06/15/2023
Sunday
One of the reasons I created my one-woman show GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY was to reveal the many interesting and, often, unexpected connections between Gene and other creative artists, including the playwright Samuel Beckett and the dancer/choreographer Martha Graham, just to name two. I ran across this photo in the archives last night and wanted to share it because it shows an important connection between Gene and two giants of the 20th-century: Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, and Ray Bradbury, one of our most celebrated writers. The occasion was the Mental Health Association’s tribute to Ray Bradbury in May 1981. Gene and Ray were long-time friends and I have many notes and illustrated postcards from Ray here in the collection. Bradbury’s book Something Wicked This Way Comes grew out of a screening of Gene’s film Invitation to the Dance and now copies of the book are dedicated to Gene. I love that all three men were dealing in fantasy in one way or another and each had immense regard for the other. If you would like to hear more stories about Gene and his many “connections,” I hope you will join me on Sunday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine for a performance of my one-woman show GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY. I greet people after the show and one of the comments I hear most often is: “I never knew that about him.” Another I often hear: “I loved him before, but I love him even more now.” I hope you will join me!
Here's a link for tickets: https://vimeo.com/829168520/0faae56b9b