Tall

When we were little, Dad made sure that my sister and I got a proper education: We grew up watching all episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus on PBS. So, the first and only interesting thing I could think of upon seeing this week's Illustration Friday topic, "Tall," was John Cleese exclaiming to Michael Palin, "I'll do what I like because I'm 6-foot-5, and I eat punks like you for breakfast!"

Here is our Kitty tribute to that skit. Who else but Monty Python would think to build it around archaeologists of the 1920s with an obsession slightly more important to them than digging for ancient relics?

(Illustration Friday: August 24, 2012)

It seems The Kitties need a tie-breaker for their contest. While the winning team is determined, you can watch the full Monty Python skit below. I think Terry Jones may be the scene-stealer in this one. Enjoy!

 © Monty Python

Jazzing it up in D.C.

Hi everyone,

Whenever Dad comes to visit, we have a list of Possible Things to Do--browse museum exhibits, watch movies, see the Orioles. Going to jazz clubs is always on the list and, this weekend, we heard more than usual by visiting three different venues:

• Friday night, the Westminster Presbyterian Church  in Southwest, D.C. showcased local talent paying tribute to Sarah Vaughan. Dad and I decided to check it out for the first time: For only a $5 admission, three sets of jazz are played from 6 to 9 p.m. every Friday night. You can also buy dinner there, which is available on the lower level. Dad and I didn't try the food, but the lively social atmosphere, complete with audience members feeling the urge to dance in the aisles, was a one-of-a-kind experience. 

• Saturday night, our main attraction was Terence Blanchard's appearance at Blues Alley in Georgetown. Dad and I have seen the trumpeter several times, and each time has been special. He has some Grammys (and other awards, I'm sure), but you can really feel the coolness best when you're watching him and his quintet play together from only a few feet away. (It's especially good after a yummy dinner: At Blues Alley, I recommend  Jerry "The Iceman" Butler's baked salmon.) 

• Sunday night, we planned to visit our favorite jazz joint, Bohemian Caverns, on U Street. But since Sunday's late-night show was cancelled, we ended up a couple blocks away at Twins Jazz, a place we've heard about but hadn't tried yet. Walk up its stairs and you'll find yourself in a tiny haunt bathed in dim lighting. Its red walls are covered in random photos of jazz greats, such as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk. Cozy square white-cloth-covered tables line the long room, with the bar at the back and the stage at the front. Dad and I enjoyed an Ethiopian dinner there while listening to the Ostle/Parker Quintet. 

Here's a treat from our weekend (sort of): One of the highlights of Saturday night's show was The Terence Blanchard Quintet's performance of the title song from his album, Choices. While the following 12-minute video is a recording of a performance at a New Orleans concert, you'll hear and see what we did--except for the different drummer. (Terence Blanchard's usual drummer was unavailable Saturday night, but we were perfectly happy with his substitute: He learned all the songs that day and--take my word for it--was blissfully in his own world the entire time.) Enjoy!

Video © The Global Salon: New Orleans/The Green Space NY

Good stuff, yes?

Let's celebrate Gene Kelly!

Hi everyone,

As you may know--especially if you read my post about attending last month's screening of Singin' in the Rain--Gene Kelly is one of my most favorite people no longer on the planet.

I can't remember exactly when I fell in love, but my first memory of him was watching his "Heather on the Hill" dance with Cyd Charisse in Brigadoon when I was  11 or 12. However, he was also in Xanadu, a movie I was completely obsessed with when I was 6! I had no idea who he was at the time--clearly mesmerized solely by that movie's combination of Olivia Newton John, roller skating, and catchy songs that I sang along to every time. But maybe it was really in Xanadu that Gene Kelly tapped into in my subconscious.

So, you could say that Gene Kelly's been in my life for most of it. And I can't image it without him. I joke that I must have fallen on my head when I was 12 because I seem to have never passed that celebrity-obsessed teenybopper stage. When I was 12, my life was about my three heroes: Johnny, Sting, and Gene!

After Brigadoon, I had to see every Gene Kelly movie I could find and read all about him. He's a really important figure in dance and film history, having invented a whole new dance style and making it accessible to everyone. But I never really thought of Gene that way: In my eyes, he was confident and handsome and romantic and smart and funny--and he danced on air!

Today would have been Gene Kelly's 100th birthday, and I've been contemplating how to celebrate it. Last night, I was still in the throes of brainstorming! What's the best way to spread the love to you about a guy who hit his prime in the early 1950s?

While pondering this question, I watched "So You Think You Can Dance," my summertime obsession! The weekly dance competition, which is working its way toward finding America's Two Favorite Dancers (one guy and one girl),  is down to its Top 10 contestants. This week, the group opened the show with a Gene Kelly tribute choreographed by Tyce Diorio. The dance, a kaleidoscope of Gene's famous dances and movie moments, began with the camera focused on Cyrus (my Favorite Guy) snapping a film clapperboard with Gene Kelly's name written on it. I gasped at the sight of it and beamed smiles as I recognized each familiar character and move.

