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Gwen Verdon

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Gwen Verdon
Verdon in 1954
Born
Gwyneth Evelyn Verdon

(1925-01-13)January 13, 1925[1]
Culver City, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 18, 2000(2000-10-18) (aged 75)
Woodstock, Vermont, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, dancer
Years active1936–2000
Spouses
  • James Henaghan
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1942; div. 1947)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1960; died 1987)​
Children2, including Nicole Fosse

Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon (January 13, 1925 – October 18, 2000) was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and she served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for theater and film. Verdon was a critically acclaimed performer on Broadway in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, having originated many roles in musicals, including Lola in Damn Yankees, the title character in Sweet Charity, and Roxie Hart in Chicago.

Her second husband was director-choreographer Bob Fosse. The couple collaborated on a number of theater and film projects. After Fosse's death, she worked to preserve his legacy.[2]

Early life

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Verdon was born in Culver City, California, the second child of Gertrude Lilian (née Standring) and Joseph William Verdon, who were both British immigrants to the United States by way of Canada.[3] Her brother was William Farrell Verdon, her father was an electrician at MGM Studios, and her mother was a former vaudevillian of the Denishawn dance troupe, as well as a dance teacher.[4]

As a toddler, she suffered from rickets, which led to her being called "Gimpy" by other children and spent her early years in orthopedic boots and rigid leg braces. At age three, her mother enrolled her in dance classes. Further ballet training strengthened her legs and improved her carriage.[citation needed]

By age six, she was dancing on stage. She went on to study multiple dance forms, ranging from tap, jazz, ballroom and flamenco to Balinese. She also studied juggling. At age 11, she appeared as a solo ballerina in the musical romance film The King Steps Out (1936), directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Grace Moore and Franchot Tone. She attended Hamilton High School in Los Angeles and studied under ballet enthusiast Ernest Belcher. While in high school, she was cast in a revival of Show Boat.[5]

In 1942, Verdon's parents asked her to marry family friend and tabloid reporter James Henaghan after he got her pregnant at 17 years old, and she quit her dancing career to raise their child.[6] In 1945, she appeared as a dancer in the movie musical Blonde From Brooklyn. After her divorce, she entrusted her son Jimmy to the care of her parents.[citation needed]

Career

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Early on, Verdon found a job as assistant to choreographer Jack Cole, whose work was respected by both Broadway and Hollywood movie studios. During her five-year employment with Cole, she took small roles in movie musicals as a "specialty dancer". She also taught dance to stars such as Jane Russell, Fernando Lamas, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe.[7][8][9]

Verdon started out on Broadway going from one chorus line to another. Her breakthrough role finally came when choreographer Michael Kidd cast her as the second female lead in Cole Porter's musical Can-Can (1953), starring French prima donna Lilo. Out-of-town reviewers hailed Verdon's interpretation of Eve in the Garden of Eden ballet as a performance that upstaged the show's star, who reputedly demanded Verdon's role be cut to only two featured dance numbers. With her role reduced to little more than an ensemble part, Verdon formally announced her intention to quit by the time the show premiered on Broadway. But her opening-night Garden of Eden performance was so well-received that the audience screamed her name until the startled actress was brought from her dressing room in a towel to take a curtain call.[10] Verdon received a pay increase and her first Tony Award for her performance. [11]

Verdon's biggest critical and commercial success was her following show, George Abbott's Damn Yankees (1955), based on the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant. The musical ran for 1,019 performances. Verdon won another Tony and went to Hollywood to repeat her role in the 1958 movie version Damn Yankees, famously singing "Whatever Lola Wants". (Fosse can be seen partnered with her in the original mambo duet "Who's Got the Pain".} [12]

Verdon won another Tony for her performance in the musical New Girl in Town as a hard-luck girl fleeing from her past as a prostitute. She won her fourth Tony for the murder-mystery musical Redhead, Fosse's Broadway debut as a director/choreographer.[13] In 1960, Fosse and Verdon wed.[14]

In 1966, Verdon returned to the stage in the role of Charity in Sweet Charity, which, like many of her earlier Broadway triumphs, was choreographed and directed by husband Fosse. The show is loosely based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria. It was followed by a movie version starring Shirley MacLaine as Charity, featuring Ricardo Montalbán, Sammy Davis Jr. and Chita Rivera, with Fosse at the helm of his first film as director and choreographer. Verdon helped with the choreography. The numbers include the famed "Big Spender", "Rhythm of Life", "If My Friends Could See Me Now", and "I'm a Brass Band". Verdon also traveled to Berlin to help Fosse with Cabaret, the musical film for which he won an Oscar for Best Director.[15]

