Stanley Donen: Singin’ in the Rain co-director dies at 94
Some of his other notable films include Funny Face, Charade and On the Town.
Filmmaker and choreographer Stanley Donen, best known for co-directing the 1952 musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” has died.
The iconic Hollywood director died on Thursday from heart failure in New York City at the age of 94.
He was born in South Carolina to Mordecai Moses Donen, a dress-shop manager, and Helen Cohen, the daughter of a jewelry salesman.
Donen faced antisemitic bullying as a child and used movies as an escape from the tensions of being one of the few Jews in his community, The Associated Press reported. He became an atheist as a youth. The movies turned him on to the world of dancing and acting.
Steven Spielberg told the AP that Donen was a “friend and early mentor. His generosity in giving over so many of his weekends in the late 1960s to film students like me to learn about telling stories and placing lenses and directing actors is a time I will never forget.”
He met Gene Kelly when they worked on the original Broadway production of Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey,” when Donen, then 16, was in the chorus and Kelly was cast in the lead.
They met again in Hollywood and began working together, first with Donen as Kelly’s assistant, choreographer and later as co-director. Donen also worked with actors including Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire.
Some of his other notable films include On the Town (1949), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Funny Face (1957), Indiscreet (1958), and Charade (1963).
Though his movies are well-known and beloved, the director never received an Oscar nomination from the Academy Awards and waited until 1998 for an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.
Donen was married five times and is survived by three of his four children.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
