Bob Fosse

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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.

1 Biography
2 Marriages
3 Innovative choreography
4 Awards
5 Film direction and choreography
6 Theatre staging, directing and choreographing
- 6.1 Acting
7 Theater
8 Film
9 Trivia
10 External links
11 References

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.

Eventually Fosse was hired for the show Tough Situation, which toured military and naval bases in the Pacific. He later said that he had perfected his technique as a performer, choreographer, and director while serving his tour of duty.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In 1986 he directed and choreographed the Broadway production, Big Deal, which he also wrote.

Bob Fosse died from a heart attack at the age of 60.

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.

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.

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 Sanford 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.”

Fosse earned many awards for his works, including the Tony Award for Pippin and Sweet Charity, the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza with a 'Z'. He was the first person to win all three awards in the same year (1973).

His semi-autobiographical film, All That Jazz (1979), won the Palme d'Or. It portrays a chain-smoking choreographer driven by his Type A personality.

In 1999, the revue Fosse won a Tony Award for best musical, and in 2001 the show earned Fosse (together with Ann Reinking) a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.

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.

"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

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, starring Liza Minnelli, 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

Call Me Mister, 1947

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

"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

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 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.

Preceded by William Friedkin for The French Connection	Academy Award for Best Director 1972 for Cabaret	Succeeded by George Roy Hill for The Sting