FRED KELLY – HAPPY BIRTHDAY June 29 – 1916.
Did you know this about Fred Kelly?
* Winner of 3 Donaldson awards, the precursor of the Tony Awards: Acting presented by Helen Hayes, Comedy presented by Charlie Chaplin, Dance presented by Antoinette Perry, for whom the Tony awards are named
* Choreographed NBC’s Colgate Comedy Hour
* Directed over 1,000 hours of The Steve Allen Show
* Directed The Ice Capades
* Introduced the Mambo to the New York City dance scene
* Invented the Cha-Cha
* Taught a young man named John Travolta to dance, in Oradell, NJ
** the clip is of Fred Kelly – Screen Left – performing I Love To Go Swimmin’ With Women with his brother Gene Kelly.