Bob Fosse
“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." Bob Fosse was perhaps one of the most influential dancers of his time. He was also a performer, choreographer, and film director.
It was June 23, 1927 when Bob Fosse graced the world with his existence. He was born in Chicago Illinois to an Irish mother and a Norwegian father. Of six children, he was the second youngest. He started dance lessons at age nine. Though he was small and had asthma, he did not let these limitations get in his way. At age 13 he was touring his own dance show called “The Riff Brothers”. Bob spent his High School years immersed in Chicago’s burlesque and nightclub scene. When he was 15 he choreographed his first cabaret number where the dancers wore ostrich feathers. These early years of growing up around risqué dance moves and Chicago night life became a strong part of his signature style.
Fosse is known for his unusual style that intrigues the audience. You can spot a Fosse dancer by their turned in feet, rolled shoulders, and shuffling steps. In choreographies, he and his dancers usually wore a hat and gloves. Bob wanted to cover up the bald spot he started getting when he was seventeen, and didn’t like his hands.
Bob appeared on the screen in 1953 with the release of Give A Girl a Break, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, and Kiss Me Kate. Boradway producers then noticed him when he danced with Carol Haney. He choreographed his first musical, The Pajama Game in 1954. In 1955 he choreographed George Abbott’s Damn Yankees. It was around this time that he met his future wife, Gwen Verdon whom he married in 1960. He choreographed New Girl in Town, staring Verdon. Fosse both directed and choreographed the show “Redhead” and Verdon won her third Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. He then partner stared and choreographed/directed Sweet Charity and Chicago with her. In 1973 he won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical in 1973 with Pippin.
Fosse married three times. They were Mary Ann Niles, Joan McCracken, and Gwen Verdon. All were either actresses or dancers.
Bob Fosse died on September 23, 1987 in Washington D.C. His revival of his musical Sweet Charity was opening at the National theatre. Bob collapsed and was taken to George Washington University. He died of a heart attack at the ripe old age of sixty. Bob Fosse may be dead, but he lives on through the legacy of dance for self expression he left behind.
“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." Bob Fosse was perhaps one of the most influential dancers of his time. He was also a performer, choreographer, and film director.
It was June 23, 1927 when Bob Fosse graced the world with his existence. He was born in Chicago Illinois to an Irish mother and a Norwegian father. Of six children, he was the second youngest. He started dance lessons at age nine. Though he was small and had asthma, he did not let these limitations get in his way. At age 13 he was touring his own dance show called “The Riff Brothers”. Bob spent his High School years immersed in Chicago’s burlesque and nightclub scene. When he was 15 he choreographed his first cabaret number where the dancers wore ostrich feathers. These early years of growing up around risqué dance moves and Chicago night life became a strong part of his signature style.
Fosse is known for his unusual style that intrigues the audience. You can spot a Fosse dancer by their turned in feet, rolled shoulders, and shuffling steps. In choreographies, he and his dancers usually wore a hat and gloves. Bob wanted to cover up the bald spot he started getting when he was seventeen, and didn’t like his hands.
Bob appeared on the screen in 1953 with the release of Give A Girl a Break, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, and Kiss Me Kate. Boradway producers then noticed him when he danced with Carol Haney. He choreographed his first musical, The Pajama Game in 1954. In 1955 he choreographed George Abbott’s Damn Yankees. It was around this time that he met his future wife, Gwen Verdon whom he married in 1960. He choreographed New Girl in Town, staring Verdon. Fosse both directed and choreographed the show “Redhead” and Verdon won her third Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. He then partner stared and choreographed/directed Sweet Charity and Chicago with her. In 1973 he won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical in 1973 with Pippin.
Fosse married three times. They were Mary Ann Niles, Joan McCracken, and Gwen Verdon. All were either actresses or dancers.
Bob Fosse died on September 23, 1987 in Washington D.C. His revival of his musical Sweet Charity was opening at the National theatre. Bob collapsed and was taken to George Washington University. He died of a heart attack at the ripe old age of sixty. Bob Fosse may be dead, but he lives on through the legacy of dance for self expression he left behind.
