LoC Blog: Bob Fosse

Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 23, 1927. Over the course of an almost fifty-year career as a performer, director, and writer, Fosse emerged as one of the finest choreographers to work in American musical film and theater.

Bob Fosse Directing Liza Minnelli in the Filming of Cabaret. Invitation to the Dance. Lars Looschen, photographer, ca. 1972. (Fosse-Verdon Collection). In Library of Congress Music, Theater, Dance: An Illustrated Guide. Music Division

Fosse, whose father worked in vaudeville, was half of the Riff Brothers dance act by the age of thirteen. He enlisted in the Navy after high school and served two years. He then began his career as a dancer. By age twenty-one, Fosse was hoofing in road companies and, soon after that, on Broadway.
After a brief stint in Hollywood, which included an appearance in Kiss Me Kate (1953), Fosse returned to Broadway where his choreography career accelerated. In 1955, he won his first Tony Award—for choreography of The Pajama Game. Fosse won eight Tonys—for The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1956), Redhead (1959), Little Me (1963), Sweet Charity (1966), Pippin (1973), Dancin’ (1978), and Big Deal (1986). He also won Drama Desk Awards as choreographer and director for some of the same productions.
Fosse returned to Hollywood as a choreographer and director. His films included Cabaret (1972), Lenny (1974), and All That Jazz (1979). Fosse was the first director in history to win Oscar (Cabaret), Tony (Pippin), and Emmy (Liza with a Z) awards in the same year (1973).
Fosse’s frequent collaborator and leading lady was the dancer, actress, and singer, Gwen Verdon. In 1956 Miss Verdon won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Lola in Damn Yankees; Fosse received a Tony for Best Choreography. Fosse and Verdon also worked together in New Girl in Town (1957), Redhead (1959), Sweet Charity (1966), and Chicago (1977). They married in 1960 and while they were separated when he died on September 23, 1987, they remained friends. Verdon was the artistic advisor to the Tony Award-winning musical Fosse (1999), a musical and dance revue.

Gwen Verdon. Invitation to the Dance. Ormond Gigli, photographer, ca. 1955. (Fosse-Verdon Collection). In Library of Congress Music, Theater, Dance: An Illustrated Guide. Music Division

The Library of Congress is the repository of the Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon Collection, a comprehensive assemblage documenting the achievements of both Fosse and Verdon. This collection provides a rich portal into the lives of these two extraordinarily talented individuals through which scholars, artists, and students of dance can construct a rich picture of the dancer’s world on Broadway and on film. The paper, manuscript, and photographic components of these collections, which are not online, are available in the Library’s Performing Arts Reading Room; the video and film materials are available in the Motion Picture & Television Reading Room; and the audio materials are available at the Recorded Sound Reference Center.

via https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-23#bob-fosse