Grover Dale | |
---|---|
Born | Grover Robert Aitken July 22, 1935 [1] Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1953–2010 |
Spouse | |
Children | James Badge Dale |
Grover Dale (born July 22, 1935) is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, theater director, and publisher.
Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken on July 22, 1935, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, [2] to Emma Bertha (Ammon) and Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur.[ citation needed ] He studied dance with Lillian Jasper in McKeesport from 1945 to 1950. Partnering up with another dancer (Mary Lou Steele) in an aggressive rendition of "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue", he secured multiple performance opportunities in local nightclubs before getting his first professional job with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in 1953.[ citation needed ]
Dale's Broadway stage debut was in the 1956 musical Li'l Abner as a dancer. He appeared in the original cast of West Side Story as Snowboy, a member of the Jets gang. Other stage credits include the role of Andrew in Greenwillow , in which he also understudied Anthony Perkins as Gideon Briggs; Noël Coward's Sail Away, where he had the juvenile lead role of architect Barnaby Slade; and in Half a Sixpence , where he played Pearce, one of a quartet of 19th century London shop apprentices around whom the show is structured.[ citation needed ]
He made his film debut in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (as Jam). He also appeared in Half a Sixpence (Pearce), The Young Girls of Rochefort (Bill), and The Landlord (Oscar). [ citation needed ]
Dale was nominated for the Tony Award twice: for his choreography of Billy, a 1969 musical version of the Herman Melville novella, Billy Budd, and his direction of The Magic Show . As co-director of Jerome Robbins' Broadway , he shared Best Director Tony Award with the famed director-choreographer Jerome Robbins. He also received an Emmy Award nomination for his choreography of Barry Manilow's 1985 television musical Copacabana . In 1992 he became publisher/editor of Dance & Fitness magazine. In 1999 Dale founded the website, Answers4Dancers.com, whose stated goal is "to empower dancers and choreographers to think, to grow, and to create satisfying careers for themselves..." [ citation needed ]
Dale was involved in a six-year relationship with actor Anthony Perkins before separating in 1971. [3] In 1973, he married actress and dancer Anita Morris, with whom he had a son, actor James Badge Dale (born 1978). Dale and Morris remained together until her death in 1994. [4] [5]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1964 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Jam | |
1967 | The Young Girls of Rochefort | Bill | |
1967 | Half a Sixpence | Pearce | |
1970 | The Landlord | Oscar | |
1973 | A Name for Evil | — | Choreographer |
1973 | The Way We Were | — | |
1981 | So Fine | — | |
1986 | Quicksilver | — | |
1987 | Aria | — | |
1997 | Meet Wally Sparks | Dancer |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1956 | Producers' Showcase | — | Episode: "The Lord Don't Play Favorites" |
1985 | Copacabana | — | Choreographer |
2000 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Resident of Idyllia | Episode: "Geppetto" |
Institution | Category | Year | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | 1969 | Billy | Won |
1988 | Nominated | |||
Drama-Logue Awards | Outstanding Choreography | 1973 | — | Nominated |
Lester Horton Awards | Lifetime Achievement | 1980 | — | Won |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Choreography | 1986 | Copacabana | Nominated |
Tony Awards | Best Choreography | 1970 | Billy | Nominated |
Best Direction of a Musical | 1975 | The Magic Show | Nominated |
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
45th Tony Awards 1991
Jerome Robbins' Broadway won shared with Jerome Robbins
West Side Story is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Julie Newmar is an American actress, dancer, and singer known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real estate mogul. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Katrin Sveg in the 1958 Broadway production of The Marriage-Go-Round and reprised the role in the 1961 film version. In the 1960s, she starred for two seasons as Catwoman in the television series Batman (1966–1967). Her other stage credits include Ziegfeld Follies in 1956, Lola in Damn Yankees! in 1961, and Irma in Irma la Douce in 1965 in regional productions.
Li'l Abner is a 1956 musical with a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, music by Gene De Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Based on the comic strip Li'l Abner by Al Capp, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof of hillbillies, but it is also a pointed satire on other topics, ranging from American politics and incompetence in the United States federal government to propriety and gender roles.
Michael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and who staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, strongly influenced by Charlie Chaplin and Léonide Massine, was an innovator in what came to be known as the "integrated musical", in which dance movements are integral to the plot.
Jerome Robbins was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.
Michael Bennett was an American musical theatre director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven.
Onna White was a Canadian choreographer and dancer, nominated for eight Tony Awards.
Lawrence Frederick Kert was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role of Tony in the original Broadway production of the musical West Side Story. He was nominated for a Tony Award (1971) for his work in the musical comedy Company (1970).
Chroniclers of the musical theater have been around for years, collecting pictorial surveys, librettos and scores, and recording the careers of various theatrical celebrities. Nothing in the American musical theater has been more inaccessible, however, than the record of its dance traditions, and there are many to recount.
Jerome Robbins' Broadway is an anthology comprising musical numbers from shows that were either directed or choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The shows represented include, for example, The King and I, On the Town and West Side Story. Robbins won his fifth Tony Award for direction.
West Side Story is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, written by Ernest Lehman, and produced by Wise. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same title, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp in Super Panavision 70. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Anita Rose Morris was an American actress, singer and dancer. She began her career performing in Broadway musicals, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Seesaw and Nine, for which she received a Tony Award nomination.
Greenwillow is a musical with a book by Lesser Samuels and Frank Loesser and music and lyrics by Loesser. The musical is set in the magical town of Greenwillow. It ran on Broadway in 1960.
Christopher d'Amboise is an American danseur, choreographer, writer, and theatre director.
Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
Tony Mordente is an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and television director.
Scott Wise is an American theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his performances in the 1989 musical Jerome Robbins' Broadway, which earned him a Tony Award, and in the 2002 film Chicago.
West Side Story Suite is a ballet suite choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Robbins conceived, directed and choreographed the 1957 musical West Side Story, then co-directed its 1961 film adaptation, before including parts of the choreography in the anthology Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Robbins developed the latter to the ballet West Side Story Suite for the New York City Ballet, which premiered on May 18, 1995, at the New York State Theater.
Alvin Colt was an American costume designer. Colt worked on over 50 Broadway shows.
Sergio Trujillo is a theater director, choreographer, dancer and actor. Born in Colombia and raised in Toronto, Canada, he is now an American citizen and resides in New York City. Trujillo was the recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Ain't Too Proud and the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Memphis. He is the first ever Hispanic recipient of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.