McDonough 1

Shea McDonough
S.E. Lewis
Reading & Writing II
11 November 2015
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Bob Fosse was a man of many talents. For nearly forty years, Fosse was
celebrated for his directing, screenwriting, and acting. He was most renowned, however, for his
dancing and choreography. In fact, Bob Fosse is the most influential choreographer in history as
he overcame struggles in his childhood, invented a highly popular style of dance, and won the
most Tony Awards for his choreography.
Born on June 23, 1927 in the city of Chicago, Bob Fosse was a rather rough and
rambunctious little boy. Yet despite his spunk and effervescence, Fosse suffered from chronic
seizures and pneumonia which caused him to feel fairly weak and tired. Fosse was often left
bedridden and, therefore, he was unable to participate in normal childhood activities and find his
forte. Though Fosse seemed almost predisposed to the performing arts due to his father, Cyril
Fosse, working as a vaudevillian actor, neither Fosse nor his parents intended for their son to be a
dancer. Instead, it was Fosses older sister, Patsy, who showed an interest in dance. Fosses
parents consequently enrolled Patsy in the Chicago Academy of Theatre Arts, but Bob was sent
to class with Patsy as a way to get young Bob out of the house.
Bob was initially reluctant to spend his time in the dance studios as he was one of the
only boys, but he soon became spellbound by the art of dance and began taking classes regularly.
Bob continued taking classes even when Patsy decided to quit. During this time, Bob caught the
eye of his teacher, Frederic Weaver. Weaver took great interest in his young student and made
Bob Fosse his protg. Under the direction of Weaver, Fosse excelled to the top of his classes

McDonough 2

and showed great promise. However, Fosses star truly began to shine when he was paired with
Charles Grass, another young and talented male dancer. Together the two created the Riff
Brothers and performed across Chicago and received enormous amounts of recognition for
energetic and masculine style. The Riff Brothers continued performing together up until Fosses
years at Amundsen High School, where Fosse attended class during the day only to take dance
classes from the Chicago Academy of Theatre Arts at night.
Much of Fosses attitude as a choreographer is believed to have stemmed from his
training as an adolescent. Through his training, Bob Fosse invented a groundbreaking style of
dance that became very popular. Fosse received numerous corrections in regard to his open
palms, rounded shoulders, and turned-in knees and feet. But Fosse seemed to never achieve the
traditional lines and positions of a technical dancer. Instead of letting his shortcomings hold him
back, Fosse featured his awkward angles and incorrect isolations in many of works. By mashing
together his unconventional technique with his acquired taste for all things modern, sexual, and
darkly comedic, Fosse was able to establish the beginnings of his career.
Though his numerous dance and movement classes helped Fosse to hone his technique, it
was when Fosse did not attend class that he gathered much of his ideas and inspiration. Ever the
rebel, Fosse would often skip class and go to burlesque clubs. Burlesque was considered to be an
underground style of dance at the time as it incorporated nudity and feminine sexuality. The
sensual and provocative nature of burlesque was also seen as raunchy and in poor taste due to
these aspects. However, Bob Fosse admired these qualities of burlesque and would later integrate
them into his most famous works of choreography. One of young Fosses first works of
choreography was heavily inspired by burlesque as it featured four female dancers holding larger
ostrich feather fans and playing with the illusion of nudity.

McDonough 3

Fosse moved to New York City after graduating, where he rented a room for a mere
thirty-five cents a day. Though his accommodations were humble to say the least, Fosse had very
little trouble finding work. In fact, Fosse was able to book his first job after only two auditions in
New York. Fosse landed a featured role in a touring production of Call Me Mister. In turn, Fosse
developed an increased interest in acting which led to several roles in films such as Give a Girl a
Break, Kiss Me Kate, and My Sister Eileen. However, those roles did not make him the celebrity
he wished to be. Fosse thus decided to focus more of his time on establishing himself as a
choreographer.
Fosse got his big break when Broadway heavyweight George Abbott asked Fosse to
choreograph his new Broadway musical The Pajama Games in 1954.Fosse worked ceaselessly to
perfect the choreography in The Pajama Games, but Fosses influence did not end there. Fosse
also pushed for control of music and the script, which were very audacious moves for a relatively
unknown choreographer. Fosse also overworked his dancers and spent endless hours tweaking
combinations. Nevertheless, Fosses antics were tolerated because his work was so fresh and
captivating. Fosses hard work ultimately won him a Tony Award for Best Choreography.
Fosse received numerous awards and accolades for his artistic endeavors. He received
three Emmy Awards as well as a BAFTA Award, a D.G.O.A. Award, and an Academy Award
among other awards. Fosse most impressively accumulated eight Tony Awards over his career,
seven of which were for his choreography. After The Pajama Games, Fosses newfound success
earned him work as choreographer for another Abbott show, Damn Yankees, in 1955. Like the
previous year, Damn Yankees again won Fosse the Tony Award for Best Choreography, but the
production also won Fosse the heart of actress Gwen Verdon. Having married in 1960, Fosse and