That's it! Nobody makes me smile like Gene Kelly. Last week, Julie and Liam gave me a customized iphone case that's decorated with three photographs of Gene. I don't even own an iphone yet, but the case makes me smile whenever I look at it.

But what really sends me over the moon is the dancing. Gene shared pure joy with every step.

So, here's to a year of Gene Kelly celebration! I haven't yet figured out a schedule, what I'll call it, or what I'll draw, but The Kitties are already in rehearsal and auditioning for the starring role of our tribute. (Don't worry, I'll let you know when I figure out all the details.)

While The Kitties and I don't plan to feature his entire filmography, we will honor our favorite Gene Kelly dances from most of his musicals--with a few surprises thrown in as extra treats. I'll also be sure to include videos of each dance so that you can see the inspiration. May they give you the same glorious feeling I get every time I see them. It's kind of like this....

Our Gene Kelly Tribute is coming soon, so stay tuned.... In the meantime, don't forget to catch some of Gene's movies today on TCM. His wife, Patricia, is hanging out with host Robert Osborne this evening, starting at 8 p.m. Good movies, amazing songs and dances, and trivia--Talk about treats!

Enjoy,

Image copyright credits: Brigadoon: MGM; Xanadu: Universal Pictures; Gene Kelly still: unknown; Singin' in the Rain: MGM.

Teacher

As all mothers should, The Kitty taught her children well.

(Illustration Friday: August 17, 2012)

Frozen

When the living room window is open, Lily spends most of the day bathing in the breeze. Every so often, she freezes at the sight of something in the sky. She never tells me what she sees, and it never deters her from the task at hand. That's a cat for you.

(Illustration Friday: August 10, 2012)

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #23--Blow (2001)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]

I hope that people will be able to watch and learn from it. I hope kids will. We've all gone through the whole thing of thinking that drugs are just party time. You can sort of live that lie that it is recreational, but it's not. We're trying to hide from something, trying to mask something, trying to numb ourselves from something. Really, getting loaded to that extent is just postponing the inevitable, which is you are going to have to face the demon someday. You're gonna have to look him in the eye and go, "Okay, let's get through this." -- Johnny Depp 

Meet George Jung.

Blow chronicles the life of George Jung (Johnny Depp), a kid from Weymouth, Massachusetts, who wanted to break out of his father's working-class lifestyle. He began by dealing marijuana in California and eventually worked with Pablo Escobar, becoming one of the most wanted drug traffickers during the 1970s and '80s. Between 1977 and 1985, he smuggled 85% of all the cocaine available in the United States. Although in and out of jail and battling addiction and its warning signs, including illnesses and heart attacks, he continued to fall back on the only trade he learned in life: dealing drugs for profit. George Jung amassed $100 million but eventually learned his father's lasting lesson--that money means nothing--when he lost it all, including everything and everyone who mattered to him.

If I think about it too much, I get conflicted about this movie. The main character is a drug dealer, who introduced the majority of the United States' cocaine supply. Yet, by the end of this movie, I was rooting for him. Director Ted Demme felt the same way: "When I met George in prison, I went in not knowing what to expect because all my expectations of these kinds of guys were thug-like and kind of scary, and I met a guy who was really funny, really smart, really sad, really well-bred. I spent 4 to 5 hours with the guy and ended up really liking him and feeling sorry for him and--at the same time--being very judgmental about what he had done. For me, as a filmmaker, I thought it'd be a great challenge to present the classic antihero on the page as a sympathetic character. I always knew what the final frame of the film would be: a man in prison alone, no friends, going to be there for a long time, family estranged from him. And I find sadness in that, in any human being. I thought it was a great challenge, as a filmmaker, to tell this story." 

Based on the book Blow by Bruce Porter, the film Blow presents George Jung's story as a wild ride. I don't know how he has survived the amount of drugs he consumed and dealt or the dangerous situations in which he found himself. These days, he doesn't recommend it: "I think it boils down to a man bent on self-destruction. It's a guy who chose free will over the love of his daughter and his family. I can't say that he loved himself, but he loved free will and adventure more than he did the people around him. I mortgaged my whole life for several moments of freedom. Who the hell does that?"

It's all about the accent. 

I saw Blow with the whole family, and the only review I remember is from my dad: "Johnny was good in it. He did a good accent." This is high praise, considering my dad's side of the family all have heavy Bostonian accents. I was pleased. And, I agree. In some scenes, he sounds just like one of my uncles!

Johnny played his character with typical precision. "Johnny Depp blew my mind. It was me," George Jung said when he saw the film in prison. "He portrayed me and he literally became me--his voice, his mannerisms, his actions--everything, totally! It's almost frightening." Ted Demme concurred: "George was spooked by it because it was so right and perfect. Johnny is, amongst many things, a great mimic and he can really scare you with how good he is at being a mimic. When I finally got a script that I was happy with, I went and tracked Johnny down in Europe ('cause you kind of have to go find him). From my perspective, I wanted an actor to give me George Jung. I didn't want a movie star to come in and star in Blow. I really wanted the guy to be George. Johnny has done that on every film."

