ummm nooo i am curious about everything about him, but sex seems like it played a huge part of his life and work. 95% of the things we talk about on this board are about predictions, and grosses, and casting. Its a shame that someone can't start a discussion about a legend without getting chastised for it. But go ahead, keep talking about how much money producers are/aren't making.
Philly - you're right. A lot of chastisement and pissiness on these boards. I thought it was a good question to deal with. There's a difference between being a "womanizer" and a criminal. Or maybe there isn't - look at the story line on Smash. Wonder what would have happened if those involved with Fosse had the opportunity to file sexual harassment suits - or threaten them?
In addition, understanding people who create theatre (or anything) is critical to intelligently understanding their work. There are people who exhibited misogyny in their private lives; there are people who were abused as children; there are people who have been raped; there are people who are dishonest; etc etc etc. None of these things are of interest to hagiographers, but they all inform the way the individual told stories, created characters, developed relationships between characters and so on.
" You do realize that All That Jazz was Fosse's whitewashed version of himself, right? "
But even in that film he was still fairly harsh on himself (compared to some other white-washed film biographies that have been produced) and didn't completely sanitize everything. Both of the main women in the film, Leland Palmer's character (essentially playing Gwen Verdon), and Ann Reinking (essentially playing herself), were open and chastised him about his infidelities. As Ann said in the film, "I just wish you weren't so generous with your cock." Even his daughter in the film noticed and commented on his proclivities ("You gotta stop screwing around").
" But even in that film he was still fairly harsh on himself (compared to some other white-washed film biographies that have been produced) and didn't completely sanitize everything. Both of the main women in the film, Leland Palmer's character (essentially playing Gwen Verdon), and Ann Reinking (essentially playing herself), were open and chastised him about his infidelities. As Ann said in the film, "I just wish you weren't so generous with your cock." Even his daughter in the film noticed and commented on his proclivities ("You gotta stop screwing around")."
I have owned and worn out many copies of that film. Yes, he was harsh on himself, but he also romanticized himself and downplayed how damaging his selfishness was to others (including himself).
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
--Cartman: South Park
ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
I know a former Fosse girl (in both senses of the word) who told me about his alleged "Golden Year," in which Bob had sex with approximately 1000 women, according to his own count. The fact that this would mean an average of three different women a day always made me doubt the story, but if anybody could do it, it's Fosse.
(That said, 1000 per year would make Glen Quagmire squeamish and Barney Stinson uneasy, so I imagine it was an exaggeration.)
It's "a lot" when compared to the lies people tell about their behavior, but if somebody gets into a numbers trip for a year, it's really not that hard to pull off, so to speak. We're not talking dinner, a show, drinks and conversation before spiritually conjoined lovemaking in a heart shaped bed in a luxury hotel 1000 times in a single year. We're talking about getting it on in some quickie fashion or another.
There are people on earth with VERY high sex drives. It's other people who have the problems with it.
"All his choreography is sexy as **** for both men and women. He married 3 times, and aren't there stories about how he was sleeping with girls in the chorus? Discuss!"
I know, I know, I said I would not respond to you but....read all there is out there about Bob Fosse--then discuss.
This thread shows the immature child you are.
All you want is DIRT and to get sleezy stories to w..k over to fill out your fantasies while deciding your sexuality or getting up the courage to actually HAVE sex with either gender.
I am sure that Mr Fosses' sexual appetite influenced his style of dance as other things influence ALL people how they react and respond throughout their life.
Perhaps the reason such a large chunk of the theatre creative world in the 1950s to 1970s was gay is that Fosse singlehandedly consumed so much of the reserves of heterosexuality that there was no other way to maintain stasis.
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
The great stage manager Philburn Freedman (who is the stage manager in ALL THAT JAZZ) once told me that each of these great directors had his own way of getting his casts and crews to pay full attention to them. Bennett would speak in a whisper, Robbins would yell until the veins popped out in his neck and "Bobby" would cough blood.
"The great stage manager Philburn Freedman (who is the stage manager in ALL THAT JAZZ) once told me that each of these great directors had his own way of getting his casts and crews to pay full attention to them. Bennett would speak in a whisper, Robbins would yell until the veins popped out in his neck and "Bobby" would cough blood."
"We wouldn't have his masterpieces if he wasn't who he was - good, bad, ugly."
Do you really believe that - that a good artist has to be a ****to be good?
And no, Philly, Fosse didn't cough blood to get attention. People don't do that at will. He coughed blood because he was a heavy smoker and drug abuser. How would coughing blood help focus his dancers' attention , anyway? It might get their attention, but then all they'd be thinking about was how sick the guy was and whether he'd make it through choreographing the show. How would that be helpful?
ps: it's Friedman, not Freedman. Also, Bennett was known to play horrible mind games on his cast members - pretending to be injured, playingthe cast against each other. Very unpleasant stuff.