Navy Investigated the Legendary Actor-Dancer for Alleged Communist Activity

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>>> One of the leading lights of Hollywood's golden age of musicals, Gene Kelly danced, sang, choreographed, and acted in several dozen movies, including Anchors Aweigh, An American in Paris, and, of course, Singin' in the Rain. He served in the Navy in 1944-45, and continued as a Naval Reserve officer until 1954.

Beginning in March 1949, the Office of Naval Intelligence investigated Kelly under the direction of the Bureau of Naval Personnel Loyalty Review Board because, as they state, "According to reliable information received in 1945 this individual was actively associated during 1944 and 1945 with known Communists or Communist sympathizers in the Hollywood - Los Angeles area" [page 1 of the file].

Pages 16 to 25 of the file contain Kelly's detailed response to the accusations, which can be summed up by the sentence: "I could no more consider being a Communist than being a member of a voodoo sect." He does, however, have to engage is some fancy tapdancing to explain his actual and alleged involvement with some leftist organizations.

The Loyalty Board eventually decided that there "is not, upon full review of the record, substantial reason to doubt the loyalty of the respondent" [page 11]. On the other hand, the board didn't seem very happy with his wife, whose "loyalty" they still found questionable [page 12].

Based on date stamps, the file appears to have been declared unclassified on 14 January 2004. It was released in a Freedom of Information Act request to the FBI, which referred these records in their files to the Navy for processing.

Thanks to MR.

More info about Kelly

IMDB entry | Wikipedia entry | The Gene Scene | Gene Kelly: An American Life

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