It's got that Ted Demme touch.

Ted Demme makes a cameo in Blow! (This isn't it.)

I don't know if it's because I'm aware that Ted Demme worked for MTV at the start of his career, but Blow reminds me of the same exciting style, pace, and fantastic music that MTV had in its golden years. I see so much potential, and so many exciting ideas in this movie too. Maybe that's heightened awareness again because I know it's his last piece of work. Ted Demme died of a heart attack at age 38, less than a year after Blow was released.

Despite that sad story and the seriousness of this movie's topic, Blow is a very entertaining! Aside from Johnny, the great cast includes Penelope Cruz, Franka Potente, Ray Liotta, Rachel Griffiths, and--most exciting to me--Paul Reubens! (It's a great, dramatic performance too!) Through George's eyes, I can see how the lifestyle would be enticing--having all that money and material possessions without the burden of much responsibility. But it's important to remember the lessons he learned. As Ted Demme explained, "I think George has a real clear idea of what drugs do to people because he's looked in the mirror and sees what its done to him. It's not only aged him and taken a huge chunk out of his life, but it's put him where he is right now--in isolation. He'd like to, right now, make a difference. That's one of the reasons he allowed me to make this film." George Jung wants people to see his story and hopefully have an impact on people who are thinking of getting into this business, are in this business and thinking about getting out, or have gotten out of the business already and are thinking about getting back in. His message is simple: It's just not worth it.

George and Tuna (Ethan Supree) decide to go into business.

Johnny had an experience similar to Ted Demme's when he met George Jung in prison. They became friends pretty instantly, having discovered many common interests and beliefs. Since making Blow, Johnny has been a strong supporter for George Jung's release. "I hope the audience is able to understand to some degree what George went through and why he made the decisions he made and why he became what he became. A lot has to do with the conditioning he went through as a kid. He became everything he didn't want to become," Johnny said. "George Jung is a lot of things. He's a complicated guy. But first and foremost--what I was really happy to find out--is he is just as human as can be. There is no evil. There is no malice in him. He's not greedy. He's just a good man who recognized his mistakes and has to live with his sort of devastation every day. I saw a strong guy when I met him. He's a very strong, kind of ironic, funny, broken man." 

Johnny visits the real George Jung.

"My opinion is that George Jung has served his time and paid his debt to society. He's not doing anyone any good rotting away in a prison cell," Johnny continued. "The guy is rehabilitated, and I'm not sure the system rehabilitated him. I think he rehabilitated himself based on the hideous thoughts he's had to live with and realities he has had to deal with. I think he could do much more good on the outside. He's doing work with the DARE [Drug Abuse Resistance Education] program right now. He could, potentially, go on the road with DARE and teach kids the dangers of drugs. And, he could also pay his debt to his daughter and try to give her a father."

George Jung is scheduled to be released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Anthony, Texas, in 2014. He'll be 72.

The Kitties say they've had no catnip.
Ted Demme conveyed various scenes in Blow through collages of Polaroids rather than play them out. Instead of showing parties on film, for example, photo after photo flashes on screen. Keeping with that idea, this month's tribute offers Polaroids spanning George Jung's life.

• As kids, George Jung and his best friend Tuna (Norman) found ways to pass the time, like roller-skating down the streets of their hometown.
• George and Tuna moved to Manhattan Beach, Florida, in the late '60s. There, George met his first love Barbara (Franka Potente/Lily) and began dealing pot.
• In the '70s, George started doing big business in Mexico. The whole gang [including Barbara, business partner Derek (Paul Reubens/Simon), and childhood friends Tuna and Dulli (Max Perlich/B.J.] was one big happy family. 
• After George and Derek celebrated their first big job, clinking glasses amid piles of cash, business grew. 

• With their drug distribution system smoothed down to a science, George felt ultra-cool. (This scene, in which Johnny walks through Miami International Airport wearing an all-white outfit and big shades to the tune of "Black Betty" by Ram Jam, is what Ted Demme called, "one of the greatest moments in film history" while Johnny referred to his outfit as, "the ultimate in bad taste." It's an awesome combination any way you look at it.)  
• But these illegal activities landed George in prison for a few years in Danbury, Connecticut. While there, he learned from his cellmate Diego how to deal cocaine.
• Once out of jail, George kicked off the '80s by getting in with Pablo Escobar. He became part of the family by marrying Mirtha (Penelope Cruz/Ashes). 
• When their daughter Kristina was born, George stayed sober and enjoyed a normal life for a while--birthday parties and all.
• But old habits die hard, and George got caught on what he said was his last job. He's still in jail for it today.

We're not getting any cheerier. 

