Brent Phillips
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813147215
- eISBN:
- 9780813151502
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813147215.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
During his lifetime, Charles “Chuck” Walters enjoyed a reputation as one of the foremost director-choreographers of Hollywood motion pictures. From his earliest directorial triumphs, Good News, ...
More
During his lifetime, Charles “Chuck” Walters enjoyed a reputation as one of the foremost director-choreographers of Hollywood motion pictures. From his earliest directorial triumphs, Good News, Easter Parade, and The Barkleys of Broadway, to his victorious Lili, High Society, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, musicals directed by Walters seamlessly fuse movement, storytelling, and song. He was one of Broadway’s most prominent dancers in the 1930s, creating featured roles in Rodgers and Hart’s I Married an Angel and Cole Porter’s Jubilee and Du Barry Was a Lady. He supplied choreography for entertainment on Broadway (Let’s Face It, St. Louis Woman) and at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Hollywood (Meet Me in St. Louis, Girl Crazy). Especially renowned for the manner in which he showcased his stars, Walters skilfully guided Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Doris Day, Cary Grant, Shirley MacLaine, Lucille Ball, Esther Williams, Grace Kelly, and Joan Crawford. He enjoyed a unique rapport with Judy Garland, creating some of her most indelible stage and screen performances. Personally, Walters was one of the few “uncloseted” gay film directors to excel in studio-era Hollywood, living openly with his partner, a top industry talent agent. This detailed study is long overdue. Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance corrects both the historical oversight and reassesses the career of this Academy Award nominated film director, whose boyhood dream of dance led to a firmly — and now finally — acknowledged position as a major contributor to American popular culture.Less
During his lifetime, Charles “Chuck” Walters enjoyed a reputation as one of the foremost director-choreographers of Hollywood motion pictures. From his earliest directorial triumphs, Good News, Easter Parade, and The Barkleys of Broadway, to his victorious Lili, High Society, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, musicals directed by Walters seamlessly fuse movement, storytelling, and song. He was one of Broadway’s most prominent dancers in the 1930s, creating featured roles in Rodgers and Hart’s I Married an Angel and Cole Porter’s Jubilee and Du Barry Was a Lady. He supplied choreography for entertainment on Broadway (Let’s Face It, St. Louis Woman) and at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Hollywood (Meet Me in St. Louis, Girl Crazy). Especially renowned for the manner in which he showcased his stars, Walters skilfully guided Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Doris Day, Cary Grant, Shirley MacLaine, Lucille Ball, Esther Williams, Grace Kelly, and Joan Crawford. He enjoyed a unique rapport with Judy Garland, creating some of her most indelible stage and screen performances. Personally, Walters was one of the few “uncloseted” gay film directors to excel in studio-era Hollywood, living openly with his partner, a top industry talent agent. This detailed study is long overdue. Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance corrects both the historical oversight and reassesses the career of this Academy Award nominated film director, whose boyhood dream of dance led to a firmly — and now finally — acknowledged position as a major contributor to American popular culture.
Cheryl Mrozowski
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813049298
- eISBN:
- 9780813050119
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049298.003.0013
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Bob Fosse was Broadway’s top director-choreographer in the 1960s and 70s. His signature style included a forward thrust of the hips, hunched shoulders, gloved hands, and turned-in feet. Fosse’s ...
More
Bob Fosse was Broadway’s top director-choreographer in the 1960s and 70s. His signature style included a forward thrust of the hips, hunched shoulders, gloved hands, and turned-in feet. Fosse’s brilliance was apparent in his ability to move smoothly from a scene’s end to a dance number; he heightened the emotions at the end of the scene so the dancing and singing would not clash. Fosse was formally trained as a tap dancer, had no background in ballet or modern dance, and possessed a limited facility. He adjusted each dancer’s movements so they reflected his own dance strengths and limitations rather than those of the individual dancer. Some of his shows and movies include Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Liza with a Z, and Chicago. His work was highly acclaimed for its innovation; Cabaret won eight Academy Awards, and that same year he won a Tony for Best Choreographer on Broadway for Pippin, as well as an Emmy for Liza with a Z.Less
Bob Fosse was Broadway’s top director-choreographer in the 1960s and 70s. His signature style included a forward thrust of the hips, hunched shoulders, gloved hands, and turned-in feet. Fosse’s brilliance was apparent in his ability to move smoothly from a scene’s end to a dance number; he heightened the emotions at the end of the scene so the dancing and singing would not clash. Fosse was formally trained as a tap dancer, had no background in ballet or modern dance, and possessed a limited facility. He adjusted each dancer’s movements so they reflected his own dance strengths and limitations rather than those of the individual dancer. Some of his shows and movies include Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Liza with a Z, and Chicago. His work was highly acclaimed for its innovation; Cabaret won eight Academy Awards, and that same year he won a Tony for Best Choreographer on Broadway for Pippin, as well as an Emmy for Liza with a Z.
Bob Boross
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813049298
- eISBN:
- 9780813050119
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049298.003.0017
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Beginning as a featured dancer in movie musicals of the 1940s and 1950s and progressing to international status as a dance teacher and choreographer, Mattox has had a significant, worldwide impact on ...
More
Beginning as a featured dancer in movie musicals of the 1940s and 1950s and progressing to international status as a dance teacher and choreographer, Mattox has had a significant, worldwide impact on theatrical jazz dance through a career that has spanned 60 years. Mattox’s work often utilizes movement qualities from jazz dance and has been performed mostly in the commercial theater, yet his influences are eclectic and his work surpasses the traditional jazz dance vernacular. His style, which he called “free style,” evolved into a codified technique designed to train dancers in the qualities and precision of ballet, along with the isolation movement characterized by jazz dance. In 1970 Mattox moved to Europe where he established a dance school and a concert jazz dance company called JazzArt; Mattox has since catalyzed a new French jazz dance community as a teacher and choreographer.Less
Beginning as a featured dancer in movie musicals of the 1940s and 1950s and progressing to international status as a dance teacher and choreographer, Mattox has had a significant, worldwide impact on theatrical jazz dance through a career that has spanned 60 years. Mattox’s work often utilizes movement qualities from jazz dance and has been performed mostly in the commercial theater, yet his influences are eclectic and his work surpasses the traditional jazz dance vernacular. His style, which he called “free style,” evolved into a codified technique designed to train dancers in the qualities and precision of ballet, along with the isolation movement characterized by jazz dance. In 1970 Mattox moved to Europe where he established a dance school and a concert jazz dance company called JazzArt; Mattox has since catalyzed a new French jazz dance community as a teacher and choreographer.
Brent Phillips
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813147215
- eISBN:
- 9780813151502
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813147215.003.0006
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Under the auspices of top producer Vinton Freedley, Walters begins his choreographic career. He stages dances for Broadway productions Let’s Face It and Banjo Eyes. This chapter documents Walters’ ...
More
Under the auspices of top producer Vinton Freedley, Walters begins his choreographic career. He stages dances for Broadway productions Let’s Face It and Banjo Eyes. This chapter documents Walters’ development as a choreographer and Robert Alton’s influences. John Darrow’s career as a theatrical agent is given a boost when he receives a permit from Actors’ Equity to work in Hollywood. Walters and Darrow build a house on the West Coast.Less
Under the auspices of top producer Vinton Freedley, Walters begins his choreographic career. He stages dances for Broadway productions Let’s Face It and Banjo Eyes. This chapter documents Walters’ development as a choreographer and Robert Alton’s influences. John Darrow’s career as a theatrical agent is given a boost when he receives a permit from Actors’ Equity to work in Hollywood. Walters and Darrow build a house on the West Coast.
