{"id":56917,"date":"2019-02-25T08:56:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-24T22:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/?p=56917"},"modified":"2019-02-25T08:56:50","modified_gmt":"2019-02-24T22:26:50","slug":"vale-stanley-donen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/2019\/02\/25\/vale-stanley-donen\/","title":{"rendered":"Vale &#8211; Stanley Donen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-56918\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Stanley-Donen-Obit-Logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"984\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Stanley-Donen-Obit-Logo.jpg 984w, https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Stanley-Donen-Obit-Logo-768x230.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 984px) 100vw, 984px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Noted Hollywood film director Stanley Donen, who helmed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/2009\/01\/05\/four-musicals-its-okay-to-love-west-side-story-the-sound-of-music-singin-in-the-rain-moulin-rouge\/\"><em>Singin&#8217; In The Rain<\/em><\/a>, has passed away.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>South Carolina native Stanley Donen first worked in the entertainment industry as a dancer and choreographer, working in chorus lines on Broadway and through Hollywood after signing a contract with MGM in the early 1940&#8217;s. Donen had known actor Gene Kelly after working with him on Broadway in &#8220;Pal Joey&#8221;, and Kelly helped Donen forge his career in choreographing some of the actor&#8217;s early film <em>Cover Girl<\/em> (1944), as well as the Kelly\/Sinatra buddy-film <em>Anchors Aweigh<\/em>, the same year. This was the film in which Gene Kelly danced with cartoon mouse Jerry, from <em>Tom &amp; Jerry<\/em> fame. Other films Donen worked on as choreographer included <em>Living In A Big Way<\/em> (1947), and <em>Take Me Out To The Ball Game<\/em> (1949), which would be directed by Busby Berkeley.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_56920\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56920\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56920\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Hepburn-and-Donen-Funny-Face-3-12v1vbk-640x365.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"365\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-56920\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Audrey Hepburn and Stanley Donen on location for &#8220;Funny Girl&#8221;.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Donen&#8217;s first feature film directorial job would be on 1949&#8217;s <em>On The Town<\/em>, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Kelly would garner a co-directing credit on the film, and it would win Best Music at the Academy Awards, and was nominated for best Cinematography at the Golden Globes. Following the success of <em>On The Town<\/em>, Donen signed a seven-year contract as a director for MGM, where he would work with his boyhood idol Fred Astaire. Astaire&#8217;s film <em>Royal Wedding<\/em> debuted in 1951, after he was replaced on <em>Pagan Love Song<\/em> following a dispute with the leading actress, and was a mild success. It was in 1952 that Donen&#8217;s most beloved film project, <em>Singin&#8217; In The Rain<\/em>, arrived in theatres. It was a mild success initially, grabbing a $12 million domestic box office over a 2 and a half million dollar production, but has since become regarded by both critics and film fans alike as one of, if not <em>the<\/em>, greatest film musical ever made. The film&#8217;s popularity resonates even today, and its iconic imagery has entered into our pop culture DNA.<em> Singin&#8217; In The Rain<\/em> was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Score and Best Supporting Actress.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_56921\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56921\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-56921\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/rexfeatures_5886064bj-840x562.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/rexfeatures_5886064bj-840x562.jpg 840w, https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/rexfeatures_5886064bj-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-56921\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen discuss a shot for &#8220;Singin&#8217; In The Rain&#8221;.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Following the success of <em>Rain<\/em>, Donen would go on to direct a number of high profile features, including <em>Seven Brides For Seven Brothers<\/em> (1954), <em>It&#8217;s Always Fair Weather<\/em> (1955), the final film he made with Gene Kelly, <em>The Pajama Game<\/em> (1957) with Doris Day, <em>Kiss Them For Me<\/em> (1957) and <em>Indiscreet<\/em> (1958) with Cary Grant, as well as 1963&#8217;s <em>Charade<\/em>, with Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau and James Couburn. Later films include <em>Bedazzled<\/em> (1967), <em>Movie Movie<\/em> (1978), <em>Blame It On Rio<\/em> (1984) and 1999&#8217;s <em>Love Letters<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Donen is also credited as the director of Lionel Ritchie&#8217;s music video for &#8220;Dancing On The Ceiling&#8221;, in 1986.<\/p>\n<p>Stanley Donen passed away on February 21st, in New York City, aged 94.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Noted Hollywood film director Stanley Donen, who helmed Singin&#8217; In The Rain, has passed away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48482,"featured_media":56922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obituary"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead.jpg",1000,563,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-500x280.jpg",500,280,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-660x365.jpg",660,365,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-840x563.jpg",640,429,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead.jpg",1000,563,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead.jpg",1000,563,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead.jpg",1000,563,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead.jpg",540,304,false],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-24x24.jpg",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-48x48.jpg",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-96x96.jpg",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead.jpg",150,84,false],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead.jpg",300,169,false],"sow-carousel-default":["https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/stanley-donen-dead-272x182.jpg",272,182,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Rodney Twelftree","author_link":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/author\/rodney\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/category\/film-general\/obituary\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Obituary<\/a>","tag_info":"Obituary","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}