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person_profile-Gwen Verdon

Gwen Verdon Died at age: 75

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Gwen Verdon

Date of Birth:

Jan 13, 1925

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Oct 18, 2000

Biography of

Gwen Verdon

    Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for theater and film. With flaming red hair and a quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed performer on Broadway from the 1950s-70s. Having originated many roles in musicals she is also strongly identified with her second husband, director–choreographer Bob Fosse, remembered as the dancer–collaborator–muse for whom he choreographed much of his work and as the guardian of his legacy after his death.

    By the time she was six, she was already dancing on stage. She went on to study multiple dance forms, ranging from tap, jazz, ballroom and flamenco to Balinese. In 1942, Verdon’s parents asked her to marry family friend and tabloid reporter James Henaghan after he got her pregnant at 17, and she quit her dancing career to raise their child. After her divorce, she entrusted her son Jimmy to the care of her parents. Early on, Verdon found a job as assistant to choreographer Jack Cole. 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, and Lana Turner. Verdon started out on Broadway as a "gypsy," going from one chorus line to another. Her breakthrough role finally came as second female lead in Cole Porter's musical Can-Can. Verdon's biggest success was George Abbott's Damn Yankees. Verdon won another Tony and went to Hollywood to repeat her role in the 1958 movie version Damn Yankees. Verdon won another Tony for her performance in the musical, New Girl in Town, and won her fourth Tony for Redhead. Verdon and Fosse continued to collaborate on projects such as musicals Chicago and Dancin', as well as All That Jazz. After originating the role of Roxie opposite Chita Rivera's Velma Kelly in Chicago, Verdon focused on film acting, playing character roles in movies such as The Cotton Club, Cocoon and its sequel. She continued to teach dance and musical theater and to act. She received three Emmy Award nominations for appearances on Magnum, P.I., Dream On, and Homicide: Life on the Street. Verdon appeared in Alice and Marvin's Room). In 1999, Verdon served as artistic consultant on a Broadway musical designed to showcase examples of classic Fosse choreography, called Fosse. which won a Tony Award for best musical.

    Verdon appeared in the movie Walking Across Egypt, as well as Bruno. Verdon received a total of four Tonys, for best featured actress for Can-Can and best leading actress for Damn Yankees, New Girl in Town, and Redhead. She also won a Grammy Award for the cast recording of Redhead.

    Verdon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981, and in 1998, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

Photos of

Gwen Verdon

Photos ( 4 Photos

Filmography of

Gwen Verdon

Found 35 Movies in total

Merely Marvelous: The Dancing Genius of Gwen Verdon

Herself (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2019

Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards

Lola (segment "Damn Yankees") ( Actor )

... 2005

Broadway's Lost Treasures

Roxie Hart (segment "Chicago") ( Actor )

... 2003

... 2003

Bruno

Mrs. Drago ( Actor )

... 2000

Walking Across Egypt

Alora ( Actor )

... 1999

Best Friends for Life

Edith Cooper ( Actor )

... 1998

... 1997

Marvin's Room

Ruth Wakefield ( Actor )

... 1996

... 1994

Alice

Alice's Mother ( Actor )

... 1990

Bob Fosse: Steam Heat

Herself - Narrator ( Actor )

... 1990

Cocoon: The Return

Bess McCarthy ( Actor )

... 1988

Nadine

Vera ( Actor )

... 1987

Cocoon

Bess McCarthy ( Actor )

... 1985

... 1985

That's Dancing!

Lola (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1985

The Cotton Club

Tish Dwyer ( Actor )

... 1984

... 1983

Legs

Maureen Comly ( Actor )

... 1983

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Our Guests at Heartland ( Actor )

... 1978

That's Entertainment, Part II

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1976

The Deadly Visitor

Mrs. Moffat ( Actor )

... 1973

Liza with a Z

Audience ( Actor )

... 1972

Damn Yankees

Lola ( Actor )

... 1958

Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

Specialty Dancer (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1955

The Farmer Takes a Wife

Abigail (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1953

The I Don't Care Girl

Specialty Dancer ( Actor )

... 1953

The Merry Widow

Specialty Can-Can Dancer (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1952

Dreamboat

Girl in Commercial (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1952

Meet Me After the Show

Gwen Verdon / Sappho, Dancer in No Talent Joe (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1951

David and Bathsheba

Specialty Dancer (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1951

On the Riviera

Specialty Dancer (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1951

Blonde from Brooklyn

Girl in Nightclub (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1945

The King Steps Out

Specialty Ballerina (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1936