Next up, Johnny turns detective again: This time, he's tracking down Jack the Ripper in From Hell.

Image credits: All film images © New Line Cinema; image of Ted Demme © Globe-Images; Illustration © Melissa Connolly; image of Johnny Depp with George Jung © unknown

Bounce

© Disney 

As demonstrated so joyfully by Winnie the Pooh's Tigger, one thing that all orange kitties have in common is their love of bouncing. Some days, you'll find B.J. in the yard doing just that. It's too bad this isn't an Olympic event because he would win the gold!

(Illustration Friday: August 3, 2012)

Lonely

I've been moving in slow motion since returning to D.C. after my extra-long weekend at home in Ohio. Whenever I come back from a trip, Lily has plenty to tell me about her days alone in the apartment. I guess it takes both of us a while to get back into our routines. We get there eventually.

(Illustration Friday: July 27, 2012)

TCM's Summer Under the Stars

Hi everyone,

© Turner Classic Movies)

Is Melissa's Kitties turning into Movie Central? I don't watch movies all the time, I swear, but August is one of my favorite months of the year--movie-wise. Every August, Turner Classic Movies celebrates Summer Under the Stars, dedicating each day to the films of a single movie star. I think TCM created this festival just for me since that's pretty much how my brain works: If I see a good movie with a good actor in it, I need to see all of that actor's movies as soon as possible. In August, TCM makes that easy! As an extra treat, you might fall for another movie star you've never noticed before!

Here are some of this month's highlights:

• August 2: Myrna Loy -- She rocks in everything! The Best Years of Our Lives and The Thin Man are two of my favorite films.
• August 4: Marilyn Monroe -- As a kid, I worshipped Marilyn, so any movie today is good in my eyes. See The Prince and the Showgirl, Some Like it Hot, and The Seven Year Itch.
• August 5: Claude Rains -- He's got the voice. Now, Voyager! (with Bette Davis, who I love) and The Invisible Man are both great!
• August 7: Sidney Poitier -- He's got class. See Paris Blues (with Paul Newman, the coolest of the cool) and A Patch of Blue too! 
• August 8: Rita Hayworth -- Did you know she was a fantastic dancer? Check her out with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich and You Were Never Lovelier. (She was supposedly his favorite dance partner. You'll see why.)
• August  10: Lionel Barrymore -- It's Mr. Potter! Find him in You Can't Take It With You for a good laugh and Key Largo because it's awesome.  
• August 12: Ginger Rogers -- Swing Time has my favorite Fred and Ginger dance in it. Stage Door offers some great acting from a starry ensemble cast--including Katharine Hepburn, Eve Arden, and Ann Miller--and a good cry. 
• August 17: Katharine Hepburn -- You can't go wrong with this lady, but I'd recommend Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (with Sidney Poitier) and Bringing Up Baby (with the great Cary Grant--and a big cat). 
• August 22: Jack Lemmon -- You can't go wrong with this guy either. Today, I'd recommend The Apartment. You can also catch him in Some Like it Hot, which is being shown on Marilyn's day, August 4).
• August 23: Gene Kelly -- You know how I feel about this guy. Wish him a happy 100th birthday, take the day off, and watch all you can! Or: Assuming everyone's seen An American in Paris and Singin' in the Rain, I recommend On the Town (Gene's personal favorite), Cover Girl (with Rita Hayworth), and Inherit the Wind (an excellent drama with two of my other favorites, Spencer Tracy and Frederic March--not too shabby!)
• August 29: Ingrid Bergman -- See Gaslight and Casablanca because TCM host Robert Osborne would tell you they're Essential.

TCM should really hire me, don't you think? Get into your pajamas, make some popcorn, and enjoy!

What are you reading?

Hi everyone,

I'm packing to head home to Ohio for a fun weekend with family. I've been on an unintentional break from reading any books since The Artist's Way, so I may bring  a couple of options home with me to start. I'd consider R. Kelly's autobiography, Soula Coaster: The Diary of Me, but only if Gary Oldman reads it to me....

© Jimmy Kimmel Live

Have a good weekend, all!

Carry

One time, I moved some of the kittens to a different spot without checking with The Mother Kitty. She gave me a look and carried them back. I never did it again.

(Illustration Friday: July 20, 2012)

Nobody does it quite like Fred.

Hi everyone,

Last week, the Smithsonian put me in the clouds with Gene Kelly at the Museum of American History. This week, they offered a date with Fred Astaire at the Hirshhorn Museum. Thursday night, Fred Astaire: Dancing with Genius, offered a mix of lecture by fan/Fred expert Christine Bamberger with film clips and recordings to explore the dancer's life and work. 

Fred Astaire's name inevitably came up in whatever I read about Gene Kelly. People like to compare them because they were the two giants of dance at the time, but I never understood the comparison: Their styles are completely different. 

