GENE KELLY - A LIFE IN SONG AND DANCE\Film great Gene Kelly dies at 83.

Byline: Sara Catania and Bob Strauss Daily News Staff Writers

Gene Kelly, the dancer, actor, singer and director who won a special Oscar "for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film" a year before he made "Singin' in the Rain," died Friday at the age of 83.

Kelly died in his sleep with his wife, Patricia, at his bedside, said Mort Viner, his longtime agent. Kelly had suffered strokes in 1994 and 1995. Viner said Kelly remained ill for the past year, ultimately succumbing to complications.

"Gene Kelly was a great friend to have," Viner said. "His passing is a great loss, not just to me, but to the world."

Kelly transformed the image of American musical acting from Fred Astaire's tuxedoed elegance into a more virile, populist style. He embodied that style in film after film, from 1949's adaptation of Broadway's "On the Town," to Hollywood originals "An American in Paris," "Singin' in the Rain," and many others.

Friends and colleagues mourned Kelly's death Friday, praising the performer for his physical grace, personal warmth and professionalism.

Debbie Reynolds, who appeared with Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain," said he made her a star.

"He taught me how to dance and how to work hard," she said in a statement. "To be dedicated and yet still loving, as he was to his family and friends."

Cyd Charisse, who co-starred with Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain," "Brigadoon," and "It's Always Fair Weather," credits Kelly with making musicals more accessible.

"Musicals had a certain look until he came on the scene," Charisse said. "His blue-collar style, which we liked to call it, really brought dancing to the general public."

"Gene Kelly was a fine gentleman with incredible talent as an actor and dancer," said Jimmy Stewart, whom Kelly directed in the 1970 Western comedy "The Cheyenne Social Club." "Thanks to his films, he will live forever."

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Chairman Frank G. Mancuso called Kelly a "great and beloved entertainer."

"Gene Kelly was a vital part of the spirit and legend that became Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer," Mancuso said. "He imbued the studio's timeless musicals with grace, athleticism and flair. His gentle voice and sense of humor will be associated forever with the golden age of filmmaking."

As early as 1944, Kelly's performance in "Cover Girl" moved the noted critic James Agee to write, "I can think of no one in Hollywood, just now, who is more satisfying or more hopeful to watch for singing, dancing or straight acting."

Kelly once described his style as "strong, wide-open bravura," and contrasted it with what he called Astaire's "intimate, cool, easy" manner.

Born Eugene Curran Kelly in Pittsburgh on Aug. 23, 1912, Kelly danced from an early age. He worked his way through college as a soda jerk, ditch digger, bricklayer, pump jockey and, probably to the amusement of his fellow laborers, a dance instructor. His major was economics, but there is no record of any attempt to parlay it into a career.

Kelly took a turn in law school, then left academics and Pittsburgh behind. He headed for New York in 1937, where he struggled unsuccessfully to find work as a choreographer. Undeterred, Kelly took a chorus part, worked it into a choreography job, and finally landed a dramatic role on Broadway as the hoofer in William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life."

Impressed with the young dancer's performance, Richard Rodgers cast him in the lead of his new musical, "Pal Joey." David O. Selznick recognized Kelly's talent and immediately offered him a Hollywood contract. In 1942, MGM borrowed Kelly from Selznick, starring him in "For Me and My Gal."

While at MGM, Kelly worked for producer Arthur Freed, who talked Metro into buying out his Selznick contract.

Freed went on to produce almost all of Kelly's classic MGM musicals. In 1944, "Cover Girl" paired Kelly with his "Pal Joey" chorus-mate Stanley Donen for their joint choreographic debut. Its success led in 1945 to "Anchors Aweigh," in which Kelly and Frank Sinatra played sailors on leave in Hollywood.

"Anchors Aweigh" contained a number as famous as any Kelly ever danced - the duet with Jerry the animated mouse of "Tom and Jerry" fame. The interaction between actors and animation was unequaled until "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" 40 years later.

In 1949, Kelly made his favorite picture, "On the Town," from Leonard Bernstein's stage musical. The plot reprised elements of "Anchors Aweigh," but in every other respect it was an original. Kelly himself later recalled, "I think we broke new ground, we showed the way with that one."

"An American in Paris" reunited Kelly with the director of "The Pirate," Vincente Minnelli, for an ageless love story set to Gershwin melodies. The film included a brilliant, audacious 20-minute ballet. It won several Oscars, including the Best Picture of 1951 and a special Oscar for Kelly.

Kelly responded to this honorary award the same way Paul Newman did to his 1985 special Oscar - he came back the next year with work worthy of the real thing. But where Newman won for "The Color of Money," the Academy snubbed Kelly's work in "Singin' in the Rain," a joyous lark about the transition from silents to talkies that The New Yorker has called "perhaps the most enjoyable of all movie musicals."

In 1989, "Singin' in the Rain" was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for its National Film Registry of significant movies.

"He gave the musical genre great masculinity," said Roger Mayer, a 25-year veteran executive at MGM, now president of Turner Entertainment Co., where he oversees the MGM film library. "Gene was a really physical star, like Douglas Fairbanks, but as a dancer. A lot of dancers don't have a lot of sex appeal, but Gene did."

Kelly was married three times, first to "Marty" actress Betsy Blair from 1940 until 1957; next to Jeanne Coyne from 1960 until her death in 1973; and finally to writer Patricia Ward, who met him in 1985 and hoped to write his biography, married him instead in 1990, and survives him.

A son, Tim, saved Kelly from the 1984 fire that destroyed his home and a lifetime of memorabilia, including the Oscar Kelly had won 33 years before "in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer."

In addition to his wife, Patricia, and son, Tim, Kelly is survived by daughters Kerry and Bridget and three grandchildren.

In accordance with Kelly's wishes, there will be no services, Viner said. Contributions may be made to The Motion Picture and Television Fund, 23300 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, 91364.

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Photo (1--color) Gene Kelly won a special Oscar for his achievements in choreography on film. (2) A euphoric Kelly sings in the rain in the signature scene from his most famous film. (3) Frank Sinatra and Kelly kick up their heels in 1949's "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." (4) Kelly and Shirley MacLaine dance during the making of "What A Way To Go!" in 1963. Associated Press