Tony Mordente (born December 3, 1933) is an American dancer, choreographer, and television director. December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... 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 television director is usually responsible for directing the actors and other taped aspects of a television production. ...

Born in New York City, Mordente attended the High School of Performing Arts and made his professional dance debut at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts. Soon after he joined the ballet company at Radio City Music Hall, where he was discovered by Michael Kidd, who cast him in the 1956 Broadway musical adaptation of the Al Capp comic strip Li'l Abner. Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1676 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area... The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is located near the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue between 65th Street and 64th Street. ... Jacob’s Pillow is a National Historic Landmark located in the town of Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... A ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballets. ... Radio City Music Hall at Christmas 2005 Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Michael Kidd (born Milton Greenwald 12 August 1919) is an Jewish-American film and stage choreographer. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... The Fantasticks was the longest-running musical in history. ... I do Lil Abner!!, a self-portrait by Al Capp, excerpted from the April 16-17 1951 Lil Abner strips. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Lil Abner is a musical theatre production based on the comic strip Lil Abner by Al Capp. ...

Mordente then was featured in the Broadway and West End productions and film version of West Side Story. He understudied the title role and served as assistant to Gower Champion in Bye Bye Birdie (1960) before teaming again with Kidd for Ben Franklin in Paris (1964) and the ill-fated Breakfast at Tiffany's (1966), which closed during previews. He received his first credit as sole choreographer for Here's Where I Belong (1968), which never made it past opening night. // West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland . Along with New Yorks Broadway Theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of theatre in the... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... For The Games song, see Westside Story (song). ... Gower Champion was an American theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. ... Bye Bye Birdie is a Broadway musical satire on American society written by Michael Stewart (book), Lee Adams (lyrics), and Charles Strouse (music). ... Studio recording Breakfast at Tiffanys is one of the most notorious flops in the history of Broadway musicals. ... Heres Where I Belong is a musical with a book by Alex Gordon and Terrence McNally, lyrics by Alfred Uhry, and music by Robert Waldman. ...

As an actor, Mordente appeared in the film Love with the Proper Stranger and had guest shots on the series Combat! and The Outer Limits. He began to choreograph for television variety shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. Love with the Proper Stranger is a 1963 film which tells the story of a salesgirl who finds herself pregnant after a brief affair. ... Combat! was the name of an American television program that aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. ... The Outer Limits is an American television series. ... A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits, especially on television. ... Ed Sullivan The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by former entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. ... The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was a variety show which ran on CBS from August 1971 until May 1974. ...

In the mid-1970s, Mordente switched gears and began to direct for television. His credits include twenty-nine episodes of Rhoda, ten episodes of Matlock, thirty-seven episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger, five episodes of The A-Team, four episodes of The Love Boat, and thirty-three episodes of 7th Heaven, in additional to single episodes of Flo, Love, Sidney, Family Ties, Day by Day, and Burke's Law, among others. Rhoda is an American situation comedy and a television spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. ... Matlock is the county town of Derbyshire, UK. It is situated at the south eastern edge of the Peak District, and is twinned with Eaubonne in France. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For the 2008 movie, see The A-Team (film). ... The Love Boat was a TV series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from 1977 until 1986. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Flo Robson is an obsesive hairy creature. ... Love, Sidney was a 1981-1983 comedy television series which starred Tony Randall. ... Family Ties was a popular American television sitcom which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. ... Day by Day was also a television sitcom. ... Burkes Law was a detective series which ran on ABC from 1963 to 1966, and then again on CBS from 1994 to 1995. ...

Mordente was married to Chita Rivera from 1957-1966. They are the parents of actress Lisa Mordente. Chita Rivera (born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero on January 23, 1933 in Washington, D.C.) is a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical actress and dancer of Puerto Rican heritage, and the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award. ...

External links

• Official website
• Internet Broadway Database listing
• Internet Movie Database listing