Growing up, I saw most of Fred Astaire's movies. But, unlike the instantaneous adoration that hit me with Gene Kelly, my love for Fred Astaire was more gradual. At first, I thought he was clumsier than Gene Kelly: To me, Fred always seemed to tap too hard and fast; I worried that he might fall over at any second. In my eyes, Gene just floated on air. 

As I got older, I realized that Fred Astaire would never fall over. He could do whatever he wanted with his feet, and everything would always be precise, elegant, and perfect. Someone who knew Fred said his body oozed dance, even when just walking down the street. I believe it!

The lecturer sounded just like me – if you replace Fred with Gene: She fell in love with Fred when she saw That's Entertainment! at 13.  She's a writer/editor for a government contractor, but she watches classic movies all the time. And, by now, she's learned so much about Fred Astaire that she can serve as an expert resource on the topic. 

I wouldn't call myself an expert on Gene Kelly, and I'm definitely not an expert on Fred Astaire: I haven't even read any books about Fred Astaire (yet). So, I was excited to go to this event to learn more about the other giant.

To my surprise, I knew most of what was highlighted in the lecture. I was amazed to find out, though, that Fred Astaire primarily thought of himself only as an entertainer and nothing much more. Always humble, he didn't consider or care much about being remembered for his talent. Instead he stayed focused on moving forward and trying new things. 

Well, Fred Astaire was entertaining! What I love most about him is his musicality; he always made his songs distinctly his own. In fact, songwriters of the day, such as George Gershwin and Cole Porter, asked him more than any other entertainer to introduce their songs in his movies. Fred Astaire had his own style of singing and seemed to play instruments with ease--talents that, I learned, he just "picked up along the way." As Christine said after we watched Fred play an elaborate tune on the piano, "It's not fair, is it?"

Ultimately, the lecture made me want to watch Fred Astaire dance. So, here's one of my favorites, "A Shine on Your Shoes," from 1953's The Band Wagon.

This dance makes me so happy! Of course, Fred is amazing. (You'll see what I mean about his musicality here.) This song was written in 1932 by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, and this is a wonderful version of it. But, for me, the shoe-shiner practically steals the show – I love this guy! He's beaming! His name is Leroy Daniels, a real-life dancing shoeshine man they found in Los Angeles. Check it out: 

Copyright: MGM

I suppose, if Fred Astaire showed up at my shoeshine stand, I'd be that happy too – especially if I had remembered to wear my pink socks.

Lost

When Simon first found us, he was lost. But, he says he picked us and our home out after months of thorough investigation all over town. He then devised the following elaborate, methodical plan:

Step 1. Lurk at the office.
Step 2. Spy on our daily routines.
Step 3. Spring out of the bushes when least expected.
Step 4. Turn on the charm.

It worked!

The Mother Kitty does not believe Simon's story and has her own theories. But that's an illustration for another day.

What a Glorious Feelin'...

Hi Everyone,

I've been a fan of Gene Kelly since seeing his 1954 film, Brigadoon, on TV. I can't remember how old I was exactly--my early teens, maybe. But, after that, I read and saw everything I could get my hands on about Gene Kelly. I still do. I'm thorough like that.

Damaged from years of sun exposure and
an accidental water spill, I still treasure my autographed
photo of Gene Kelly! It reads, "Good Luck Gene Kelly"
He always makes the stem of the "y" into an "x" for a kiss,
but my autograph also has a little shamrock after his name. Joy!

When I was 15 or 16, I drew a Melissa's Kitties birthday card for Gene Kelly and included a note highlighting his greatness--which I'm sure he already knew--and declaring my unwavering devotion (which he probably didn't know).  Weeks later, I received an 5" x 7" photograph of him, looking dapper in a tuxedo. Amid jumping around and squealing at this most excellent piece of mail, I noticed a mark on his white shirt! Did delivery damage my new treasure? I stopped in my tracks and discovered that he actually autographed it with a blue ball-point pen. You can see the impression if you flip it over! Well, I jumped and squealed even more--until my parents came home and I could tell them all about it. Gene Kelly and I were pals for life!

Every year since, I made a birthday card for Gene and sent it off to the Beverly Hills address I had. Even though I didn't received another response from him, I was just glad to know he'd receive them. When he died in February of 1996, I was working an internship in New York City, where they dimmed the lights of Broadway in his honor. When I got back to Ohio, I had another piece a mail from Beverly Hills waiting for me: a printed card from Gene Kelly's wife, Patricia Ward Kelly, thanking me for being a loyal fan and letting me know that Gene appreciated it.

So imagine my glee when I got the e-mail announcement that the Smithsonian was hosting a screening of Gene's 1952 classic, Singin' in the Rain, at the new Warner Brothers Theater in the Museum of American History.  (Yes, I've seen it a zillion times, but once more is always a treat.) As if that weren't enough, co-star Rita Moreno and Gene Kelly's wife, Patricia, were scheduled to be there to participate in a question-answer session after the film.

