Famed director and choreographer Bob Fosse was born June 23, 1927.
Fosse, who began his career as a performer, shaped Broadway with his sleek dance style, punctuated with isolated movement. Throughout the course of his career, Fosse brought classics to the stage including Chicago, Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game, and more, earning 20 Tony Award nominations and winning nine.
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
Damn Yankees Playbill - May 1957
Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees
Bells Are Ringing Playbill - Dec 1956
Judy Holliday, Sydney Chaplin, and cast in Bells Are Ringing
Friedman-Abeles / The New York Public Library
New Girl in Town Playbill - Oct 7, 1957
Gwen Verdon in New Girl in Town
Redhead Playbill - Oct 1959
Gwen Verdon in Redhead
Vandamm Studio/©NYPL for the Performing Arts
The Conquering Hero
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Playbill - April 1962
Cast
Little Me
Cast of Little Me
Sweet Charity Playbill - May 1967
Cast
Pippin Playbill - Nov 1972
John Rubinstein and cast of Pippin
Martha Swope/©NYPL for the Performing Arts
Liza
Liza Minnelli in her 1974 concert engagement at the Winter Garden Theatre
Sony Music Archives
Chicago Playbill - June 1975
Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera in Chicago.
Martha Swope / The New York Public Library
Dancin'
Christopher Chadman, Edward Love, and Wayne Cilento in Dancin'
Big Deal
Cast of Big Deal
Sweet Charity Playbill - Opening Night, April 1986
Michael Rupert, Alice Everett Cox, and Debbie Allen in Sweet Charity
In addition to his stage work, Fosse also lent his talent to the screen, winning an Academy Award for Best Director for Cabaret, earning three Emmy Awards for his work on the filmed concert Liza With a Z, and more.
Fosse was the subject of the Fosse/Verdon, FX’s limited series looking at his relationship and collaboration with Broadway icon Gwen Verdon.