Donald Saddler

Donald Edward Saddler (January 24, 1918 – November 1, 2014) was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director whose Broadway career spanned six decades, from 1941 to 2001. Born in Van Nuys, California, he began studying dance as a child to rebuild his strength following a bout of scarlet fever.

During his school vacations, Saddler worked at MGM studios, appearing in the chorus of several film musicals, including The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Rosalie (1937), Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Babes in Arms (1939), and The Wizard of Oz (1939). He became an original member of the American Ballet Theatre, where his roles included Giselle, Pillar of Fire, and Fancy Free. His performing career was interrupted by service in World War II, after which he shifted his focus from ballet to Broadway.

Saddler returned to the stage in High Button Shoes (1947) and performed in two 1950 revues, Dance Me a Song and Bless You All. His transition to choreography came in 1953 with Wonderful Town, which earned him his first Tony Award for Best Choreographer. In 1958, he received critical recognition for choreographing and performing in a Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.

His second Tony Award for Best Choreography came with the 1971 Broadway revival of No, No, Nanette, for which he also received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography that same year. Additional Tony nominations followed for Much Ado About Nothing (1973) and On Your Toes (1983), and Drama Desk nominations for Good News (1975), The Robber Bridegroom (1977), and On Your Toes (1983). His choreographic work extended to feature films, including April in Paris, Young at Heart, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Radio Days, as well as television, where he staged dance routines for Verna: U.S.O. Girl, a PBS Great Performances presentation starring Sissy Spacek and William Hurt.

As a director, Saddler helmed several Broadway productions, among them Together on Broadway: Mary Martin and Ethel Merman, George Abbott: Celebration — the production listed in his credits as Happy Birthday, Mr. Abbott! — and I Hear Music of Frank Loesser and Friends, a concert featuring the composer's widow, Jo Sullivan. In 1988, he directed a Broadway reunion of ballerina Cynthia Gregory and danseur Fernando Bujones. In 2004, he directed a staged reading of Only a Kingdom at The John Drew Theater of Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, with a cast that included Kaitlin Hopkins, George S. Irving, Dina Merrill, Marni Nixon, and Jo Ann Worley.

At the age of 81, Saddler appeared as a performer in the 2001 Broadway revival of Follies, dancing the adagio alongside fellow dance veteran Marge Champion. The two remained close after the production and became the subjects of a short film, Keep Dancing, documenting their lives at age 90. Saddler received the Dance Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984 and the Capezio Dance Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He died on November 1, 2014, at the age of 96.