Liza Minnelli - With Gene Kelly at age 12
- Lauryn Johnson
- Mar 12
- 2 min read
In her recently published memoir, she tells the story of dancing with Gene Kelly:
“Just before my thirteenth birthday, I went to a party at Uncle Ira's house. Gene Kelly, one of my dad's best friends, was there, and we gathered around the piano as he sang "For Me and My Gal." I joined in, and Gene told me how much he loved my singing. Then he made a stunning offer: He would soon be taping the first of several TV shows, and he asked if I'd do a singing and dancing duet of the song with him. Imagine—me dancing and singing on television with Gene Kelly. […]”
“Gene asked my parents if this was okay, and they gave him a thumbs-up. Looking at a tape of the show years later, I'm struck by how charming it looked. I was comfortable on camera yet clearly needed more vocal training. A lot more. Still, it was my first prime-time TV appearance. I could do this! I was at an age when I thought I could do everything. I loved singing. I wanted to be an actress. I thought about becoming a professional ice skater. I also loved dancing. Most of all, I was passionate about theater.”
Her memoir, Kid, Wait Till You Hear This! is out now!
Gene was Liza Minnelli’s first dance partner on screen in his TV Special The Gene Kelly Show that aired in April 1959. He used to teach her little steps in his backyard and that gave him the idea to bring her on the show, reprising the number that he did with her mother Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal (1942). He said he was nervous for Liza and he could tell that she was nervous. “I could feel it in her body and her hands,” he said. But he could also tell that she loved it. “You can feel when your partners in song or dance really love what they’re doing. She was just entranced and entrancing. Now I’ve loved her ever since.” According to a letter here in the archives that 13-year-old Liza sent to Gene after the performance, she felt the same about him. “You are my favorite,” she said, “and you always will be. Lots of love Liza.” It doesn’t get much better than this, does it?
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