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Grover Dale | |
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 Dale in 1980 | |
| Born | Grover Robert Aitken July 22, 1935 [1] Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| 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 |
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.
High Button Shoes is a 1947 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel The Sisters Liked Them Handsome by Stephen Longstreet. The story concerns the comic entanglements of the Longstreet family with two con men in Atlantic City.
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.
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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.
Li'l Abner is a 1959 musical comedy film based on the comic strip of the same name created by Al Capp and the successful Broadway musical of the same name that opened in 1956. The film was produced by Norman Panama and directed by Melvin Frank. It was the second film to be based on the comic strip, the first being RKO's 1940 film, Li'l Abner.
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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.
Ted Thurston was an American actor and singer.
Peter Webster Palmer was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Li'l Abner, alongside Edie Adams, both on Broadway and on film.
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