Herbert Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
,
producerA film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
, choreographer and
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Born Herbert David Ross in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of
MacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth, commonly just Macbeth, is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
in 1942. His
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
credits as a performer included
Something for the BoysSomething for the Boys is a 1943 musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. It opened at Broadway's Alvin Theatre on January 7, 1943 and closed on January 8, 1944 after playing 422 performances. It starred Ethel Merman, Bill Johnson, Betty...
(1943),
Laffing Room Only (1944),
Beggar's HolidayBeggar's Holiday is a musical with a book and lyrics by John La Touche and music by Duke Ellington.An updated version of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, it focuses on a corrupt world inhabited by rakish mobsters and their double crossing gangs, raffish madams and their dissolute whores, panhandlers...
(1946), and
Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948). His choreography career began with the
American Ballet TheatreAmerican Ballet Theatre, based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
in 1950; the following year he choreographed his first Broadway production, the
Arthur SchwartzArthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...
-
Dorothy FieldsDorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
musical adaptation of
A Tree Grows in BrooklynA Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Betty Smith, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Arthur Schwartz....
.
His first film assignment was as uncredited choreographer on
Carmen JonesCarmen Jones is a 1954 American musical film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Harry Kleiner is based on the libretto for the 1943 stage production of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was inspired by an adaptation of the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella Carmen by...
in 1954.
Herbert Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
,
producerA film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
, choreographer and
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life and career
Born Herbert David Ross in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of
MacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth, commonly just Macbeth, is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
in 1942. His
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
credits as a performer included
Something for the BoysSomething for the Boys is a 1943 musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. It opened at Broadway's Alvin Theatre on January 7, 1943 and closed on January 8, 1944 after playing 422 performances. It starred Ethel Merman, Bill Johnson, Betty...
(1943),
Laffing Room Only (1944),
Beggar's HolidayBeggar's Holiday is a musical with a book and lyrics by John La Touche and music by Duke Ellington.An updated version of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, it focuses on a corrupt world inhabited by rakish mobsters and their double crossing gangs, raffish madams and their dissolute whores, panhandlers...
(1946), and
Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948). His choreography career began with the
American Ballet TheatreAmerican Ballet Theatre, based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
in 1950; the following year he choreographed his first Broadway production, the
Arthur SchwartzArthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...
-
Dorothy FieldsDorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
musical adaptation of
A Tree Grows in BrooklynA Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Betty Smith, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Arthur Schwartz....
.
His first film assignment was as uncredited choreographer on
Carmen JonesCarmen Jones is a 1954 American musical film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Harry Kleiner is based on the libretto for the 1943 stage production of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was inspired by an adaptation of the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella Carmen by...
in 1954. He choreographed the dance numbers for the
Cliff RichardSir Cliff Richard OBE is a British singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts...
films
The Young OnesThe Young Ones is a British musical released in 1961, featuring singer Cliff Richard. The musical was directed by Sidney J. Furie and was produced by Kenneth Harper and Andrew Mitchell for the Associated British Studios at Elstree. The original screenplay was written by Peter Myers and Ronald...
(1961) and
Summer Holiday (1963). In 1968, Ross worked with
Barbra Streisand Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, film and theatre actress. She has also achieved note as a composer, liberal political activist, film producer, and film director. She has won two Academy Awards, ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, and a Peabody all by the age of...
as choreographer and director of musical numbers for the film
Funny GirlFunny Girl is a musical film based on the stage musical of the same name. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. Its original title was My Man...
. The following year, he made his motion picture directorial debut with a musical version of the classic
Goodbye, Mr. ChipsGoodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terrence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.-Synopsis:...
, starring
Peter O'ToolePeter Seamus O'Toole is an actor of stage and screen who achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia. He went on to become a highly-honored film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards...
and
Petula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
.
Career ascension
In 1975, Ross worked on the
film adaptationThe Sunshine Boys is a 1975 film produced by Ray Stark and directed by Herbert Ross, based on the play of the same name. The cast included real-life experienced vaudevillian actor George Burns as Lewis, Walter Matthau as Clark, and Richard Benjamin as Ben, with Lee Meredith, F...
of the
Neil SimonMarvin Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. His numerous Broadway succcesses have led to his work being among the most regularly performed in the world...
play
The Sunshine BoysThe Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television.-Plot:The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willy Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate...
, the first of several Simon play adaptations he directed. Two years later, he helmed the
balletBallet is a formalized type of performance dance, which originated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form...
-oriented drama
The Turning PointThe Turning Point was written by Arthur Laurents and directed by Herbert Ross. In starring roles were Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Tom Skerritt, Martha Scott, Anthony Zerbe, Marshall Thompson and James Mitchell.-Synopsis:This film tells the story of two...
