George Reich

George Reich (December 15, 1926 – May 4, 2013) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, composer, and director born in Patchogue, Long Island, New York. He built a career that spanned Broadway, European cabaret, film, and the American cruise industry, becoming a significant figure in both French modern dance history and mid-20th-century LGBTQ+ cultural life.

Reich began his professional training in the United States, dancing with the Ballet Markova Dolin Company before transitioning to the Broadway stage. He appeared in two musicals during the late 1940s, Inside U.S.A. in 1948 and Touch and Go in 1949, marking the start of a performance career that would soon extend far beyond New York.

In the early 1950s, Reich accepted a six-month contract to dance at the Lido de Paris, an engagement that ultimately led to eighteen years spent working in France. He performed as a star at the Moulin Rouge and the Olympia Music Hall and was associated with the Ballet de Paris. At the Lido, he became the first male principal to wear a mirrored costume, designed for a routine choreographed by Gwen Verdon. In 1955, he established the Ballet HO de George Reich, the first company to bring American-style modern dance before French audiences. That same year he appeared in the film The Glass Slipper, after which MGM offered him a seven-year contract; he declined and returned to France. Additional film credits included School for Love in 1955 and Black Tights in 1961.

As a director and choreographer, Reich worked with a notable roster of performers in France, including Josephine Baker on Paris Mes Amours in 1957, as well as Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, Brigitte Bardot, and Line Renaud. After his extended tenure in France, he returned to the United States, where his work in the cruise industry became particularly influential. His choreography and direction served as the foundational standard for Carnival Cruise Line production shows across several decades.

During his years in France, Reich was the romantic companion of French actor Jean Marais from approximately 1948 to 1959. The two lived together on a houseboat named L'Apprenti fakir on the Seine. Marais, who was also a painter and sculptor, used Reich as a frequent subject in his visual artwork, preserving Reich's likeness across multiple works. Reich's presence in artistic communities on both sides of the Atlantic, including Cherry Grove on Fire Island, established him as a notable figure in early LGBTQ+ history. He died in Dallas, Texas, on May 4, 2013.