--- ---  # Watch a 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds Outshine Gene Kelly in _Singin' in the Rain_ ## Video: Actress Debbie Reynolds Dies a Day After Daughter Carrie Fisher [Watch (HLS stream): Actress Debbie Reynolds Dies a Day After Daughter Carrie Fisher](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rDDSL7M6.m3u8) (0:33)  _Published 2016-12-29. Her son said the stress of Fisher's death "was too much" for Reynolds_ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 29, 2016 3:51 PM UTC  Don Lockwood and Kathy Seldon- Singin' in the Rain, 1952 Don Lockwood and Kathy Seldon- Singin' in the Rain, 1952Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 29, 2016 3:51 PM UTC [Debbie Reynolds](http://time.com/4619298/debbie-reynolds-photos-gallery-carrie-fisher/?iid=sr-link1), who passed away on Dec. 28, just one day after the death of her daughter [Carrie Fisher](http://time.com/4618441/carrie-fisher-dead/?iid=sr-link1), was just 19 years old when she accepted the role of Kathy Selden in the musical _Singin’ in the Rain._ The job required Reynolds to sing, dance, and keep up with both Donald O’Connor and the legendary Gene Kelly. It was the part of a lifetime that could shoot her in to super-stardom. There was just one small hurdle_—_she had almost no experience singing or dancing. That small detail didn’t stop [Reynolds](http://time.com/3672383/debbie-reynolds/?iid=sr-link3) from signing on to the film. “To dance with Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor in three months—well, anyone else should’ve passed out,” Reynolds [told the American Film Institute](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP0YZk3jSGA) in 2012\. “But I didn’t. I just thought, ‘well, let’s get started.’” While Kelly was unimpressed by the casting choice, Reynolds proved him wrong, as can be seen in this clip from the film. Turns out she may have had a little help from another dance legend—Fred Astaire, who found Reynolds crying under a piano and helped her practice, according to this [charming anecdote in Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/12/29/cal-thomas-secret-debbie-reynolds-shared-with-me-about-singin-in-rain.html). Reynolds was not only able to keep up with Kelly and O’Connor, but danced until her feet were bloody—literally, according to an interview in the UK’s [Sunday Express](http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/393594/Debbie-Reynolds-I-ve-still-got-a-song-in-my-heart-at-81) —and then danced some more. In retrospect, [Reynolds](http://time.com/4619301/debbie-reynolds-death-celebrities-react/?iid=sr-link2) knew that she had been naïve to take the role with so little experience. “I was so dumb,” she told AFI. “I didn’t feel you could fail. I felt \[the part\] was me, and I marched straight ahead.” As can be seen in the clip from _Singin’ in the Rain,_ she resoundingly succeeded. May we all be so “dumb.” Watch Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly in 'Singin' in the Rain' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4619477/debbie-reynolds-gene-kelly-singin-in-the-rain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4619477/debbie-reynolds-gene-kelly-singin-in-the-rain/"},"headline":"Watch a 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds Outshine Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain","datePublished":"2016-12-29T15:51:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:46.554Z","description":"She steals the show without any dance experience","url":"https://time.com/4619477/debbie-reynolds-gene-kelly-singin-in-the-rain/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","celebrities","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt480aadbb85a5e53a/69877e5f3c1639e0ff451ab3/valentines-day-movies-54.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt480aadbb85a5e53a/69877e5f3c1639e0ff451ab3/valentines-day-movies-54.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Debbie Reynolds And Gene Kelly In 'Singin' In The Rain'","caption":"Debbie Reynolds And Gene Kelly In 'Singin' In The Rain'","creditText":"Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4619477/debbie-reynolds-gene-kelly-singin-in-the-rain/","name":"Watch a 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds Outshine Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Actress Debbie Reynolds Dies a Day After Daughter Carrie Fisher","description":"Her son said the stress of Fisher's death \"was too much\" for Reynolds","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/rDDSL7M6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-12-29T03:06:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rDDSL7M6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4619477/debbie-reynolds-gene-kelly-singin-in-the-rain/","duration":"PT33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4619477/debbie-reynolds-gene-kelly-singin-in-the-rain/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```