Robert Louis Fosse (1927 - 1987)

Born 23 Jun 1927 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Marian Iris (Vetter) Fosse — married 3 May 1947 (to 1951) in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States

Husband of Joan Hume (McCracken) Fosse — married 30 Dec 1952 (to 1959) in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Husband of Gwyneth Evelyn (Verdon) Fosse — married 15 Apr 1960 (to 23 Sep 1987) in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Died 23 Sep 1987 at age 60 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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Biography

Bob Fosse is Notable.

• American dancer, musical-theatre choreographer, actor, theatre director, and filmmaker
• Directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), Sweet Charity (1966), Pippin (1972), and Chicago (1975)
• Distinctive style of choreography included turned-in knees and "jazz hands"^[2]
• Films include Sweet Charity (1969), Cabaret (1972), Lenny (1975), and All That Jazz (1979)
• Only person ever to have won Oscar, Emmy, and Tony awards in the same year (1973)
• Nominated for four Academy Awards, winning Best Director for Cabaret,
• Won the Palme D'Or in 1980 for All That Jazz
• Won a record eight Tonys for his choreography, as well as one for direction for Pippin.
• Fosse's semi-autobiographical film, All That Jazz starred Roy Scheider

Birth and Parents

Bob Fosse was born in Illinois.

Robert (alias Bob) Louis Fosse, the fifth of six children of Cyril Kingsley Fosse and Sarah Alice Patricia Stanton was born on 23 June 1927 at Chicago, Illinois.^[3]

In 1930, Robert "Bob" Fosse was living with his parents Cy (36 years, occupation Commercial Traveler for a Candy Company) and Sarah (34 years) and his siblings Cyril Jr. (15 years), Donald (12 years), Edward (9 years), Patricia (4 years), and Sarah's father Edward Joseph Stanton (61 years, divorced, occupation Telegrapher for Western Union) were residing at Chicago, Illinois.^[4]

In 1940, Robert, 12 years of age was living with his parents Cyril K. Fosse (47 years, occupation Wholesale Candy Salesman) and Sarah, 44 years of age, siblings Donald (22 years, occupation Record Clerk at a Bed Spring Factory), Edward (19 years, occupation 'New Worker'), Patricia (14 years), Robert (12 years), Mary A. (2 years) Cyril K. Jr. (25 years, occupation Grocery Clerk at a Retail Grocery Store) and his wife Margaret (27 years, occupation Stenographer for a Painting Contractor), and Sarah Fosse's father (Robert's grandfather) Edward J. Stanton (72 years) at Chicago, Illinois.^[5]

Marriages and Child

Bob Fosse was married three times:

1. Mary Ann Niles (b. 12 May 1923, NYC; d. 3 Oct 1987, Manhattan, NY), married on 3 May 1947 at Detroit, Michigan (divorced 1951), no children
2. Joan McCraken (b. 31 Dec 1917, Philadelphia, PA; d. 1 Nov 1961, Manhattan, NY), married in 1952 at New York, NY (divorced 1959), no children
3. Gwyneth Evelyn Verdon (b. 13 Jan 1925, Culver City, CA; d. 18 Oct 2000, Windsor, VT), married on 15 April 1960 at Chicago, IL, separated in 1971, but remained married until Fosse's death in 1987, one daughter.

Death and Burial

Robert "Bob" Louis Fosse died on 23 September 1987 in his 60th year at Washington, D.C.^[6]He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fosse
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_hands
3. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMW-NYFG : 18 May 2016), Robert Louis Fosse, 23 Jun 1927; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 28536, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS55-JMV : accessed 31 December 2021), Robert Fosse in household of Cyril K Fosse, Chicago (Districts 1751-1976), Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1952, sheet 6B, line 64, family 114, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 496; FHL microfilm 2,340,231.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4MB-SRX : 9 January 2021), Robert Fosse in household of Cyril K Fosse, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 103-3003, sheet 7B, line 52, family 206, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1015.
6. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV57-YWQJ : accessed 31 December 2021), Bob Fosse, Santa Ana, California, United States, 31 Dec 1987; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing , born-digital text.
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6896653/bob-fosse : accessed 30 December 2021), memorial page for Bob Fosse (23 Jun 1927–23 Sep 1987), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6896653, ; Maintained by Find a Grave Cremated, Ashes scattered at sea.

See Also

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/KJ4G-4H5
• Bob Fosse: It's Showtime!

Acknowledgements

• Biography rewritten with inline sources and Notables 'featured' by Carol Baldwin on 30 December 2021.