, for which he won the Golden Globe and
Los Angeles Film Critics AssociationThe Los Angeles Film Critics Association was founded in 1975. Its main purpose is to present yearly awards to members of the film industry who have excelled in their fields. These awards are presented each January...
Awards for Best Director. He also earned a Academy Award nomination as Best Director, and earned another nomination for co-producing the film.
He had a huge hit with the film adaptation of
Robert HarlingSir Robert Harling was an early member of the landed gentry, soldier and political strongman. The Norfolk villages of East Harling, West Harling, Harling Market and Larling were greatly under his control. Harling was a knight of the Shire, a Lord of the Manor and comptroller of the house of Edward...
's play
Steel MagnoliasSteel Magnolias is a 1989 comedy-drama film about the bond among a group of Southern women in northwest Louisiana. The movie is based on a 1987 off-Broadway play by Robert Harling and on the author's experience with the death of his sister.- Synopsis :...
, featuring
Sally FieldSally Margaret Field is a 2x Academy Award, 2x Golden Globe, 3x Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress winner, American actress. She became a household name at the age of 20 as Sister Bertrille in the 1960s sitcom The Flying Nun. She has won two Oscars: one for Norma Rae in...
,
Dolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best-known for her work in country music....
,
Julia RobertsJulia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became well known during the early 1990s after starring in the romantic comedy Pretty Woman opposite Richard Gere, which grossed $463 million worldwide...
, and
Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, dancer, activist, and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, in 1989. His last film was in 1995, when he produced and directed
Boys on the Side Boys on the Side is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross . It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Mary-Louise Parker as three friends on a cross-country road trip...
, with
Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American actress, comedienne, singer-songwriter, activist, and media personality....
,
Mary-Louise ParkerMary-Louise Parker is an American actress. Some of her roles include Fried Green Tomatoes, Boys on the Side, Proof, The West Wing, Angels in America, and her current lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin.-Early life and 1980s:Parker was born in Fort Jackson, South...
and
Drew BarrymoreDrew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film producer and film director. She is the youngest member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was eleven months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
.
Personal life
He was married twice, the first time to ballerina
Nora KayeNora Kaye was an American ballerina called the Duse of Dance after acclaimed actress Eleonora Duse. She also worked in films as a choreographer and producer....
, who died of cancer in 1987 at the age of 67. His second marriage was to
Lee RadziwillCaroline Lee Bouvier Canfield Radziwill Ross , best known as Lee Radziwill, is an American socialite, public relations executive, and former actress and interior decorator...
and ended in divorce in 2001.
Ross died of heart failure in 2001 in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
and was interred in the
Westwood Village Memorial Park CemeteryThe Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California....
in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
.
Additional Broadway credits
(As choreographer, unless otherwise noted)
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Betty Smith, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Arthur Schwartz....
(1951)
- Three Wishes for Jamie
Three Wishes for Jamie is a musical with a book by Charles O'Neal and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Ralph Blane.Based on O'Neal's 1949 novel The Three Wishes of Jamie McRuin, the fantasy focuses on the title character, a young Irishman who, when offered three wishes by the Queen of the...
(1952)
- House of Flowers
House of Flowers may refer to:* Tito's mausoleum, whose Serbian name Kuća Cveća means "House of Flowers"* A short novella by Truman Capote, usually published along with his longer novella Breakfast at Tiffany's...
(1954)
- The Body Beautiful
The Body Beautiful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The first collaboration by Harnick and Bock, and the only one to have a contemporary setting, its plot focuses on a wealthy Dartmouth College graduate who aspires to be...
(1958)
- Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A new Broadway revival is scheduled to begin on October 8, 2009...
(1960 revival)
- The Gay Life
The Gay Life is a musical with a book by Fay and Michael Kanin, lyrics by Howard Dietz, and music by Arthur Schwartz.Based on a cycle of seven short plays by Arthur Schnitzler, published in 1893 and first staged in 1910, The Gay Life focuses on womanizing playboy Anatol Von Huber...
(1961)
- I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
(1962)
- Tovarich
Tovarich is a 1963 musical play in two acts with book by David Shaw; music by Lee Pockriss and lyrics by Anne Croswell; based on the comedy by Jacques Deval and Robert E...
(1963)
- Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle is a 1964 musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story concerns a corrupt mayoress, an idealistic nurse, a man who may be a doctor, and various officials, patients and townspeople, all fighting to save a bankrupt town...
(1964)
- Do I Hear a Waltz?
Do I Hear A Waltz? is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was adapted from Laurents' 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo, which was the basis for the 1955 film Summertime starring Katharine Hepburn.-Background:Laurents originally...
(1965)
- On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated....
(1965)
- The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith...
(1965)
- Chapter Two
Chapter Two is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. The plot focuses on George Schneider, a recently widowed writer who is introduced to soap opera actress Jennie Malone by his press agent brother Leo and her best friend Faye. Jennie's unhappy marriage to a football player has dissolved...
