American dancer, singer and actress Gwen Verdon (1925–2000) won four Tony awards for her work on Broadway and also appeared in films and on television. Stricken with rickets as a child, Verdon overcame severe leg deformity through ballet training, making her film debut at 11 as a solo ballerina in the musical The King Steps Out (1936). Her theater credits include Can-Can (1953–1955), Damn Yankees (1955–1956), Redhead (1959–1960), New Girl in Town (1957–1958), Sweet Charity (1966–1967) and Chicago (1975–1977). When not dancing on stage or screen, she coached other actors, such as Jane Russell, Lana Turner, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley MacLaine. This first full-length biography of Verdon covers her life and career, her individual performances and her collaborations with choreographers Jack Cole and Bob Fosse, her husband.

Peter Shelley is a playwright, screenwriter and author of several books on film. He lives in Umina Beach, Australia.

Peter Shelley
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 272
Bibliographic Info: 24 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9736-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2103-6
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments iv

Preface 1

1. Beginning and Jack Cole 5

2. Working with Jack Cole in Films 20

3. Can-Can 35

4. Damn Yankees, Bob Fosse and New Girl in Town 46

5. Damn Yankees on Film and Redhead 65

6. ­Semi-Retirement and Motherhood 81

7. Sweet Charity 93

8. Sweet Charity on Film 121

9. Children! Children! 135

10. Chicago 151

11. All That Jazz 169

12. The Mature Actress 182

13. Fosse Dies 202

14. Charity One Last Time and Fosse 221

Appendix: Performances on Stage, Film, Television and Record 237

Bibliography 243

Index 263