Broadway Star Gwen Verdon Dead at 75

ByABC News
October 18, 2000, 7:52 PM

N E W  Y O R K, Oct. 18 -- Tony-winning Broadway dancer Gwen Verdon, who overcame polio to develop a unique style thatmade her a show-stopping star of Damn Yankees and SweetCharity, died today, her manager said. She was 75 yearsold.

The flame-haired Verdon, who was the third wife andlongtime collaborator of legendary choreographer and directorBob Fosse, apparently died in her sleep at her daughters homein Woodstock, Vt., manager Aaron Shapiro said.

Verdon became an overnight Broadway sensation in 1953 as ashow-stopping featured dancer in Michael Kidds production ofCole Porters Can Can, a performance that earned the first offour Tony awards.

But it was under Fosses choreography and direction thatVerdon created a series of memorable Broadway roles combiningthe sexual allure of a hardened vamp with the inner sweetnessand vulnerability of an ingenue.

Played Sensual, Provocative Characters

She was the original seductress Lola in Damn Yankees, thetaxi dancer Charity Hope Valentine in Sweet Charity and themurderous chorus girl Roxie in Chicago. She got to recreateher Tony-winning Lola role (Whatever Lola wants, Lola Gets)in the 1958 movie adaptation of Damn Yankees.

She also won back-to-back Tonys in 1958 and 1959,respectively, for the tough gal roles she originated in NewGirl in Town and Redhead.

Although she played sensual characters on stage, and herdance routines were often provocative, Verdon was not regardedas having the striking beauty needed to become a leading ladyin Hollywood.

Sex in a dance is in the eyes of the beholder, she oncesaid. I never thought my dances sexy. I suppose thats becauseI see myself with my face washed, and to me I look like arabbit.

Known to Help Other Sex Symbols

If not a glamour queen herself, Verdon helped bring out thebest in some of the biggest sex symbols in the business. As abackstage assistant on various Hollywood projects during theearly 50s, she coached such stars as Marilyn Monroe, JaneRussell and Lana Turner in movement.