I snatched up a ticket in 2 seconds! Read on to hear what happened!

The One Night People Were Disappointed That It Didn't Rain

As usual, I arrived too early. I joined a few other early birds who stood in the space between the museum's double-doors to enjoy the air conditioning. In the event description, we were invited to wear our raincoats and Wellies, but most of us couldn't imagine doing so in this heat. However, I did see a couple of good sports.

Although the museum closed at 5:30, and they weren't reopening for the event until 6:30, the nice security guards let us stay cool in our spots. A glass partition divided the four sets of doors into two and two, and we lined both sides of our partitioned space. While I was fiddling with the contents of my evening bag, I began to hear a whispered wave of excitement: "Oh, it's Mrs. Kelly!" "It's Mrs. Kelly!" "Mrs. Kelly!" "It's Mrs. Kelly!" By the time I realized what they were saying, Mrs. Kelly was making her way down the right-side line of bystanders, saying hello  and shaking hands with each of them. Why did I stand to the left?! I only saw the back of her head as she went through and watched as she greeted the event organizers inside. My luck.

Mingling with the Next of Kin to Greatness

The food tables were decorated with umbrellas and flowers.

Once allowed inside, I was pleasantly surprised: Finger foods, desserts, and cocktails were offered during a 1-hour reception prior to the film. I was happy about this, since--in my excitement--I'd forgotten about dinner. I stood at a round cocktail table with my drink and snacks, surveying the crowd.  I wasn't the youngest person here, but I was definitely in the minority. A couple joined me with their plates of salad, crackers, cheese, and bite-size cakes. They were surprised I was attending this event alone, which hadn't really occurred to me as odd. "I'm a big Gene Kelly fan," I explained. They told me that Mrs. Kelly planned to be here, which I confirmed, saying that I saw her when she arrived.

A little while later, I saw her again! She was mingling among us, just like a regular person! I pointed her out to my table companions, who didn't know what she looked like. Eventually, we all wandered our separate ways, and I began to lurk near Mrs. Kelly as she talked to others around the room. I am ridiculously shy and nervous in these rare situations, and I was trying to psyche myself up to talk to her.  (I was also waiting for an opening, which was hard to get.) I ran into the husband of my table-sharing couple, who reported that he had already greeted Mrs. Kelly. He laughed when I said I was building up my nerve to do so. But he doesn't realize what a dorky fan I am, which will soon be revealed!

I started to worry that my golden opportunity would slip away as Mrs. Kelly nearly finished working the room. I think that's when Gene Kelly smiled down on me and stepped in to give me a moment!

His wife turned a full 180, looked right at me, and began walking toward me. I smiled and inhaled to say something, but she beat me to it. She extended her hand to shake, and said, "Hello, I'm Patricia Ward Kelly. How are you enjoying this evening?"  I grasped her hand with both of mine, which I don't think I've ever done to anyone in my life. Then, I kind of went into blurt-it-out mode:
"Mrs. Kelly, I'm so happy to meet you! I am such a huge Gene Kelly fan!"
"Oh, how wonderful!"
"I used to send him handmade birthday cards."
"I probably still have them in my files." [What???]
"When he died, you sent me a printed note, thanking me for being a fan, and I just want to tell you that it really meant so much to me!"
"Oh, how wonderful!"
"I wanted to ask you, are you still working on his autobiography?" [Gene Kelly was working on an autobiography for the last 20 years of his life. One of the drafts was lost in 1983 when he had a house fire, and he had to start over. He met Patricia in 1985 and soon hired her to help him finish the book. They got married 5 years into this project. I planned to ask this question during the question-and-answer session, but I was so much happier to have this chance one-on one! I would have been much more nervous than I was now.]
She nodded, "Yes, it's turned into more of my own memoirs now, but I'm really focused this year on Gene's birthday."
"Oh, yes!"
"It's his centennial, you know, so I'm planning all sorts of events for that."
"Oh, that's wonderful! I have a blog and would love to go and write about all of them!"
"Oh, that would be wonderful!"
I love that everything is wonderful between us.

She asked me if I was on Facebook. I was, I nodded, but I began to panic at the realization that I had forgotten to bring any sort of business cards with me to give to her. It didn't matter, though, because--amazingly--she gave me one of hers! She said, "Please e-mail me and remind me of the story you told me, won't you?"
"Yes, thank you so much!"
"Enjoy yourself tonight!"
"I will, thank you!"
As she walked away, I realized that I never told her my name or ask to have my picture taken with her (as other people did). But I was already in the clouds, and at least I didn't faint.

Showtime at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History

The new Warner Brothers Theater opened earlier this year with a Humphrey Bogart film festival attended by Lauren Bacall and their son Stephen! (Can you believe I missed getting a ticket for that one?!) I imagined it to be a grand Art Deco MGM-glory-days sort of theater, but there's nothing fancy about it. In fact, it's pretty plain and small, which was just fine and actually preferred, as it makes for an intimate event. As we watched the film, Patricia Ward Kelly and Rita Moreno sat in the audience with us--not together and not even in the front rows--just in some random middle-of-the-room seats!

