One of Fred's favorite stories tells of being called to Buckingham Palace in 1944. As a Broadway star serving his turn in the Army, he was asked to teach the young Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth to dance. Years later, Gene was at the palace for a special screening of An American in Paris. Queen Elizabeth approached the film star saying, “Oh, Mr. Kelly, is it true that you're the brother of Fred Kelly?” Young brother Fred never let Gene live that one down!

Fred and Gene would only appear on film once together, in 1955's Deep in My Heart. Their number, “I Love to Go Swimmin' With Wimmen,” recalls the type of performances they gave as “The Kelly Brothers” in the 1930s.

Fred Kelly died on March 15, 2000. He will be missed by not only those who loved him, but by those of us who never met him but loved his spirit and talent.

Some highlights of Fred Kelly's career:

• Winner of three Donaldson awards, which were the precursor of the Tony Awards: one for acting (presented by Helen Hayes), one for comedy (presented by Charlie Chaplin), and one for 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
• In the movie Meet Me in St. Louis, the song “The Boy Next Door” was based on Fred and his wife, Dottie, who was his childhood sweetheart. They lived next door to each other in Pittsburgh.
• Fred produced, directed, or was otherwise involved with the first television drama series, soap opera, cooking show, and talk show - a true television pioneer.