Although estranged as a couple, Verdon continued to collaborate with Fosse as a performer and a choreagrapher. In the 1975 Broadway production of the Fosse-directed musical Chicago, Verdon originated the role of murderess Roxie Hart) opposite Chita Rivera's Velma Kelly. Although the musical was almost universally panned by critics, who compared it unfavorably to Cabaret, Gwen Verdon was singled out for praise: her performance was "delectable" wrote the NY Times theater critic. [16] Verdon also helped out with Fosse's paean to Broadway dancing in the musical Dancin' (1978), as well as Fosse's autobiographical film All That Jazz (1979).[17] The helpmate/peer played by Leland Palmer in that film is based on the role Verdon played in Fosse's real life. She also developed a close working relationship with Fosse's romantic partner of six years, Broadway dancer Ann Reinking, working as an instructor for Reinking's musical theatre classes. [18]

After the 1975 stage version of Chicago Verdon focused on film acting, playing character roles in movies such as The Cotton Club (1984), Cocoon (1985) and Cocoon: The Return (1988). She collected several Emmy nominations in her guest performances on television shows, including nominations for appearances on Magnum, P.I. (1988), Dream On (1993) and Homicide: Life on the Street (1993). Her film roles continued in prestigious films, such as the mother of Mia Farrow's title character in the Woody Allen movie Alice (1990) and the ecentric Aunt Ruth in Marvin's Room (1996), co-starring Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Other film roles include Alora in Walking Across Egypt (1999) and Bruno, released in 2000.

In 1999, Verdon served as artistic consultant on the Broadway musical reprising classic Fosse choreography. Called simply Fosse, lacking any formal narrative, the revue was conceived and co-directed by Richard Maltby Jr. and Ann Reinking. (Verdon's daughter with Fosse, performer Nicole Fosse received a "special thanks" credit). With glowing reviews, "Fosse" ran for 1000 performances on Broadway and collected 4 Tonys, including the Tony Award for Best Musical.[19]

Awards

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Gwen Verdon's theater career is unique in collecting four Tony Awards in a row for her consecutive performances in Broadway musicals, beginning with the Tony for best featured actress in her scene-stealing work in Cole Porter's Can-Can (1953), followed by the Tony for best leading actress in a musical in the hit Damn Yankees (1955), next, New Girl in Town (1957) (based on Eugene O'Neill's 1921 drama Anna Christie,) that prize shared with co-star Thelma Ritter, and lastly Redhead (1959). The original cast recording of Redhead also garnered her the Best Musical Theater Grammy Award, which she won in what was only the second year of the Grammys.[20]

Verdon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981.[21] In 1998, the President awarded Gwen Verdon the prestigious National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the nation bestows on those American artists who "...are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.".[22]

Personal life

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Verdon was married twice and had two children. She married tabloid reporter James Archibald Henaghan in 1942. They had a son, Jim, the following year and divorced in 1947. In 1960, Verdon married choreographer Bob Fosse. They had a daughter, Nicole, in 1963. Fosse's extramarital affairs put a strain on their marriage, and by 1971, Verdon and Fosse were separated, but never divorced. She was involved in relationships with actor Scott Brady and actor Jerry Lanning, son of Roberta Sherwood.[23] Verdon was with Fosse when he suffered a fatal heart attack at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., in September 1987.[24]

Verdon was a cat fancier, having up to six cats at one time, with the pets carrying names such as "Feets Fosse", "Junie Moon", and "Tidbits Tumbler Fosse".[25]

Verdon was a mental health-care advocate; later in life, she openly spoke about the positive effects of mental-health counseling. Along with teaching dance as a form of therapy, she sat on the board of directors for the New York Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, and actively raised funds to support mental health-care research.[26]

She was also stated to be a big fan of baseball, and went to day games with her scout son. [27]

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Fosse/Verdon is an 8-part American miniseries starring Sam Rockwell as Fosse and Michelle Williams as Verdon.[28] The series, which tells the story of the couple's troubled personal and professional relationship, is based on the biography Fosse by Sam Wasson.[29] It premiered in eight parts on April 9, 2019, on FX. At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, Fosse/Verdon received seventeen nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series and acting nominations for Rockwell, Williams, and Margaret Qualley (as Ann Reinking). Williams won the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series.[30]

Death and legacy

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Verdon died from a heart attack on October 18, 2000, aged 75, at her daughter's home in Woodstock, Vermont.[31][32][14] Later that night, at 8 pm, all marquee lights on Broadway were dimmed in a tribute to Verdon.[14]