"I'm laughin' at clouds, so dark up above,
the sun's in my heart, and I'm ready for love."

Singin' in the Rain is Gene Kelly's signature film, the one he'll be remembered for most because of his iconic dance to the title song. Even if you don't like musicals or old movies, or whatever, you're bound to enjoy Singin' in the Rain because it's pretty fantastic in every way. Betty Comden and Adolph Green were hired by producer Arthur Freed to write the story and screenplay. Also a composer, Freed told the writers to take a catalog of his songs and build a story around it. "Call it Singin' in the Rain," was one of his few instructions.

Well, they came up with something great! The story takes place during the 1920s when movie studios were converting from the silent era to Talkies. During this time, some stars made the transition to sound smoothly. Others saw their careers dwindle because they couldn't handle the new technology and processes, had horrible speaking voices, or just couldn't memorize their lines. Most of the stories in this film are based on those of real people in movie history.

Gene Kelly co-directed (with Stanley Donen), choreographed, and starred in Singin' in the Rain. In it, he plays Don Lockwood, Monumental Pictures's biggest star, along side Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Rita Moreno plays an ambitious up-and-coming star named Zelda Zanders, who is under contract at Monumental Pictures. But, the story revolves around another contract player named Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds). According to the gossip columnists, Don and Lina are an item on and off the screen, but trouble stirs when Don and Kathy meet and fall in love. If that weren't a big enough problem, dealing with the addition of sound to the movie business proves more difficult than anyone imagined and threatens to ruin all of their careers.

Comden and Green won a Writers Guild Award for "Best Written Musical." Donald O'Connor, who plays Don's best friend Cosmo Brown, won a Golden Globe for his performance, and Jean Hagen was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Singin' in the Rain is #1 on the AFI's list of 100 Years of Musicals, and it ranks at #5 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list. If you haven't already, see it!

It was a special experience to see Singin' in the Rain among fellow fans of the film. Everyone laughed at all the jokes and clapped and cheered after every dance. I half-expected the stars to come out afterward to take their bows, just as they do in the movie after their premieres. But we had different guests.

Time for Some Girl Talk

After the film, our host, Dwight Blocker Bowers (director of the Warner Brothers festivals of classic Hollywood films and curator of entertainment collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History) introduced our guests. He began with Patricia, who interrupted him when he was telling too much of a story she wanted to tell herself. "Don't tell that story," she yelled from her seat in the audience. Instead, he mentioned snippets of it, which she approved with an "okay" here and an "okay" there. Then, she was interrupted by Rita Moreno, who sat  a few rows ahead of her. She stood up, pointed dramatically, and exclaimed, "Who is this woman?! Why does she get to tell you what you can and cannot say?!"
"Oh, sit down, Zelda!" Patricia responded. Our laughter erupted as the two ladies made their way to the stage.

The real stars of the night: Patricia Ward Kelly and Rita Moreno

It didn't occur to me to look for Rita Moreno during the reception. She was probably wandering around just as Patricia was. I wish I had had a chance to speak to her because I think we might be kindred spirits.

She spoke to us first, "I can't tell you how often [watching the film] I wanted to cry--and they're tears of joy! What a legacy this man has left. Do you know what made him unique, special, and one-of-a-kind? He introduced a new dance vocabulary. This is dance in Gene's DNA. It's American Dance."

It turns out that she's just as big a fan of Gene Kelly as I am! "From the time I was a little girl, he was my Dancing God," she said. She was under contract at MGM and still up-and-coming herself when she was hired to play Zelda. "I went to the studio every single day to watch--every single day. People say you go there to watch and learn. That's true but, really, the reason I was there was to see my idol. I just wanted to be there."

She described Gene switching hats as actor, choreographer, and director throughout the day, leaping out of and over chairs or cameras--whatever was in his way: "Really. Gene would jump. This man never just walked somewhere."

Gene asked her to cut her long hair into a bob for the part of Zelda, which she reflexively refused, thinking her family would be horrified. "Gene gave me a look, like, 'You're telling me, Gene Kelly, that you're not going to do what I'm telling you to do?!'" I immediately thought, 'Shit!' But he let me keep my hair and gave me that red wig you see in the movie."

Throughout the evening, when Patricia was talking, Rita kept interrupt to remind her to tell this story or that story. At one point, she exclaimed to us, "Oh, I'm so glad I met her yesterday!"

One of my favorite moments was when Rita talked about Gene Kelly's strong dance style, with punctuated, precise movements. When she first started, she didn't dance that way, and she said, "He really straighten me out! I mean, boy, did he let me have it!" Patricia thought she was talking about Gene, but she was referring to choreographer Jerome Robbins. Rita clarified, cocking her head to the side and collapsing in her seat with a smitten look, "Oh, nooo! Jerome. Not Geeene....Never Geeeene...." She sighed, paused, and shrugged, "I wouldn't have minded."

