Gwen Verdon(1925-2000)
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Art Department
Gwen Verdon was born to the theater. Her mother, Gertrude, was a
vaudevillian and dancer. Her father, Joseph, was an MGM studio
electrician. She had to wear corrective boots as a child to straighten
out her legs, which were misshapen by childhood illness. Nonetheless,
she first appeared as a tapper on stage at age 6. She got her break in
Bob Fosse's "Damn Yankees" in 1955. She
married Fosse in 1960 and separated from him, although never divorcing
him, in the
mid-'70s. More
stage and screen work quickly followed with highlights in "New Girl In
Town", "Redhead", "Sweet Charity", and "Chicago". She and her daughter,
Nicole Fosse,
created the current stage musical "Fosse". Upon her death, Broadway
dimmed all of its marquee lights in tribute.
