Gower Champion
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Gower Champion (June 21, 1919 - August 25, 1980) was a Tony Award-winning American theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.
Born Gower Carlyle Champion in Geneva, Illinois, he was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from Fairfax High School [1]. He studied dance from an early age and at the age of fifteen toured nightclubs with friend Jeanne Tyler billed as "Gower and Jeanne, America's Youngest Dance Team."
During the late 1930s and early 40s, Champion worked on Broadway as a solo dancer and choreographer. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, Champion met Marjorie Belcher, who became his new partner, and the two were married in 1947. Throughout the 1950s, they performed on a number of television variety shows, and in 1957 they starred in their own short-lived CBS sitcom, The Marge and Gower Champion Show, which was based on their actual career experiences. During this period, they also made several film musicals, including the 1951 remake of Show Boat (with Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson), the autobiographical Everything I Have is Yours (1952), Give a Girl a Break (1953), and Three for the Show (1955).
In 1948, Champion had begun to direct as well, and he won the first of eight Tony Awards for his staging of Lend an Ear, the show that introduced Carol Channing to New York theater audiences. From then on he was involved in an eclectic mixture of both smash hits (Hello, Dolly!) and dismal flops (A Broadway Musical, which closed after one performance, and Prettybelle, which closed during its pre-Broadway run in Boston).
Champion never lived to enjoy one of his most successful runs. In 1980, he choreographed and directed a stage adaptation of the movie classic, 42nd Street. During the show's tryout in Washington, D.C., he learned he had a rare form of blood cancer, and after numerous curtain calls on opening night, producer David Merrick stunned the cast and audience by announcing Champion had died earlier that day.
[edit] Broadway credits
- 42nd Street, Direction And Choreography (1989)
- A Broadway Musical, Production Supervision (1978)
- Rockabye Hamlet, Direction and Choreography (1976)
- Mack & Mabel, Direction & Choreography (1974)
- Irene, Direction (1973)
- Sugar, Direction and Choreography (1972)
- Prettybelle, Direction and Choreography (1971)
- A Flea in Her Ear, Direction (1969)
- The Happy Time, Direction and Choreography (1968)
- I Do! I Do!, Direction (1966)
- 3 Bags Full, Direction (1966)
- Hello, Dolly!, Direction and Choreography (1964)
- Carnival!, Direction and Choreography (1961)
- Bye Bye Birdie, Direction and Choreography (1960)
- 3 for Tonight, Direction and Performer (1955)
- Make a Wish, Choreography (1951)
- Lend an Ear, Musical Staging (1948)
- Small Wonder, Choreography (1948)
- Count Me In, Performer (1942)
[edit] Awards and Nominations
- 1981 Tony Award for Best Choreography (42nd Street, winner)
- 1981 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (42nd Street, nominee)
- 1981 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (42nd Street, winner)
- 1975 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Mack & Mabel, nominee)
- 1975 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Mack & Mabel, nominee)
- 1973 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Sugar, nominee)
- 1973 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Sugar, nominee)
- 1968 Tony Award for Best Choreography (The Happy Time, winner)
- 1968 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (The Happy Time, winner)
- 1967 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (I Do! I Do!, nominee)
- 1964 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Hello, Dolly!, winner)
- 1964 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Hello, Dolly!, winner)
- 1962 Tony Award fopr Best Direction of a Musical (Carnival!, nominee)
- 1961 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Bye Bye Birdie, winner)
- 1961 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Bye Bye Birdie, winner)
- 1949 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Lend an Ear, 'winner)