Work

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Stage

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Year Title Role Notes
1950 Alive and Kicking Herself Musical revue
1953 Can-Can Claudine/Eve Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
1955 Damn Yankees Lola Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1957 New Girl in Town Anna Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1959 Redhead Essie Whimple Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1966 Sweet Charity Charity Hope Valentine Nominated – Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1972 Children! Children! Helen Giles Only played one performance (13 previews)
1975 Chicago Roxie Hart Nominated – Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1936 The King Steps Out Specialty Ballerina Uncredited
1941 The Girl After My Heart Specialty Ballerina Credited as "Gwen Verdun" [sic]
a Soundie by Roy Mack
1943 Hoosier Holiday Cheerleader Uncredited
1945 Blonde from Brooklyn Girl in Nightclub Uncredited
1951 On the Riviera Specialty Dancer Uncredited
1951 David and Bathsheba Specialty Dancer Uncredited
1951 Meet Me After the Show Sappho Uncredited
prominent dancer in "No Talent Joe"
1952 Dreamboat Girl Uncredited
1952 The Merry Widow Specialty Can-Can Dancer Uncredited
1953 The I Don't Care Girl Specialty Dancer Uncredited
1953 The Mississippi Gambler Voodoo Dancer Uncredited
1953 The Farmer Takes a Wife Abigail Uncredited
1955 Gentlemen Marry Brunettes Specialty Dancer Uncredited
1958 Damn Yankees Lola
1978 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Our Guests at Heartland
1982 Creepshow Voice of Lenora Castonmeyer Uncredited
1984 The Cotton Club Tish Dwyer
1985 Cocoon Bess McCarthy
1987 Nadine Vera
1988 Cocoon: The Return Bess McCarthy Selwyn
1990 Alice Alice's mother
1994 Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All Etta Pell, Nursing Home Resident
1996 Marvin's Room Ruth Wakefield
1999 Walking Across Egypt Alora
2000 Bruno Mrs. Drago

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1954 Goodyear Playhouse Shirley Kochendorfer Episode: "Native Dancer"
1972 Love, American Style Estelle Mayberry Segment: "Love and the New Act"
1973 The $10,000 Pyramid Celebrity Guest Week of October 22–26, playing against Godfrey Cambridge[33]
1981 M*A*S*H Brandy Doyle (USO performer) Episodes: "That's Show Biz" (two episodes, Parts 1 and 2)
1982 Fame Melinda MacNeil Episode: "Come One, Come All"
1982 All My Children Judith Kingsley Sawyer Unknown episodes
1983 Legs Maureen Comly Television movie
1984 The Jerk, Too Bag Lady Television movie; uncredited
1984 Gimme a Break! Lily Episode: "The Center"
1985 Trapper John, M.D. Ms. Taylor Episode: "All the King's Horses"
1985 Kids Incorporated Ruth Episode: "Grandma, Won't You Dance with Me"
1985–1988 Magnum, P.I. Katherine Peterson 5 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
1986 The Equalizer Kelly Sterling Episode: "Unnatural Causes"
1986 All Is Forgiven Bonita Harrell Episode: "I Can't Say No"
1986–1988 Webster Aunt Charlotte 3 episodes
1987 Hotel Iris Lloyd Episode: "Second Thoughts"
1989 Dear John Yvonne Episode: "The Second Time Around"
1990 Paris is Burning Herself Uncredited
1992 Dream On Kitty Brewer Episode: "For Peter's Sake"
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
1993 Homicide: Life on the Street Jessie Doohen Episode: "Ghost of a Chance"
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
1993 Key West Sister Grace Episode: "Gimme Shelter"
1994 The Cosby Mysteries Yolanda 2 episodes
1996 In Cold Blood Sadie Truitt 2 episodes
1997 Touched by an Angel Lorraine McCully Episode: "Missing in Action"
1997–1999 Walker, Texas Ranger Maisie Whitman 2 episodes
1998 Promised Land Karen Hatcher Episode: "Undercover Granny"

Music

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In 1956, Verdon released an album titled The Girl I Left Home For. The album includes her covers of popular jazz standards of the time.[34]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1953 Theatre World Award Can-Can Won
1954 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical Won
1956 Best Leading Actress in a Musical Damn Yankees Won
1958 New Girl in Town † Won
1959 Redhead Won
1966 Sweet Charity Nominated
1976 Chicago Nominated
1960 Grammy Award Best Broadway Show Album Redhead †† Won
1959 BAFTA Awards Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles Damn Yankees Nominated
1966 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Performance Sweet Charity Won
1979 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award Choreography Dancin' ††† Won
1988 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Magnum, P.I. Nominated
1993 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Dream On Nominated
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Homicide: Life on the Street Nominated
1997 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role Marvin's Room Nominated
Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated

† Tied with co-star Thelma Ritter
†† Tied with Ethel Merman for Gypsy
††† Shared with Bob Fosse

References

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  1. ^ "Gwen Verdon (Performer, Choreographer)". Playbill. October 18, 2000. ISSN 0551-0678. Retrieved January 18, 2024. Ms. Verdon was born to Joseph William and Gertrude Verdon on Jan. 13, 1925, in Culver City, CA.
  2. ^ Miller, Julie (April 9, 2019). "Inside Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse's Unconventional Marriage". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  3. ^ Pacheco, Patrick (November 3, 2000). "Remembering Gwen Verdon". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  4. ^ Birthdata, californiabirthindex.org; accessed June 24, 2015.
  5. ^ https://www.amazon.com/Jerome-Robeson-Verdon-Angeles-Program/dp/B00YST5FMW
  6. ^ Miller, Julie (April 24, 2019). "'Fosse/Verdon' Reveals the Sad Secret of Gwen Verdon's First Marriage". Vanity Fair. New York City: Condé Nast. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - Trivia - IMDb, retrieved March 11, 2024
  8. ^ Levine, Debra (August 9, 2009). "Moving Marilyn Monroe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  9. ^ "Jack Cole: The 'scary' dancer who made Marilyn sparkle". April 10, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  10. ^ "Gwen Verdon #5" youtube.com, retrieved June 4, 2019
  11. ^ "Gwen Verdon Tony Awards Wins and Nominations".
  12. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  13. ^ "Gwen Verdon Tony Awards Wins and Nominations".
  14. ^ a b c Berkvist, Robert (October 19, 2000). "Gwen Verdon, Redhead Who High-Kicked Her Way to Stardom, Dies at 75". The New York Times. New York City.
  15. ^ "Hollywood Flashback: 'Cabaret' Won Eight Oscars, Including Best Director, in 1973". The Hollywood Reporter. January 6, 2020.
  16. ^ "STAGE VIEW (Published 1975)". The New York Times. June 8, 1975.
  17. ^ Thulin, Lila. "How Broadway Legends Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon Made Headlines Long Before 'Fosse/Verdon'". Smithsonian. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  18. ^ Miller, Julie, "Fosse/Verdon: Inside Ann Reinking and Gwen Verdon’s Unlikely Friendship" Vanity Fair, May, 2019
  19. ^ "Fosse Original Broadway Revue Cast 1999 | Broadway World".
  20. ^ "2ND Annual Grammy Awards (1959) Redhead" grammy.com, retrieved June 4, 2019
  21. ^ "26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame". The New York Times, March 3, 1981.
  22. ^ Lifetime Honors – National Medal of ArtsArchived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine, nea.gov; accessed June 24, 2015.
  23. ^ "Scott Brady And Gwen Verdon News Photo" gettyimages.com, January 10, 1955
  24. ^ Molotsky, Irvin. "Bob Fosse, Director and Choreographer, Dies" The New York Times, September 24, 1987
  25. ^ Cat People, Bill Hayward, introduction by Rogers E. M. Whitaker. New York: Dolphin/Doubleday, 1978 (p. 70)
  26. ^ Taylor, Clarke. "Separated but Still Mated Professionally" People, Vol.3, No.4, June 23, 1975
  27. ^ ""Gwen Verdon: too hot for Hollywood?" Tempo News, 1955". The Verdon Fosse® Legacy. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  28. ^ Fosse/Verdon (Biography, Drama, Music), Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams, Norbert Leo Butz, FX Productions, The VerdonFosse Legacy, West Egg Studios, April 9, 2019, retrieved April 19, 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  29. ^ Schubak, Adam (March 1, 2019). "Everything You Need to Know About Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon". ELLE. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  30. ^ "Fosse/Verdon". Television Academy. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  31. ^ Kuchwara, Michael (October 19, 2000). "Gwen Verdon, Broadway's Lola, Sweet Charity and Roxie Hart, dies at 75". Associated Press.
  32. ^ Simonson, Robert; Jones, Kenneth (October 18, 2000). "Broadway Musical Legend Gwen Verdon Is Dead at 75". Playbill. New York City: Playbill Inc.
  33. ^ " 10,000 Pyramid Gwen Verdon & Godfrey Cambridge, Aired Oct 22, 1973" Archived March 8, 2021, at the Wayback Machine tv.com, retrieved June 4, 2019
  34. ^ " The Girl I Left Home For RCA Victor LPM-1152" discogs.com, retrieved June 4, 2019
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