest success at the time of its release but gained stature over the years.

Unlike many other musicals, it was made expressly for film and was not an adaptation of a Broadway show. Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen and Cyd Charisse co-starred.

Donen also co-directed "On the Town" (1949) with Kelly, who starred with Frank Sinatra in the tale of three sailors on shore leave. The film was shot on location in New York City – the first time that had been done for a musical – and featured enduring songs including "New York, New York."

A combined photo. Left: A poster for Stanley Donen's 1957 musical "Funny Face," starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. Right: Publicity portrait of actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) as she wears a wide-brimmed hat and white blouse during the shooting of the film "Funny Face" directed by Stanley Donen, 1957. /VCG Photos designed by Du Chenxin

"Royal Wedding" two years later was Donen's first solo directing job, with Astaire starring alongside Jane Powell.

Donen directed the ambitious "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954), which starred Powell and Howard Keel and was nominated for an Oscar as best picture. Like "On the Town," it won an Oscar for best music.

Dancing with a mouse

Donen was fortunate enough to work with two of the most accomplished dancers in Hollywood in Kelly and Astaire, and they conjured up breath-taking sequences.

Working as a choreographer on "Anchors Aweigh" (1945), directed by George Sidney, Donen created a sequence in which Kelly dances with cartoon mouse Jerry of "Tom and Jerry" fame in a smooth blend of live action and animation.

A poster for Stanley Donen's 1966 thriller "Arabesque," starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. /VCG Photo

A year earlier, also working as a choreographer, he created a sequence in the film "Cover Girl," directed by Charles Vidor, in which Kelly dances with a ghostly image of himself.

"That was my lucky break," Donen told the Los Angeles Daily News in 1998. "The director (Vidor) said it couldn't be done and didn't want anything to do with it. Harry Cohn, who ran Columbia Studios, asked Gene, 'Do you think the kid knows what he's talking about?' Gene said yes, and Cohn let me do it. So there I was, 19 and filming this sequence."

Director-producer Stanley Donen (L) is presented with the coveted Ace Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award by Steven Spielberg during the 49th Annual Eddie Awards ceremonies in Beverly Hills, U.S.. /VCG Photo

Donen was never nominated for an Oscar but received an honorary Academy Award in 1998 for "a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit and visual innovation." The Oscar statuette was presented by fellow director Martin Scorsese, who lauded him for revolutionizing dance in cinema.

Donen was born on April 13, 1924, in Columbia, South Carolina, and took up dancing after watching Astaire and Ginger Rogers in "Flying Down To Rio" (1933). After graduating high school at age 16, he headed straight for New York and was cast in 1940 in the chorus of the musical "Pal Joey." It starred Kelly, who quickly befriended Donen and enlisted him to help choreograph another show, launching their fruitful collaboration.

(Top Photo: In this file photo U.S. director Stanley Donen attends the International Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 10, 1984. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters