Bob Fosse, early promotional image

Bob Fosse (June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was a musical theater choreographer and director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction. Image File history File links Cabaret11. ... Image File history File links Cabaret11. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar). ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... A theatre director is a principal in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a play by unifying various endeavors and aspects of production. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award® but is formally the Antoinette Perry Award is an annual American award celebrating achievements in theater, including musical theater. ...

Biography

He was born Robert Louis Fosse in Chicago, to a Norwegian family, the youngest of six children. After graduating from high school, he teamed up with Charles Grass, another young dancer, and began a collaboration under the name, The Riff Brothers. They toured theatres throughout the Chicago area. Ever ambitious, Fosse moved on and began working as a hobo sucker at the local fish market Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ...

Eventually Fosse was hired for the show, Tough Situation, which toured military and naval bases in the Pacific. He later said: "I perfected his technique as a performer, choreographer [sic] and director while serving his tour of duty". The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the largest body of water on Earth – at 165. ...

Fosse moved to Hollywood with the ambition of being the next Fred Astaire. His early screen appearances included Give A Girl A Break, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis and Kiss Me, Kate, all released in 1953. It was a short sequence that he choreographed in the last that brought him to the attention of Broadway producers. ... Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska,[1] was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ... Give a Girl a Break was a film directed by Stanley Donen released in 1953. ... Kiss Me, Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Although Fosse's career in film was cut short by premature balding, which limited the roles he could take, he was reluctant to move from Hollywood to theatre. In 1954, he choreographed his first musical, The Pajama Game, followed by Damn Yankees in 1955. It was while he was working on the latter show that he first met Gwen Verdon. Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7-1/2 Cents by Richard Bissell. ... Damn Yankees is a musical comedy, a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s (when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball), in Washington, D.C., with a script by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. ... Gwen Evelyn Verdon (January 13, 1925 in Culver City, California – October 18, 2000 in Woodstock, Vermont) was an acclaimed Tony Award winning American dancer and actress. ...

Bob Fosse, later years

Fosse developed a jazz dance style that was immediately recognizable, exuding a stylized, cynical sexuality. Other notable distinctions of his style included the use of inward knees, rounded shoulders and body isolations. Image File history File links Cabaret13. ... Image File history File links Cabaret13. ... Jazz dance has its origins in hubba bubba of the late 1800s up to the mid 1900s. ...

With Fred Astaire as an influence, he used props such as bowler hats, canes and chairs. His trademark use of hats was influenced by his own self-consciousness. He used gloves in his performances because he did not like his hands. His dance routines were intense and specific, yet had a simplicity to them.

Some of his most popular numbers include "Steam Heat" from The Pajama Game and "Hey Big Spender" from Sweet Charity. The filmed routines in Cabaret (1972) are particularly characteristic of his style, the vulgar energy of vaudeville and burlesque updated and coolly contained within a slick, conscious sophistication. Sweet Charity, based on Federico Fellinis screenplay for Nights of Cabiria, is a musical directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon. ... Cabaret is a 1972 film. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Vaudeville is a style of multi-act theatre which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. ... Photograph of Sally Rand, 1934. ...

In 1986 he directed and choreographed the Broadway production, Big Deal, which he also wrote. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bob Fosse died from a heart attack at the age of 60. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ...

Marriages

Bob Marilen Fosse was first married to fellow dancer Marian Niles, then to dancer Joan McCracken from 1951 to 1959; he then married dancer Gwen Verdon in 1960. They had one daughter, Nicole Providence Fosse, who is also a dancer. He separated from Gwen Verdon in the 1970s, but remained married to her until his death. In the interim, he was romantically involved with Ann Reinking and Jessica Lange. Joan McCracken (December 31, 1917 – November 1, 1961) was an American actress, dancer, and comedienne who became famous for her role as Silvie (The Girl Who Falls Down) in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!. She was married to choreographer Bob Fosse from 1951 to 1959, and then to novelist... Gwen Evelyn Verdon (January 13, 1925 in Culver City, California – October 18, 2000 in Woodstock, Vermont) was an acclaimed Tony Award winning American dancer and actress. ... Nicole Fosse (born March 24, 1963) is an American dancer. ... Ann Reinking (born November 10, 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is an American actress and dancer, most famous for her association with choreographer Bob Fosse. ... Jessica Lange in The Glass Menagerie (2005) Jessica Phyllis Lange (born April 20, 1949 in Cloquet, Minnesota) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress. ...

Innovative choreography

Bob Fosse was an innovative choreographer and had multiple achievements in his life. During The Pajama Game, Fosse showed the audience a key element of his choreography, something that he considered crucial; the element of surprise. For Damn Yankees, Fosse took a great deal of inspiration from the “father of American jazz dance,” Jack Cole. He also took influence from Jerome Robbins. New Girl in Town also gave Fosse the inspiration to direct and choreograph his next piece because of the conflict of interest within the collaborators. During Redhead, Fosse utilized one of the first ballet sequences in a show that contained five different styles of dance; Fosse’s jazz, a cancan, a gypsy dance, a march, and an “old-fashioned English music hall number.” The Conquering Hero, was Fosse’s most challenging piece. During this show, it was made known that Fosse had epilepsy, because he had a seizure on the stage during a rehearsal. For The Conquering Hero, Fosse also made revisions to the script, did dances without music, and added too many clichés to count in the songs, making the writer, composer, and lyricist very angry with him. He was fired from his own show. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7-1/2 Cents by Richard Bissell. ... Damn Yankees is a musical comedy, a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s (when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball), in Washington, D.C., with a script by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. ... Jack Cole (1911 - 1974) is an American choreographer known as the father of theatrical jazz dance. ... Jerome Robbins in Three virgins and a devil. ... A New Girl in Town (Musical) A New Girl in Town was a musical from a book by George Abbott, which was based on Eugene ONeills play Anna Christie. The music was written by Bob Merrill. ... // Redhead (Musical) Redhead is a Broadway musical set in London in the 1880s, around the time of Jack the Ripper. ... The Can-can (also spelt Cancan, Can Can) is regarded today primarily as a music hall dance, perfomed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, harking back to the fashions of the 1890s. ... The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa is considered amongst the greatest marches ever written. ...

His successes, however, continued to flourish after this, and he contributed even more innovative ideas to the world of Broadway choreography. He utilized the idea of subtext and gave his dancers something to think about during their numbers. He also began the trend of allowing lighting to influence his work and direct an audiences’ attention to certain things. During Pippin, Fosse made the first ever commercial for a Broadway show. And in 1957, both Verdon and Fosse were studying with Sandy Meisner to develop a better acting technique for themselves. Fosse believed that, “The time to sing is when your emotional level is too high to just speak anymore, and the time to dance is when your emotions are just too strong to only sing about how you feel.” He also wrote the original script for Sweet Charity under the pen name, King Bert Lewis The 4th. Subtext is content of a book, play, film or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters (or author) but is implicit or becomes something understood by the reader / viewer as the production unfolds. ... Pippin is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson. ... Sweet Charity, based on Federico Fellinis screenplay for Nights of Cabiria, is a musical directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon. ...

Awards

Fosse earned many awards for his works, including the Tony Award for Pippin, the Academy Award for Directing for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza with a Z. He was the first person to win these three most important awards in the same year. What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... Pippin is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson. ... The Academy Award for Directing is an accolade given to the person that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feels was best director of the past year. ... An Emmy Award. ...

In 2001, Fosse was infected with crabs Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer with Ann Reinking for Fosse at the Prince of Wales Theatre. The Laurence Olivier Awards, previously known as The Society of West End Theatre Awards, were renamed in honour of British actor Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier in 1984, having first been established in 1976. ... Ann Reinking (born November 10, 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is an American actress and dancer, most famous for her association with choreographer Bob Fosse. ...

His musical All That Jazz (1979) won the Palme d'Or. It is an uncompromising, semi-autobiographical fantasy that portrays a chain-smoking choreographer, driven by his A-type personality. All That Jazz is a 1979 musical film and semi-autobiographical fantasy by and about Bob Fosse. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... Cannes Film Festival logo. ...

There was a resurgence of interest in Fosse's work following revivals of his stage shows and the film release of Chicago (2002). Rob Marshall's choreography for the film emulates the Fosse style, but avoids using specific moves from the original. In 1999 the stage show, Fosse won a Tony Award for Best Musical. Chicago is an Academy Award-winning 2002 film adaptation of the satirical stage musical Chicago, about celebrity and scandal in Jazz age Chicago directed by Rob Marshall, and written by Bill Condon. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Rob Marshall is a director. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Fosse A Broadway musical based on the music & choreography of Bob Fosse (1927-1987) in the form of a review. ... // 1940s 1949 Kiss Me, Kate - Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. ...

Film direction and choreography

• "All That Jazz", 1979, screenplay; director and choreographer

• "Cabaret", 1972, director and choreographer

• "Damn Yankees", 1958, choreographer

• "Lenny", 1974, director

• "The Little Prince", 1974, choreographer

• "My Sister Eileen", 1955, choreographer

• "The Pajama Game", 1956, choreographer

• "Star 80, 1983", screenplay; director

• "Sweet Charity", 1968, director and choreographer

All That Jazz is a 1979 musical film and semi-autobiographical fantasy by and about Bob Fosse. ... Cabaret is a 1972 film. ... Damn Yankees is a musical comedy, a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s (when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball), in Washington, D.C., with a script by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. ... Lenny is a 1974 film about the life of the comedian Lenny Bruce, starring Dustin Hoffman. ... DVD cover The Little Prince is a 1974 musical film based on the book of the same name by the French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery. ... My Sister Eileen is the name of several works based on short stories by Ruth McKenney about her adventures in Greenwich Village with her sister, Eileen McKenney. ... The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7-1/2 Cents by Richard Bissell. ... Star 80 is a 1983 film about the true story of Playboy playmate of the year Dorothy Stratten who was murdered by her estranged husband (Paul Snider) in 1980. ... Sweet Charity, based on Federico Fellinis screenplay for Nights of Cabiria, is a musical directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon. ...

Theatre staging, directing and choreographing

1980 Playbill, Dancin'

• Bells are Ringing, 1956, co-staged

• Big Deal, 1986, director and choreographer

• Chicago, 1975, book; director and choreographer

• Damn Yankees, 1955, choreographer

• Dancin', 1978, director and choreographer

• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 1961, musical staging

• Liza, 1974, director and choreographer

• Little Me, 1962, co-directed and co-choreographed

• New Girl in Town, 1958, choreographer

• The Pajama Game, 1954, choreographer

• Pippin, 1972, director and choreographer

• Redhead, 1959, director and choreographer

• Sweet Charity, 1966, director and choreographer

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (834x1308, 176 KB) April 1980 Playbill from Dancin at the Broadhurst Theatre This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either by the artist who created the cover or the publisher of the... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (834x1308, 176 KB) April 1980 Playbill from Dancin at the Broadhurst Theatre This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either by the artist who created the cover or the publisher of the... Bells Are Ringing is a stage musical first mounted in 1956. ... Chicago is a musical, based on the play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins. ... Damn Yankees is a musical comedy, a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s (when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball), in Washington, D.C., with a script by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. ... Dancin is a Broadway musical directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. ... How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was a humorous book by Shepherd Mead. ... Little Me was the parody confessional self-indulgent autobiography of Belle Poitrine (French for Pretty Bosom, aka Gorgeous Tits), subtitled The Intimate Memoirs of the Great Star of Stage, Screen and Television, by Patrick Dennis, who had achieved a great success with Auntie Mame. ... A New Girl in Town (Musical) A New Girl in Town was a musical from a book by George Abbott, which was based on Eugene ONeills play Anna Christie. The music was written by Bob Merrill. ... The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7-1/2 Cents by Richard Bissell. ... Pippin is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson. ... // Redhead (Musical) Redhead is a Broadway musical set in London in the 1880s, around the time of Jack the Ripper. ... Sweet Charity, based on Federico Fellinis screenplay for Nights of Cabiria, is a musical directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon. ...

