Since he was a child, Stanley Donen attended dance classes and debuted on Broadway at age 17. With the help of the producer Arthur Freed and the actor Gene Kelly he got the chance to direct the musicals Un jour à New York (1949), Chantons sous la pluie (1952), and Love Is Better Than Ever (1952) which revolutionized the genre. Another important work of his own was the musical version of the book of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 's Le petit prince (1974). As producer, he turned to the genre of comedy, with Un cadeau pour le patron (1960), but he also produced some films of other genres.
