Grover Dale
![]() | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (January 2016) |
Grover Dale | |
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![]() Dale in 1980 | |
Born | Grover Robert Aitken July 22, 1935 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1953–2010 |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | James Badge Dale |
Grover Dale (born July 22, 1935) is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, theater director, and publisher.
Early life[]
Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Emma Bertha (Ammon) and Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur.[1] He studied dance with Lillian Jasper in McKeesport from 1945 to 1952, before getting his first professional job in with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in 1953.
Career[]
Dale's Broadway stage debut was in the 1956 musical Li'l Abner as a dancer. He appeared in the original cast of West Side Story as Snowboy, a member of the Jets gang. Other stage credits include the role of Andrew in Greenwillow, in which he also understudied Anthony Perkins as Gideon Briggs; Noël Coward's Sail Away, where he had the juvenile lead role of architect Barnaby Slade; and in Half a Sixpence, where he played Pearce, one of a quartet of 19th century London shop apprentices around whom the show is structured.[citation needed]
He made his film debut in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (as Jam). He also appeared in Half a Sixpence (Pearce), The Young Girls of Rochefort (Bill), and The Landlord (Oscar).[citation needed]
Dale was nominated for the Tony Award twice, for his choreography of Billy, a musical version of the Herman Melville novella, Billy Budd, and his direction of The Magic Show. As co-director of Jerome Robbins' Broadway, he shared Best Director Tony Award with the famed director-choreographer Jerome Robbins. He also received an Emmy Award nomination for his choreography of Barry Manilow's 1985 television musical Copacabana. In 1992 he became publisher/editor of Dance & Fitness magazine. In 1999 Dale founded the website, Answers4Dancers.com, whose stated goal is "to empower dancers and choreographers to think, to grow, and to create satisfying careers for themselves..."[citation needed]
Personal life[]
Dale was involved in a six-year relationship with actor Anthony Perkins before separating in 1973.[2] The same year, he married actress and dancer Anita Morris, with whom he had a son, actor James Badge Dale (born 1978). Dale and Morris remained together until her death in 1994.[3][4]
Filmography[]
Film[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1964 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Jam | |
1967 | The Young Girls of Rochefort | Bill | |
1967 | Half a Sixpence | Pearce | |
1970 | The Landlord | Oscar | |
1973 | A Name for Evil | N/A | Choreographer |
1973 | The Way We Were | N/A | |
1981 | So Fine | N/A | |
1986 | Quicksilver | N/A | |
1987 | Aria | N/A | |
1997 | Meet Wally Sparks | Dancer |
Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1956 | Producers' Showcase | N/A | Episode: "The Lord Don't Play Favorites" |
1985 | Copacabana | N/A | Choreographer |
2000 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Resident of Idyllia | Episode: "Geppetto" |
Stage productions[]
- 1955 'The Amazing Adele' musical (dancer)
- 1956 Li'l Abner (dancer)
- 1957 West Side Story (actor)
- 1960 Greenwillow (actor)
- 1961 Sail Away (actor)
- 1965 Half a Sixpence (actor)
- 1969 'Billy'(choreographer)
- 1970 'Jesus Christ Superstar' (choreographer)
- 1973 Seesaw (musical) (choreographer)
- 1973 Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (show doctor)
- 1974 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers' (show doctor)
- 1974 The Magic Show (director, choreographer)
- 1979 (director, choreographer)
- 1988 (choreographer)
- 1989 Jerome Robbins' Broadway (director)
Awards and nominations[]
Institution | Category | Year | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | 1969 | Billy | Won |
1988 | Nominated | |||
Drama-Logue Awards | Outstanding Choreography | 1973 | N/A | Nominated |
Lester Horton Awards | Lifetime Achievement | 1980 | N/A | Won |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Choreography | 1986 | Copacabana | Nominated |
Tony Awards | Best Choreography | 1970 | Billy | Nominated |
Best Direction of a Musical | 1975 | The Magic Show | Nominated |
References[]
- ^ "Grover Dale profile at FilmReference.com". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
- ^ Winecoff, Charles (1996). Split Image: The Life of Anthony Perkins. Dutton Adult. pp. 208–210. ISBN 9780525940647.
- ^ Jerome, Jim (August 16, 1982). "Anita Morris Bends Over Backward to Wow Broadway, but TV Censors Deep-Sixed Her 'Nine' Number for the Tony Awards". People.
- ^ Collins, Glenn (March 4, 1994). "Anita Morris, 50, Actress in Theater And Movies, Dies". The New York Times.
External links[]
- 1935 births
- 20th-century American dancers
- 20th-century American male actors
- Actors from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- American choreographers
- American male dancers
- American male film actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- American male stage actors
- American male television actors
- American theatre directors
- Artists from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Dancers from Pennsylvania
- Drama Desk Award winners
- LGBT choreographers
- LGBT dancers
- LGBT directors
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- LGBT male actors
- LGBT people from Pennsylvania
- Living people
- Male actors from Pennsylvania