Gene Kelly’s children are waging war against the late acting icon’s widow over allegations of unpaid royalties.
Patricia Ward, who was married to the Singin’ in the Rain legend for six years before Gene’s death in 1996, is currently in charge of The Image Trust, which oversees the use of Kelly’s likeness, but the actor’s three adult children claim they have not received their share of earnings in over 10 years.
According to court papers obtained by TheBlast.com, Kerry, Timothy, and Bridget, offspring from Gene’s prior relationships, are entitled to the same cut as Patricia from any income made from licensing out the star’s image.
However, when they realized the lack of payments, they asked Patricia to hand over all accounting records for an audit – and her lawyers reportedly refused.
The three children are now seeking to have Patricia removed as trustee of The Image Trust and replaced by Kerry.
Patricia has yet to respond to the motion.