Acting

Theater

• Call Me Mister, 1947

• Make Mine Manhattan, 1948
• Dance Me a Song, 1950
• Billion Dollar Baby, 1951
• The Roaring Twenties, 1951
• Pal Joey, 1952

Call Me Mister was a Broadway revue with sketches by Arnold Auerbach and words and music by Harold Rome. ... Billion Dollar Baby was a Broadway musical set on Staten Island and in Atlantic City during the late 1920s. ... The Roaring Twenties is a 1939 crime thriller starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane & Humphrey Bogart. ... Pal Joey Studio cast album 1950 Pal Joey is a 1940 Broadway musical by American writer John OHara, with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. ...

Film

• "The Affairs of Dobie Gillis", 1953

• "Damn Yankees", 1958

• "Give a Girl a Break", 1953

• "Kiss Me, Kate", 1953

• "The Little Prince", 1974

• "My Sister Eileen", 1955

• "Star 80", 1983

• "Thieves", 1977

Damn Yankees is a musical comedy, a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s (when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball), in Washington, D.C., with a script by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. ... Give a Girl a Break was a film directed by Stanley Donen released in 1953. ... Kiss Me, Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. ... DVD cover The Little Prince is a 1974 musical film based on the book of the same name by the French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery. ... My Sister Eileen is the name of several works based on short stories by Ruth McKenney about her adventures in Greenwich Village with her sister, Eileen McKenney. ...

Trivia

• Fosse said of himself in an interview, "My friends know that to me happiness is when I am merely miserable and not suicidal".

• Fosse danced as 'The Snake' in the film musical adaptation of The Little Prince.

• While working at MGM, Fosse would sneak behind the scenes of the film, "The Band Wagon", on his breaks to watch Fred Astaire and learn his dance moves.

• Fosse and wife Verdon both studied under the famous acting instructor, Sanford Meisner.

• Fosse at one time dated Bette Midler.

• Fosse wanted to make a film version of Chicago starring Madonna.

• Fosse was pigeon-toed.

• A length of Paulina street in Chicago at roughly 4400 north received the honorary designation of Bob Fosse Way.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... DVD cover The Little Prince is a 1974 musical film based on the book of the same name by the French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... The Band Wagon is a musical comedy film, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1953, which tells the story of an aging musical star who wants to star in a Broadway play that will restart his career. ... Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska,[1] was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ... Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905-February 2nd, 1997) was an actor and acting coach well known for the Meisner technique. ... Bette Davis Midler (born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known to her fans as The Divine Miss M. She is named after the actress Bette Davis although Davis pronounced her first name in two syllables, and Midler uses one. ... Chicago is a musical, based on the play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins. ... Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), better known as simply Madonna, is a six-time Grammy[1] and one-time Golden Globe award winning American pop singer, songwriter, record and film producer, dancer, actress, author and fashion icon. ... Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town, City of the Big Shoulders, The 312, The City that Works, Second City (reference to when Chicago was second in population and prestige to New York). ... William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American movie and television director, producer, and writer best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s. ... The French Connection is a 1971 Hollywood film directed by William Friedkin. ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the awards are voted on by other people within the industry. ... Cabaret is a 1972 film. ... George Roy Hill (December 20, 1922 – December 27, 2002) was an American film director. ... This article is about the 1973 film involving con artists. ...

External links

• Bob Fosse at the Internet Broadway Database

• Bob Fosse at the Internet Movie Database

• Fosse.com

• Bob Fosse bio. - "The Guide to Musical Theatre"

• Bob Fosse bio.

• Bob Fosse bio. - FindAGrave.com

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDb) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

References

• Beddow, Margery. Bob Fosse's Broadway. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996.

• Martin Gottfried (1998). All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80837-4.