Gene Kelly’s Widow Debunks Decades-Long Rumor About ‘Singin’ in the Rain’: ‘It Keeps Resurfacing’

Gene Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, is setting the record straight on one of the biggest myths surrounding the film Singin’ in the Rain.

A theory that has widely circulated online about the 1952 musical comedy decades later is that the rain in the film was actually water mixed with milk to make the drops more visible while filming on the dark set. Gene starred in the film as Donald “Don” Lockwood, alongside Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds.

Patricia debunked the theory, stating that the rumors about milk are simply not true.

“I don’t know why it keeps resurfacing, but there is no milk in the water for the iconic Singin’ in the Rain number in the film,” she told Remind magazine in an interview published on Friday, March 28. “It is simply phenomenal lighting and cinematography backlighting the rain. And for the record, Gene said the film is NOT about the McCarthy era as many want to believe.”

Gene, who died in 1996 at age 83, was married to Patricia from 1990 up until his death. The Hello, Dolly! director also addressed the chatter himself about filming the big “Singin’ in the Rain” musical number and how the crew got the raindrops to look so realistic.

“Shooting the title number was just terrible for the photographer Hal Rossen,” he said during an interview with American Film in 1979. “He had to backlight all the rain and then he had to put frontlight on the performer. That was as tough a job as I’ve ever seen, because you can’t photograph in rain and see it.”

Additionally, Patricia praised her late husband for being a visionary and contributing to work both in front and behind the camera of some of his most iconic films.

“There’s a reason why we are still watching Singin’ in the Rain 70+ years later,” she explained. “Gene put so much into developing that film; from the scenery to the camera angles.”

Patricia said that Gene also had a hand in the costumes for the movie, wanting to make sure it was easy to dance in them.

“They had to move,” she said about the costumes. “For example skirts could change from one cut to another in a single routine. It accommodates the movement and the audience doesn’t detect it.”

“The three-piece costume he wears in the ‘Gotta Dance’ number in Singin’ in the Rain is actually one piece so Gene could extend his arms and legs without his shirt coming out of his pants!” she shared.

Patricia previously opened up to Closer about her relationship with Gene away from the spotlight and some of the sweet traditions they had.

“Poetry was one of Gene’s pet studies, and we quoted poems back and forth,” she told Closer in February 2016. “I was absolutely enchanted.”

“He was a true romantic,” she added. “He was like a little kid — he would leave Valentine’s or birthday notes all around the house for me starting at midnight.”