Bob Fosse

Robert Louis Fosse (June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, actor, filmmaker, and stage director whose work on stage and screen made him arguably the most influential figure in twentieth-century jazz dance. He won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Tony Awards, and the Palme d'Or. Fosse was born in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, the fifth of six children. His father, Cyril Kingsley Fosse, was a Norwegian-American traveling salesman for Hershey; his mother, Sarah Alice “Sadie” Stanton Fosse, was Irish-American.

He was named after the Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. At age eight, his parents enrolled him in formal dance lessons at the Chicago Academy of Theatre Arts under Marguerite Comerford. By thirteen, he was performing professionally in Chicago with Charles Grass as “The Riff Brothers,” touring vaudeville and movie houses, as well as USO theaters and Eagles Clubs.

Many shows were at burlesque clubs like the Silver Cloud and Cave of Winds. Fosse later said, “I was sixteen years old, and I played the whole burlesque wheel.” The erotica he witnessed there would later influence his work. In 1943 at age 15, Fosse choreographed his first dance number and earned his first full choreography credit for the film Hold Evry'thing! A Streamlined Extravaganza in Two Parts, which featured showgirls in strapless dresses performing a fan dance, inspired by his burlesque experience.

After graduating from Amundsen High School in 1945, Fosse was recruited into the U.S. Navy near the end of World War II and sent to Naval Station Great Lakes for combat preparation. After his own failed attempts to join the Special Services Entertainment Division, his manager Frederick Weaver advocated on his behalf. Fosse was then placed in the variety show Tough Situation, which toured military and naval bases in the Pacific. Following his discharge, Fosse moved to New York City in 1947, aiming to become the new Fred Astaire.

1947–1953: Contract with MGM

He studied acting at the American Theatre Wing, where he met his first wife and dance partner, Mary Ann Niles (1923–1987). His first stage role was in Call Me Mister alongside Niles. In 1948, Tony Charmoli danced in Make Mine Manhattan but gave the part to Fosse when the show toured nationally; Charmoli also found Fosse TV dancing work after the tour. Fosse and Niles were regular performers on Your Hit Parade in its 1950–1951 season.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis saw their act at New York’s Pierre Hotel and booked the couple for The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1951. Fosse signed an MGM contract in 1953. His early screen appearances as a dancer included Give a Girl a Break, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, and Kiss Me Kate, all released in 1953.

His choreography of a short dance sequence during “From This Moment On” in Kiss Me Kate and his dance with Carol Haney caught the attention of Broadway producers. In Kiss Me Kate, Fosse starred alongside Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, and Ann Miller, playing Hortensio within The Taming of the Shrew dance sequences. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Fosse transitioned from film to theatre. He told an interviewer, “Jerry [Jerome Robbins] started me doing choreography.

1954–1968: Choreographer

He gave me my first job as a choreographer [Pajama Game] and I’m grateful for that.” In 1954 Fosse choreographed his first stage musical, The Pajama Game, followed by My Sister Eileen and George Abbott’s Damn Yankees in 1955. It was during Damn Yankees that he first met rising star Gwen Verdon, whom he married in 1960. For her work in Damn Yankees in 1956, Verdon won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She had previously won a Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Can-Can (1954).

In 1957 Fosse choreographed New Girl in Town, also directed by Abbott, and Verdon won her second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1958. Also in 1957, Fosse choreographed the film version of The Pajama Game, starring Doris Day. The next year, Fosse appeared in and choreographed the film version of Damn Yankees. His career continued with stage work including Bells Are Ringing (1956), New Girl in Town (1958), Redhead (1959), Little Me (1963), Sweet Charity (1966), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), Chicago (1975), Pippin (1972), Dancin' (1978), and Big Deal (1986).

He won Tony Awards for choreographing The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Redhead, Little Me, Sweet Charity, Pippin, Dancin', and Big Deal, and for directing Pippin. In film, his directorial debut was Sweet Charity (1969). He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Cabaret (1972) and was Oscar-nominated for directing Lenny (1974) and All That Jazz (1979), the latter winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

He directed the concert film Liza with a Z (1972), earning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special. His final film was Star 80 (1983). Fosse forged an uncompromising modern style marked by finger-snapping, tilted bowler hats, fishnet stockings, splayed gloved fingers, turned-in knees and toes, shoulder rolls, and jazz hands. His third wife was actor-dancer Gwen Verdon, with whom he collaborated on several theater and film projects.