Biography for
Stanley Donen More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 April 1924, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Nickname

The King of Musicals

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Since he was a child, Stanley Donen attended dance classes and debuted on Broadway at age 17. With the help of the producer Arthur Freed and the actor Gene Kelly he got the chance to direct the musicals On the Town (1949), Singin' in the Rain (1952), and Love Is Better Than Ever (1952) which revolutionized the genre. Another important work of his own was the musical version of the book of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 's The Little Prince (1974). As producer, he turned to the genre of comedy, with Surprise Package (1960), but he also produced some films of other genres.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Volker Boehm

Spouse

Pamela Braden	(1990 - 1994) (divorced)
Yvette Mimieux	(4 November 1972 - 13 January 1985) (divorced)
Adelle Beatty	(1960 - 1971) (divorced) 1 child
Marion Marshall	(20 May 1952 - 1959) (divorced) 2 children
Jeanne Coyne	(14 April 1948 - 1949) (divorced)

Trivia

Father of Peter Donen, Joshua Donen and Mark Donen.

His classic film, Singin' in the Rain (1952), was adapted for a musical in the West End and was awarded Outstanding Musical Production in 2001 (2000 season) at the Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985." Pages 273-282. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

His first wife Jeanne Coyne later married Gene Kelly; his second wife Marion Marshall was a former girlfriend of the director Howard Hawks and later married the actor Robert Wagner; his third wife Adelle, Countess Beatty was the second wife of the 2nd Earl Beatty and his fourth wife Yvette Mimieux was a successful actress.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1969 and 1984.

Was dubbed "The King of the Hollywood Musical" by David Quinlan.

Personal Quotes

"If we remade Singin' in the Rain (1952) today, when Gene Kelly sings in the rain, I think he'd be looking around to make sure he wasn't going to get mugged."

"For me directing is like having sex: when it's good, it's very good; but when it's bad, it's still good."

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