Patricia had equally entertaining stories. I was especially happy to hear how she first met Gene. I knew that she was hired as a writer for a documentary he was narrating. I didn't know that the documentary was filmed here at the Smithsonian, in the Air and Space Museum! She said that, at the time, she was a nerdy grad student and Herman Melville scholar from Colorado with long brown hair parted in the middle so that only her nose peeked through. She dressed as if she were still in Colorado--in a man's shirt, corduroys, thermal socks, and clogs. Gene Kelly was a last-minute replacement, filling in for Gregory Peck, as narrator of a Smithsonian documentary about writers. Patricia, who was hired for her Herman Melville expertise, knew who Gregory Peck was because she had seen To Kill a Mockingbird. She had no idea who Gene Kelly was or whether this person was a man or a woman (Gene or Jean). She'd never seen Singin' in the Rain.

Because Gene Kelly was such an enticing eligible bachelor who had every girl at the Smithsonian swooning, his handlers kept him away from them by sticking Patricia on him for the week. Of their first meeting, Gene said, "You looked like you just got off a horse. You walked like you just got off a horse. And, you talked like you just got off a horse." But, during that week, locked away in a room away from everyone else, they bonded playing word games and reciting poetry to each other. It wasn't until after he left for the airport when the week was up that someone told her, "You know, that guy's really famous," and recommended she ask for his movies at the video store. Sweet!

Patricia also read some great fan letters: "Dear Mr. Kelly, My mother never lets me jump off the furniture. Why did your mother let you?"

One letter was a bad review from a fourth grader who had to watch Singin' in the Rain in class: It was addressed to Patricia and said something like, "I did not like your husband's movie. Your husband's movie is short if you cut out all the songs and dances. Why didn't your husband cut out the dances and get to the point? Does he always just think about dance all the time?" I think the answer to that is yes. Patricia wrote a more elaborate reply to the fourth grader and will be meeting with the now 19-year-old sometime soon.

I even learned some new trivia! (Can you believe it?) Did you know:

• Gene kept production notes of every minute of the day. I don't know if everyone does production notes, but Patricia read from some of his, and they were precise, like: 2:47 to 2:56 p.m. - Test camera with back lighting. 2:57 to 3:10 p.m. - Test camera without filter. Crazy-awesome details! 
• All the taps are dubbed once the dances are filmed, and Gene always dubbed his own. He also dubbed Debbie Reynolds's dances for Singin' in the Rain. 
• Gene's costumes were always form fitted one-piece outfits that showed off the dancer's body and emphasized the line of the leg. Patricia explained, "That's why his pants were specially cut to show off his thighs, which I'm sure we're all grateful for." Rita nodded enthusiastically. He also wore custom-made shoes that were loafers flexible enough to be pointed like ballet shoes.

Cyd Charisse got noticed in Singin' in the Rain. See why?

• All women's skirts were monitored by the censors, who required that they be of a specific length. Gene followed this rule but designed slits up the skirts to show off more leg. Patricia pointed out Cyd Charisse's green dress as an example. It has slits all around it to show off her famous long legs. 
• Gene was obsessed with Louise Brooks and originally wanted Rita Moreno to wear the bob wig fashioned after Louise Brooks's own style. (Rita expressed her distaste for it to us with a "Blaaach! Can you imagine--on me?!") Cyd Charisse ended up wearing it during her dance in the green dress. 
• Rita's Spanish Dance teacher was Rita Hayworth's uncle and also the person who taught Gene Kelly Spanish Dance. (Rita exclaimed another, "Can you imagine!? My idol, and we had the same teacher!"
• Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" dance was based on how he'd pass the time between takes. He kept everyone laughing by dancing with whatever happened to be around the studio at the time. This dance is one of the highlights of Singin' in the Rain. Although we ran out of time, Patricia and Rita both mentioned Donald O'Connor and Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) as gems in the cast. They are! 

As a treat for reading (nearly) this entire post, here's a video of Donald O'Connor's performance of "Make 'Em Laugh."  It'll make you laugh, especially my favorite part--the big finish!

[OST_mv] Donald O'Connor _ Make 'Em Laugh (Singin' in the Rain, 1952) from kia tigers on Vimeo.

I could go on (and have). I think our guests would have too. Our host came to the edge of the stage to stop the conversation so that questions from the audience could be addressed, but Rita stopped him: "Are you serious? What are you doing there!" He sat back down.

They did eventually stop talking. "I think we have to," Patricia said. "Otherwise, the Smithsonian will kick us out, and I'll never be invited again." 

"But we'll get in the papers," Rita countered. "Imagine what the papers will say!"

Right on, Sister! 

Image/Video copyright credits: Images from the Smithsonian event: photographer Stephanie Green/Bloomberg; Singin' in the Rain poster, images, and video: MGM.