Anniversary The hidden face of Gene Kelly, an egotistical, insecure and tyrannical actor with the actresses he worked with
The son of
acrobats, dancers, tightrope
walkers and horsemen, Donald O'Connor was destined to make it big in
show business
.
When he was six months old, his father was
orphaned
when he died of a heart attack in one of his numbers, so his mother used his two sons to continue
the tradition of the circus world.
Incredible as it may seem, at the age of three he was already singing and dancing.
The actor, in an image from 1993.GTRES
Those gifts at such a tender age were key to the development of
his career in Hollywood,
especially in musical films.
As one of the protagonists of
Singing in the Rain
(1952) together with
Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds
, which marks the 60th anniversary of its premiere and whose theatrical version can be seen at Madrid's Apolo, he will always be remembered for his number in solo
Make 'Em Laugh
, for which he needed
three days off.
His ability to somersault against walls was legendary.
It is said that
he did not enjoy filming
because Gene Kelly, who co-directed it with Stanley Donen, was too
tyrannical
.
His childhood was even more
marked by tragedy.
Her older sister died after being
hit by a car
while she was walking with Donald's baby stroller, which was uninjured.
Despite the sadness, both he and his brothers Billy and Jack continued with their tour.
In 1937,
at the age of 11, he made his Hollywood debut.
Shortly afterward, Billy died of scarlet fever.
After signing a contract with Universal Studios, he achieved stardom in the
comic saga of Francis the mule
(1950-1956), which earned him a special place in the history of the seventh art.
Humble and familiar man,
O'Connor never boasted of being a star since he was only interested in doing his job well.
During that period he filmed
Singing in the rain
, which ended up
placing him on Olympus.
The misfortunes of his childhood were not the only ones.
During
his first marriage
to Gwendolyn Carter (1944-1954) he suffered
psychological abuse
because she was frustrated that she was not successful as an actress.
The marriage had a daughter, Donna.
After the divorce, Gwen kept the house and custody of the girl, while
he left with the dog in search of professional help.
Fortunately, in 1955
he married actress Gloria Noble,
with whom he had three children, Alicia, Donald and Kevin, with whom he spent the rest of his life.
Another aspect that would mark his personal life was
smoking
- he smoked four packs a day - and
alcoholism
, which began during military service.
After more than three decades fighting this addiction, he managed to get
sober
.
He died at the age of 78 in 2003 from
heart failure.
In his will he donated all
of his assets to charity.
Throughout his life he always helped the most defenseless without making it public to the press.
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