Bob Fosse was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1927.He started showing his passion for dance at a rather early age. Fosse’s father was a vaudeville artist and it is assumed that this acted as one of the many reasons why Fosse’s style of choreography was so unique.The winner of several awards, Fosse had a problematic married life, which he also highlighted in ‘All That Jazz’, which was a semi-autobiographical film. Even though he quit acting after starting to go bald, his career was no less than absolutely extraordinary. Keep reading for more facts!If you enjoyed reading this article, why not also check out Abby Lee Miller facts and Antonin Artaud facts here on Kidadl!The Early Life Of Bob FosseBob Fosse is a very famous name amongst dancers and dance enthusiasts since he remains to be one of the only people in the world who made such a lasting impact through their choreography.Named after the famous author Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Louis Fosse was a star child amongst the five that his parents had. Bob Fosse was born on June 23, in the year 1927, in Chicago, Illinois. Fosse’s dance skills began to shine through rather quickly as he began to show his merit. Once his parents were convinced that Fosse was a prodigy, he started to take professional training. By the time Fosse was ready to go to high school, he was already at the dance class and had shown interest in dance forms such as tap dance. It was this urge to keep in touch with his creative side that later gave birth to Fosse’s choreography.Fosse enlisted in the military in 1945, but World War II ended whilst he was still in boot camp. Once the war ended, Fosse moved to New York with the intention of making dance his career. Since his father and uncle were vaudeville artists, Fosse’s signature style includes aspects and gestures of vaudeville and cabaret. In his debut choreography, Fosse made sure that his signature style was well established and he built upon the same throughout his career in stage musicals.Fosse’s professional dance career started at the age of 13. When he enlisted for the U.S. Navy, he was posted to the Entertainment Department, which also gave him the necessary boost to build upon his dancing skills. When he moved to New York City in 1947, Fosse studied acting in the American Theatre Wing. He did try his hands at acting for a short while but stopped when he started showing the signs of balding. It is speculated that it was his balding that gave rise to his love for using hats in his choreographies. When asked about his in an interview, Fosse denied such speculations and said that the hat was a way of attracting attention to the main focus of his choreographies, which was the head and face. In his debut in ‘The Pajama Game’, Fosse made sure that the use of hats was present. This prop lasted throughout Fosse’s career and became an essential part of almost all of his choreographies. It was during his early years in New York City that Fosse met his first wife. Bob Fosse and Mary Ann Niles acted together in renowned television shows such as ‘Your Hit Parade’. They ended up getting divorced later, presumably due to Fosse’s extramarital affairs. Fosse’s Broadway debut was in 1950, in a project called ‘Dance Me A Song’. Following the success of this endeavor, Fosse went on many national tours and made many influential friends who ended up helping him get his debut choreography project.Fosse directed many stage musicals and Broadway performances, but before this, he even acted in many shows such as ‘Kiss Me Kate’ and ‘Give A Girl A Break’. ‘The Pajama Game’ was a Broadway musical which was directed by George Abbott and Jerome Robbins. He won a Tony award for his stylistics and choreography. He later worked with Abbott again in ‘Damn Yankees’ and won a Tony award again. For ‘Damn Yankees’, Fosse took inspiration from the ‘father of theatrical jazz dance’, Jack Cole. Fosse’s third wife, Gwen Verdon, was an actor in this project and it is speculated that the Fosse-Verdon journey started with ‘Damn Yankees’. The Abbott-Fosse pair sustained many other broadways and became a sensation all around the nation.We cannot forget dancer Joan McCracken when talking about Fosse’s career and early life. She was Fosse’s second wife and they went through a divorce due to Fosse’s lasting problems surrounding extra-marital affairs. It is said that Fosse met Verdon while he was still married to MacCracken. Bob Fosse, born in the year 1927, had three unsuccessful marriages given his infidelity but this never stood in the way of his stardom. He had two divorces. Even though Verdon and Fosse got separated and parted ways, they never got divorced.Bob Fosse Net WorthThe many hit Broadway musicals and films earned Fosse much acclaim from critics as well as fans.Fosse died at the age of 60, due to lasting heart ailments. At the time of his death, it is said, his net worth was around $2.5 million. Understandably, this is no ordinary feat for a person to achieve. Hence, Fosse is an idol for many budding dancers and choreographers to the present day.Awards And Honors Of Bob FosseBob Fosse won many Emmy and Tony awards. He was in the fact the first person to ever receive Emmy, Oscar, and Tony awards in the same year. In his entire career, Fosse won eight Tony awards, three Emmy awards, and an Academy Award as well. Hence, it can conveniently be said that he is one the persons to look up to whenever dancers need an idol or inspiration.His first Tony award was awarded for the choreography in ‘The Pajama Game’, and the list just kept on growing throughout the years. He received awards for his work in several projects such as Sweet Charity, Liza with a Z, and Pippin. His semi-autobiographical ‘All That Jazz’ was also a huge hit. In this film, Roy Scheider played Fosse’s role. The film depicted the highs, lows and lethal blows of the dance industry as it revealed secrets about the lives of such artists. It was ‘All That Jazz’ that earned this legendary man his third Oscar nomination.It is sometimes mourned by fans and followers of Bob Fosse that he ended up remaining a Grammy short of an EGOT - meaning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.How Did Bob Fosse DieBob Fosse passed away at the age of 60.His entire family had issues related to heart health and on September 23, 1987, Fosse succumbed to a cardiac arrest. This happened when he was on his way to the opening of the revival of ‘Sweet Charity’. The artists of the show were only told about his death after the show was over. Hence, ‘Sweet Charity’ is famous for more reasons than one!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Bob Fosse facts then why not take a look at Bob Ross facts, or Antoninus Pius facts.
Bob Fosse was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1927.