McDonough 4

Verdon became a Broadway power couple as they continued to win Tony Awards for their work
in Redhead, Little Me, and 1966s Sweet Charity.
After the success of Sweet Charity, Hollywood tapped Fosse to direct a film adaptation of
the show in 1969. The film seemed bound for success with an all-star cast and a generous budget
of $20,000,000. But Sweet Charity was considered a financial failure as it only made $8,000,000
at the box office. Despite the fact the film nearly left Universal Pictures bankrupt, Fosse
continued working in film. In 1972, Fosse both directed and choreographed Cabaret starring
Liza Minelli. Unlike Sweet Charity, Cabaret was a huge success as it earned over $42,000,000
and won eight Academy Awards, including one for Fosse for Best Director. This milestone in
Fosses career was only the tip of the iceberg, as Fosse won a Tony Award that year for his
directorial work in the stage musical Pippin as well as an Emmy Award for his directorial work
in the television special Liza with a Z. With his record-setting victories, Fosse had established
himself as not only a celebrity, but a legend.
In 1978, Fosse directed and choreographed the Broadway musical Dancin, which won
Fosse yet another Tony Award for Best Choreography. The following year, Fosse directed a
biopic called All That Jazz which was loosely based on Fosses own life. The film a critical
success and earned Fosse an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Fosse seemed to be
on top of the world, but Fosse soon showed chinks in his armor. Ever a man of passion and
eagerness, Fosse was also a man of impulse and addiction. In the mid-1970s, Fosse became
increasingly dependent on alcohol and amphetamines. It is also believed that Fosse smoked more
than four packs of cigarettes a day. In the following years, Fosse suffered two heart attacks
presumably from his unhealthy habits. Fosse worked sporadically throughout the early to mid1980s, even winning his last Tony Award in 1986 for Best Choreography in Big Deal. But none

McDonough 5

of Fosses work at the time invoked the success and industry-buzz that his earlier works were
able to. In 1987, began work on his final production, a Broadway revival of Sweet Charity. The
revival was a success, but Fosse was unable to celebrate as he suffered his third heart attack and
died before the show opened. Both Broadway and Hollywood lost a star on September 23, 1987.
Some might argue Fosses legacy was tarnished by his misbehavior and mistreatment of
his colleagues and collaborators. As a choreographer, Fosse was described as a control freak
and unwilling to compromise his artistic vision. Fosse refused direction and despised correction.
He was very tough on his dancers and often overworked them. Consequently, he was not well
liked by those who had to work with him. For example, Fosse once famously fell into the
orchestra pit during a rehearsal of a show and no one came to his aid. Having struggled with his
temper and substance abuse, Fosse was not a perfect man. But in terms of his craft, Fosse was
(and still is) untouchable.
Though much of Bob Fosses legacy lives on in the world of dance, Fosse was not merely
a dancer or a choreographer. Bob Fosse was a pioneer and a visionary. With a keen eye for
aesthetic and a signature style that was ahead of his time, Fosse revolutionized the face of dance.
As an artist, Fosse celebrated human sexuality and inspired the hearts of many. Fosse pushed
boundaries and broke rules, yet through doing so he was able to set a standard for every dancer
who came after him.

McDonough 6

Work Cited
Gottfried, Martin. All His Jazz: The Life & Death of Bob Fosse. Illus. Maria Carella. Cambridge:
Da Capo, 1990. Print.
Grubb, Kevin Boyd. Razzle Dazzle: The Life and Work of Bob Fosse. Rev ed. N.p.: St. Martin's,
1991. Print.
Zaremba, DFernando. "Fosse: An Introduction." Fosse. Ed. Catherine Ashmore. Hijinks Design,
1994.
Web. 6 Nov. 2012. <http://www.fosse.com/features/fosse_an_introduction.html>.

Zaremba, DFernando. "Fosse: An Introduction." Fosse. hijinks design, n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.fosse.com/features/fosse_an_introduction.html>.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Bob_Fosse>.