John Anthony Gilvey's Books

Before the Parade Passes By

Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical

By: John Anthony Gilvey

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Before the Parade Passes By

Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical

By: John Anthony Gilvey

During the Golden Age of the Broadway musical, few director-choreographers could infuse a new musical with dance and movement in quite the way Gower Champion could. From his earliest Broadway success with Bye Bye Birdie to his triumphant and bittersweet valedictory, 42nd Street, musicals directed by Champion filled the proscenium with life. At their best, they touched the heart and stirred the soul with a skillful blend of elegance and American showmanship. He began his career as one-half of "America's Youngest Dance Team" with Jeanne Tyler and later teamed with his wife, dance partner, and longtime collaborator, Marge Champion. This romantic ballroom duo danced across America in the smartest clubs and onto the television screen, performing story dances that captivated the country. They ultimately took their talent to Hollywood, where they starred in the 1951 remake of Show Boat, Lovely to Look At, and other films. But Broadway always called to Champion, and in 1959 he was tapped to direct Bye Bye Birdie. The rest is history. In shows like Birdie, Carnival, Hello, Dolly!, I Do! I Do!, Sugar, and 42nd Street, luminaries such as Chita Rivera, Dick Van Dyke, Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Robert Preston, Tony Roberts, Robert Morse, Tammy Grimes, and Jerry Orbach brought Champion's creative vision to life. Working with composers and writers like Jerry Herman, Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, and Bob Merrill, he streamlined the musical making it flow effortlessly with song and dance from start to finish. John Gilvey has spoken with many of the people who worked with Champion, and in Before the Parade Passes By he tells the life story of this most American of Broadway musical director-choreographers from his early days dancing with Marge to his final days spent meticulously honing the visual magic of 42nd Street. Before the Parade Passes By is the life story of one man who personified the glory of the Broadway musical right up until the moment of his untimely death. When the curtain fell to thunderous applause on the opening night of 42nd Street, August 25, 1980, legendary impresario David Merrick came forward, silenced the audience, and announced that Champion had died that morning. As eminent theatre critic Ethan Mordden has firmly put it, "the Golden Age was over." Though the Golden Age of the Broadway musical is over, John Gilvey brings it to life again by telling the story of Gower Champion, one of its most passionate and creative legends.

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Page Count

692

Publisher

Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429925590

ISBN 13

9781429925594

Before the Parade Passes By

Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical

By: John Anthony Gilvey

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Before the Parade Passes By

Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical

By: John Anthony Gilvey

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Page Count

692

Publisher

Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429925590

ISBN 13

9781429925594

Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

His Way from "The Fantasticks" to "Law and Order"

By: John Anthony Gilvey

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Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

His Way from "The Fantasticks" to "Law and Order"

By: John Anthony Gilvey

(Applause Books). Today the late actor Jerry Orbach (1935-2004) is best remembered as the world-weary New York City Detective Lennie Briscoe from the Emmy Award-winning NBC television series Law and Order . But that work only accounts for 12 years of a 50-year career that spanned stage, screen, and television. From the moment he landed the role of the Street Singer in the 1955 off-Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera , he distinguished himself as a major performer in popular musicals and plays, including The Fantasticks , Carnival , Scuba Duba , Promises, Promises , 6 RMS RIV VU , Chicago , and 42nd Street . Jerry Orbach also appeared in over 40 films, with Crimes and Misdemeanors ; Prince of the City ; Dirty Dancing ; and the voice of the candlestick, Lumiere, in Disney's Beauty and the Beast topping the list. From the '60s through the '90s, he was a guest or featured actor on major TV hits like The Defenders ; Love American Style ; Murder, She Wrote ; The Golden Girls ; and Frasier . Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City is the story of this versatile performer his triumphs and tragedies public and private. Most of all, it is a study of a gifted actor's craft as told through the observations, insights, and reminiscences of those who knew him best.

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Page Count

227

Publisher

Applause Theatre & Cinema

Published Date

ISBN 10

1557839190

ISBN 13

9781557839190

Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

His Way from "The Fantasticks" to "Law and Order"

By: John Anthony Gilvey

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Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

His Way from "The Fantasticks" to "Law and Order"

By: John Anthony Gilvey

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Page Count

227

Publisher

Applause Theatre & Cinema

Published Date

ISBN 10

1557839190

ISBN 13

9781557839190

Classic Horror (Combined Volume)

By: John Grant,Mike Stocks

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Classic Horror (Combined Volume)

By: John Grant,Mike Stocks

THREE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST CLASSIC HORROR STORIES, DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN AND JEKYLL AND HYDE, HAVE BEEN RETOLD FOR TODAY'S READERS, WITH ATMOSPHERIC ILLUSTRATIONS, AN INFORMATIVE INTRODUCTION AND USEFUL NOTES.

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Page Count

436

Publisher

Usborne Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

079450616X

ISBN 13

9780794506162

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

By: John Grant

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

By: John Grant

Behind the locked door of Dr. Jekyll's laboratory lies a mystery which Jekyll's lawyer Mr. Utterson is determined to solve. A classic horror story.

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Page Count

104

Publisher

E.D.C. Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0746023634

ISBN 13

9780746023631

Book's by John Anthony Gilvey

Before the Parade Passes By

Before the Parade Passes By

Before the Parade Passes By

Before the Parade Passes By

Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City

Classic Horror (Combined Volume)

Classic Horror (Combined Volume)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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