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Deney Terrio | |
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| Born | Denis George Mahan June 15, 1950 |
| Occupations | Choreographer, television personality, actor |
Denis George Mahan (born June 15, 1950), better known as Deney Terrio, is an American choreographer and hosted the television musical variety series Dance Fever from 1979 to 1987. [1]
Raised in Titusville, Florida, [2] Terrio achieved fame as the dance coach and choreographer for John Travolta in the movie Saturday Night Fever (1977). During his heyday with Dance Fever , he appeared in a number of films, including The Idolmaker (1980), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), A Night in Heaven (1983) and Knights of the City (1986), and guest starred on popular television series of the time, including The Love Boat . Throughout the 1990s, he toured nightclubs, performing with Motion and judging dance contests.
Terrio has appeared on several VH1 specials. He co-hosted the 2004 PBS special Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion , which featured many popular disco artists from the 1970s and actress Karen Lynn Gorney. [3] During the show, Terrio and Gorney danced to Tavares’ live performance of "More Than a Woman", as Gorney had with Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
Terrio hosted his own disco radio show, Saturday Night Dance Party, on the Sirius Satellite Radio network, and is a choreographer and competitor at regional Dancing with the Stars competitions.
In 1991, Terrio sued Merv Griffin, the producer of Dance Fever, for sexual harassment; [4] the US$11.3 million case was later dismissed. [5] In 2015, Terrio sued the toy company Hasbro in a federal court for creating an animated gecko and toy figurine named Vinnie Terrio, alleging that his publicity rights were violated by the gecko and figurine. [6] In February 2016, Terrio and Hasbro settled his claims out of court. [7]