LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Stanley Donen, 94, director of films like “Singing’ in the Rain,” “Funny Face,” and “Two for the Road,” and known as the man who aimed the camera at Gene Kelly for many pictures, has died.
Further details were not known at press time.
Donen, called in his obit by Variety “the last surviving helmer of note from Hollywood’s golden age,” was never nominated for an Oscar but achieved a lifetime Oscar at the 1998 Academy Awards “in appreciation of a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit and visual innovation.”
Donen’s film career began by being overshadowed by the film stars, like Kelly and George Abbott but his prominence grew with movies like “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” and romantic comedies like “Indiscreet” and romantic thrillers like “Charade.” However, he was often considered underrated even with movies like “Funny Face” and “Bedazzled” under his belt.
He came to Hollywood as an actor, working beside Kelly in the film version of “Best Foot Forward” and also worked on “Girl Crazy,” and he was a choreographer on movies like “Holiday in Mexico” and “No Leave, No Love.” With Kelly he co-wrote and choreographed “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” which led to a co-director deal for the 1949 movie “On the Town.”
He was the feature of a 2010 documentary, “Stanley Donen: You Just Do It.”
