Bob Fosse Interview (March 29, 1980)

Robert Louis Fosse (/ˈfɒsi/; June 23, 1927 - September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director.[2] He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), Sweet Charity (1966), Pippin (1972), and Chicago (1975). He directed the films Sweet Charity (1969), Cabaret (1972), Lenny (1975), All That Jazz (1979), and Star 80 (1983).
Fosse's distinctive style of choreography included turned-in knees and "jazz hands". He is the only person ever to have won Oscar, Emmy, and Tony awards in the same year (1973). He was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning Best Director for Cabaret, and won the Palme D'Or in 1980 for All That Jazz. He won a record eight Tonys for his choreography, as well as one for direction for Pippin.
Early life[edit]
Fosse was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 23, 1927, to a Norwegian American father, Cyril Kingsley Fosse, a traveling salesman for The Hershey Company,[3] and an Irish American mother, Sarah Alice "Sadie" (née Stanton) Fosse. He was the fifth of six children.[2][4][5]
He was drawn to dance and took lessons. When he was 13 years old, Fosse performed professionally in Chicago with Charles Grass, as "The Riff Brothers".[6] They toured vaudeville and movie houses in Chicago, as well as USO theaters and Eagles Clubs.[7] Many of these performances included shows at burlesque clubs, such as the Silver Cloud and Cave of Winds. Fosse himself is quoted with saying "I was sixteen years old, and I played the whole burlesque wheel." However, many of the women and promoters did not care that Fosse was underage working in adult clubs or that he would be exposed to sexual harassment from the burlesque women. Much of the erotica he saw would inspire his future work. In 1943, at age 15. Fosse would come to choreograph his first dance number and earn his first full credit as a choreographer in a film, Hold Evry'thing! A Streamlined Extravaganza in Two Parts, which featured showgirls wearing strapless dresses and performing a fan dance, inspired by his time in burlesque houses.[8]
After graduating from high school in 1945, Fosse was recruited into the United States Navy toward the end of World War II at Naval Station Great Lakes, where he was sent to be prepared for combat. Fosse petitioned his manager, Frederick Weaver, to advocate on his behalf to his superiors after his own failed attempts to be placed in the Special Services Entertainment Division.[8] Fosse was soon placed in the variety show Tough Situation, which toured military and naval bases in the Pacific.[citation needed]
After his discharge, Fosse moved to New York City in 1947 with the ambition of being the new Fred Astaire. He began to study acting at the American Theatre Wing, where he met his first wife and dance partner, Mary Ann Niles (1923-1987).[9] His first stage role was in Call Me Mister, along with Niles.[10] Fosse and Niles were regular performers on Your Hit Parade in its 1950-1951 season. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis saw their act in New York's Pierre Hotel and scheduled the couple to appear on The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1951.[11]
In a 1986 interview Fosse told an interviewer, "Jerry started me doing choreography. He gave me my first job as a choreographer and I'm grateful for that."[12]
Fosse was signed to an MGM contract in 1953.[13] 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. Fosse's choreography of a short dance sequence in Kiss Me Kate and dance with Carol Haney brought him to the attention of Broadway producers.[14]

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Bob fosse ❤❤❤❤❤❤

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