(Director, 1977)
- I Ought to Be in Pictures
I Ought to Be in Pictures is a play by Neil Simon that later became a film of the same name.The three-character comedy-drama focuses on Herbert Tucker, a struggling, writer's-blocked screenwriter who abandoned his New York family 16 years earlier...
(Director, 1980)
Films as director
- Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
(1958) (TV)
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terrence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.-Synopsis:...
(1969)
- The Owl and the Pussycat
The Owl and the Pussycat is a 1970 romantic comedy film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Barbra Streisand and George Segal. Barbra Streisand plays the role of a somewhat uneducated actress, model, and part-time prostitute. She temporarily lives with an educated want-to-be writer, played by...
(1970)
- T.R. Baskin
T.R. Baskin is a 1971 American drama film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Peter Hyams focuses on a naïve young woman who moves to Chicago with the hope of finding romance and a fulfilling career....
(1971)
- Play It Again, Sam (1972)
- The Last of Sheila
The Last of Sheila is a 1973 mystery film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, and starring Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, James Mason, Ian McShane, Joan Hackett, and Raquel Welch...
(1973)
- Funny Lady
Funny Lady is a 1975 film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.A sequel to the 1964 Broadway musical and subsequent 1968 film version of Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her...
(1975)
- The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys is a 1975 film produced by Ray Stark and directed by Herbert Ross, based on the play of the same name. The cast included real-life experienced vaudevillian actor George Burns as Lewis, Walter Matthau as Clark, and Richard Benjamin as Ben, with Lee Meredith, F...
(1975)
- The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was adapted for the cinema in 1976. The novel's full title is The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson,...
(1976)
- The Turning Point
The Turning Point was written by Arthur Laurents and directed by Herbert Ross. In starring roles were Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Tom Skerritt, Martha Scott, Anthony Zerbe, Marshall Thompson and James Mitchell.-Synopsis:This film tells the story of two...
(1977, sole Best Director OscarThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
nomination)
- The Goodbye Girl
The Goodbye Girl is a 1977 American comedy film. Directed by Herbert Ross, the film stars Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, and Paul Benedict...
(1977)
- California Suite
California Suite is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Neil Simon is based on his play of the same title...
(1978)
- Nijinsky
Nijinsky is a 1980 American biographical film directed by Herbert Ross. Hugh Wheeler, whose screenplay centers on the later life and career of Vaslav Nijinsky, used the legendary dancer's personal diaries and his wife's 1933 book Life of Nijinsky as his primary source materials.-Synopsis:The film...
(1980)
- Pennies From Heaven
Pennies from Heaven was based on a 1978 BBC television drama. In 1981 Dennis Potter adapted his own screenplay for a film of the same name for American audiences, with its setting changed to Depression era Chicago. Potter was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. The...
(1981)
- I Ought to Be in Pictures
I Ought to Be in Pictures is a play by Neil Simon that later became a film of the same name.The three-character comedy-drama focuses on Herbert Tucker, a struggling, writer's-blocked screenwriter who abandoned his New York family 16 years earlier...
(1982)
- Max Dugan Returns
Max Dugan Returns is a 1983 American comedy-drama film starring Jason Robards, Jr. as the titular Max Dugan, Marsha Mason as his daughter Nora, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, and Matthew Broderick as grandson Michael .-Plot:Max Dugan , the long-lost father of Nora McPhee Max Dugan Returns is...
(1983)
- Footloose (1984)
- Protocol
Protocol is a 1984 comedy film that starred Goldie Hawn and Chris Sarandon. Goldie Hawn plays a Washington, D.C., cocktail waitress who prevents the assassination of a visiting Arab Emir, winds up a national heroine and is offered a job with the United States Department of State as a Protocol...
(1984)
- The Secret of My Succe$s
The Secret of My Success is a 1987 comedy film starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Slater, produced and directed by the late Herbert Ross . The screenplay is written by Jim Cash, who previously co-scripted Top Gun.-Plot:Brantley Foster The Secret of My Success (sometimes stylized as The Secret of My...
(1987)
- Dancers
Dancers is a 1987 film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Mikhail Baryshnikov as Tony and Julie Kent as Lisa....
(1987)
- Steel Magnolias
Steel Magnolias is a 1989 comedy-drama film about the bond among a group of Southern women in northwest Louisiana. The movie is based on a 1987 off-Broadway play by Robert Harling and on the author's experience with the death of his sister.- Synopsis :...
(1989)
- My Blue Heaven (1990)
- True Colors (1991)
- Undercover Blues
Undercover Blues is a 1993 movie about a family of secret agents, starring Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid. The film was written by Ian Abrams and directed by Herbert Ross.- Plot :...
(1993)
- Boys on the Side
Boys on the Side is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross . It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Mary-Louise Parker as three friends on a cross-country road trip...
(1995)
External links