Stanley Donen, Famed ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ Director, Dies at 94

Stanley Donen, the famed director of a number of hit movie musicals in the 1950s including Singin’ In the Rain, Funny Face, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Charade, has died at the age of 94. The news, which was confirmed this morning by his son, was reported by Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune.

Donen, who some might say helped to define “the golden age of Hollywood,” was one of the first helmers to incorporate sound and music in movies. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2013, Donen said “sound was still a fairly new thing when I came into movies. And the reason musicals happened is because of sound. They could put music in the picture! That’s how it all began.”

While Donen never actually won an Oscar for his work, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Martin Scorsese c/o the Motion Picture Academy in 1998 (as seen in the image above). Some actors, including Mitzi Gaynor (who appeared in his film Surprise Package), have already taken to Twitter to express their deepest sympathies. See below.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

WHERE TO STREAM SINGIN' IN THE RAIN