- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMercier Philip Cunningham
- Merce Cunningham was born on April 16, 1919 in Centralia, Washington, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Variations V (1966), Deli Commedia (1984) and Merce Cunningham (1998). He was married to John Cage. He died on July 26, 2009 in New York City, New York, USA.
- SpouseJohn Cage(1945 - August 12, 1992) (his death)
- In 1985, he was one of six cultural icons (along with Irene Dunne, Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner, Beverly Sills and Bob Hope) to receive the annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.
- He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1990 by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D.C.
- He was a choreographer and dance company director.
- Has a younger brother named Jack.
- Formed his own group, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, in 1953. Choreographed over 200 productions.
- You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.
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