Bob Fosse

Robert Louis Fosse was born on June 23, 1927, in Uptown, Chicago, Illinois, the fifth of six children born to Cyril Kingsley Fosse, a Norwegian-American traveling salesman for Hershey, and Irish-American mother Sarah Alice Fosse. His parents enrolled him in formal dance training at age eight at the Chicago Academy of Theatre Arts, where he studied under Marguerite Comerford. By age thirteen he was performing professionally alongside Charles Grass as "The Riff Brothers," appearing in vaudeville houses, movie theaters, USO venues, Eagles Clubs, and burlesque clubs including the Silver Cloud and the Cave of Winds. At fifteen, in 1943, he earned his first choreography credit on the film Hold Evry'thing! A Streamlined Extravaganza in Two Parts. After graduating from Amundsen High School in 1945, he was recruited into the U.S. Navy and stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes, where he eventually secured placement in the variety show Tough Situation, which toured military and naval bases in the Pacific Ocean.

Following his discharge, Fosse relocated to New York City in 1947 with the goal of establishing himself as a performer. He enrolled at the American Theatre Wing, where he met his first wife and dance partner, Mary Ann Niles. His first stage role came in Call Me Mister alongside Niles, and in 1948 he took over a part in Make Mine Manhattan when Tony Charmoli passed the role to him for the show's national tour. Fosse and Niles performed regularly on Your Hit Parade during its 1950–1951 season and appeared on The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1951 after Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis saw their act at New York's Pierre Hotel. In 1953 Fosse signed a contract with MGM, appearing as a dancer in Give a Girl a Break, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, and Kiss Me Kate, all released that year. In Kiss Me Kate he played Hortensio within the Taming of the Shrew dance sequences, and his choreography of a sequence during "From This Moment On," performed alongside Carol Haney, drew the attention of Broadway producers.

Fosse's Broadway career spanned from 1948 to 1963 as a performer and book writer, with credits including Dance Me a Song, Pal Joey, and Chicago, among other productions. He credited Jerome Robbins with giving him his first choreography assignment, The Pajama Game in 1954, which marked his transition from performer to choreographer. He followed that with My Sister Eileen and Damn Yankees in 1955, the latter of which introduced him to Gwen Verdon, whom he married in 1960 and with whom he collaborated extensively in theater and film. He choreographed New Girl in Town in 1957 and then directed and choreographed Redhead in 1959, winning the Tony Award for Best Choreography for that production. In 1961 he choreographed How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, starring Robert Morse, and in 1963 he was nominated for both Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical for Little Me, winning the choreography award. He directed and choreographed Verdon in Sweet Charity in 1966.

Fosse accumulated nine Tony Awards over the course of his career. His verified Tony Awards for Best Choreography include wins in 1973 for Pippin, 1978 for Dancin', and 1986 for Big Deal. Additional choreography Tony wins came for The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Redhead, Little Me, and Sweet Charity, and he also won a Tony for directing Pippin. He also choreographed the film versions of The Pajama Game in 1957 and Damn Yankees in 1958, the latter of which featured Verdon reprising her stage role as Lola, with Fosse appearing alongside her in the mambo number "Who's Got the Pain."

As a film director, Fosse made his debut with the screen adaptation of Sweet Charity in 1969, starring Shirley MacLaine. His second feature, Cabaret in 1972, starred Liza Minnelli, Michael York, and Joel Grey and was based on the 1966 stage musical of the same name. The film departed from the integrated musical format of the stage version by making all musical numbers diegetic. Fosse won the Academy Award for Best Director for Cabaret. That same year he directed the concert film Liza with a Z, which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special. He received Academy Award nominations for directing Lenny in 1974 and All That Jazz in 1979, the latter of which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His final film was Star 80 in 1983. Across his career Fosse received an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Tony Awards, and the Palme d'Or.

Fosse developed a distinctive choreographic style characterized by finger-snapping, tilted bowler hats, fishnet stockings, splayed gloved fingers, turned-in knees and toes, shoulder rolls, and jazz hands. He died on September 23, 1987, having shaped the landscape of jazz dance and musical theater direction across four decades.