The Original Pal Joey (1940)

The first production of Pal Joey opened at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theater in December 1940, with a very young Gene Kelly as Joey Evans. He is pictured here with his co-star, Vivienne Segal as Vera. Kelly had made his Broadway debut only two years earlier as a dancer in Cole Porter’s “Leave It to Me!” A little over a decade later, Segal would reprise her Vera role in the second Broadway production of Pal Joey, this time with Harold Lang as Joey. Also in the 1940 cast was June Havoc, sister of Gypsy Rose Lee and the real-life Dainty June of the musical “Gypsy,” as Gladys; plus young and unknown hoofers Van Johnson and Stanley Donen. Johnson was Gene Kelly’s understudy in the show.

Gene Kelly Early History (excerpted from The Gene Scene)
Eugene Curran Kelly was born on August 23, 1912 in Pittsburgh, PA, the third of five children. James Kelly, a phonograph salesman, provided a modest living for his family, and Harriet Curran Kelly introduced her children to the arts. By the time Gene was eight, “The Five Kellys” — Jay, Jim, Gene, Louise, and Fred — were performing dance routines at amateur vaudeville nights. But Gene preferred sports to dancing. Adept at gymnastics, ice hockey, swimming, football, and baseball, he truly hoped to one day play professional baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As a boy, however, Gene’s athleticism also helped win the fights he and brother Fred endured on the way home from dancing lessons. Originally Gene despised the lessons, which began as soon as he could walk. In high school it became apparent that dancing made him popular with girls, and he began to enjoy it. In 1932, The Gene Kelly Studio of the Dance was founded, with one studio in Pittsburgh and one in Johnstown. It was a family affair with mom Harriet as manager, dad Jim as the bookkeeper, and Gene, Louise, and Fred as teachers. He also choreographed and directed shows at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and “Cap and Gown” shows at the University of Pittsburgh.

In 1933 Gene graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as an economics major. By this time the Depression had hit the family hard. Gene worked at many jobs to put himself through school, including ditch-digging and working as a soda jerk. The one he enjoyed the most, however, was dancing. After college Gene attended the University of Pittsburgh to study law, but his heart belonged to dance.

By 1938 Gene had achieved all he could as a teacher, and Broadway beckoned. His first Broadway job was as a dancer in Leave It to Me, which is best remembered today as Mary Martin’s debut, not as Gene’s. This was followed by a slightly larger role in One for the Money in 1939. Gene’s big break came starring as Harry the Hoofer in William Saroyan’s The Time of Your Life. The play ran for 22 weeks and won the Drama Critic’s Award that year. When the show began to tour, Fred Kelly replaced Gene as the lead on the road and won a Donaldson Award (precursor of the Tony Award) for his performance.

Next Gene worked as a choreographer for Diamond Horseshoe. There Gene met a 16 year old dancer named Betsy Blair, who quickly developed a crush on her dance instructor. Early in 1940, Gene was chosen to star in Pal Joey as Joey Evans, a sleazy nightclub owner who stops at nothing to get what he wants. The show, and Gene, became an instant hit. Pal Joey ran for 270 performances before breaking for the summer. During the break, Gene choreographed George Abbott’s Best Foot Forward. Gene then returned to Pal Joey for two more weeks, but because of his successful performance, Hollywood had offered a contract. Gene decided he couldn’t leave without Betsy, and they were married in Philadelphia in September, 1941.