Gwen Verdon
Acteur·rice
13 janvier 1925
Culver City, Los Angeles, California, USA
Died 18 octobre 2000
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.
Known for
As an actor
Merely Marvelous: The Dancing Genius of Gwen Verdon
2019 · Self (archive footage)
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
2015 · Self (archive footage)
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
2005 · Lola (segment "Damn Yankees") (archive footage)
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003 · Self
Broadway's Lost Treasures
2003 · Roxie Hart (segment "Chicago")
Bruno
2000 · Mrs. Drago
Walking Across Egypt
1999 · Alora
Best Friends for Life
1998 · Edith Cooper
The Music of Kander & Ebb: Razzle Dazzle
1997 · Self
Marvin's Room
1996 · Ruth Wakefield
In Cold Blood
1996 · Sadie Truitt
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
1994 · Etta Pell
Touched by an Angel
1994 · Lorraine McCully
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
1994 · Etta Pell
Walker, Texas Ranger
1993 · Maisie Whitman
Homicide: Life on the Street
1993 · Jessie Doohen
Alice
1990 · Alice's Mother
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
1990 · Self
Bob Fosse: Steam Heat
1990 · Herself - Narrator
Dream On
1990 · Kitty Brewer
Cocoon: The Return
1988 · Bess McCarthy
Dear John
1988 · Yvonne
Nadine
1987 · Vera
All Is Forgiven
1986 · Bonita Harrell
Cocoon
1985 · Bess McCarthy
Night of 100 Stars II
1985 · Self
That's Dancing!
1985 · Lola (archive footage)
The Equalizer
1985 · Kelly Sterling
The Cotton Club
1984 · Tish Dwyer
The Jerk, Too
1984 · Bag Lady (uncredited)
Legs
1983 · Maureen Comly
American Dance Machine Presents a Celebration of Broadway Dance
1983 · Herself - Host
Fame
1982
Hotel
1982
Magnum, P.I.
1980 · Katherine Peterson
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1978 · Our Guests at Heartland
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976 · (archive footage)
The Deadly Visitor
1973 · Mrs. Moffat
Liza with a Z
1972 · Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
M*A*S*H
1972 · Brandy Doyle
The Don Knotts Show
1970 · Self
The Dick Cavett Show
1968 · Self - Guest
The Carol Burnett Show
1967 · Self - Guest
The Danny Kaye Show
1963 · Self
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · Self - Co-Host, Self
Damn Yankees
1958 · Lola
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · Self
Tony Awards
1956 · Self - Presenter, Self - Performer
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes
1955 · Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
The I Don't Care Girl
1953 · Specialty Dancer
The Farmer Takes a Wife
1953 · Abigail (uncredited)
The Mississippi Gambler
1953 · Voodoo Chicken Dancer (uncredited)
Dreamboat
1952 · Girl in Commercial (uncredited)
The Merry Widow
1952 · Specialty Can-Can Dancer (uncredited)
On the Riviera
1951 · Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
David and Bathsheba
1951 · Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Meet Me After the Show
1951 · Gwen Verdon / Sappho, Dancer in No Talent Joe (uncredited)
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950 · Self
What's My Line?
1950 · Self - Mystery Guest
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self
Blonde from Brooklyn
1945 · Girl in Nightclub (uncredited)
Hoosier Holiday
1943 · Cheerleader
The King Steps Out
1936 · Specialty Ballerina (uncredited)
