Jack Cole was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 dancer, choreographer

Choreography

Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...

, and theatre director known as the father of theatrical

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 jazz dance

Jazz dance

Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance...

.

Early life

Cole was born John Ewing Richter in New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...

. Early on he decided to pursue dance with the Denishawn Dance Company

Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts

The Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, founded in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in Los Angeles, California, helped many perfect their dancing talents. Some of the school's more notable pupils include Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Jack Cole, and silent film star...

 led by Ruth St. Denis

Ruth St. Denis

Ruth St. Denis was an early modern dance pioneer.-Biography:Ruth St. Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program in 1938 which was one of the first dance departments in an American university...

 and Ted Shawn

Ted Shawn

Ted Shawn , originally Edwin Myers Shawn, was one of the first notable male pioneers of American modern dance. Along with creating Denishawn with former wife Ruth St. Denis he is also responsible for the creation of the well known all-male company Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers...

. Cole also performed with Doris Humphrey

Doris Humphrey

Doris Batcheller Humphrey was a dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Horace Buckingham Humphrey and Julia Ellen Wells and was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster...

 and Charles Weidman

Charles Weidman

Charles Weidman is a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of Modern Dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance forms popular at the time to create a uniquely American style of movement...

, but eventually left the modern dance

Modern dance

Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...

 world for commercial dance career in nightclubs, performing with Alice Dudley, Anna Austin and Florence Lessing.

Career

Cole was a performer in Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 musicals, starting with The Dream of Sganarelle in 1933. His first Broadway credit as a choreographer was Something for the Boys

Something for the Boys

Something for the Boys is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical.-Productions:...

in 1943. Cole is credited with choreographing and/or directing the stage musicals

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 Alive and Kicking

Alive and Kicking (musical)

Alive and Kicking is a musical revue with sketches by Ray Golden, I.A.L. Diamond, Henry Morgan, Jerome Chodorov, Joseph Stein, Will Glickman, John Murray, and Michael Stuart; music by Hal Borne, Irma Jurist, Sammy Fain, Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Rome, Sonny Burke, Leo Schumer, and Ray Golden; and...

, Magdalena, Carnival in Flanders

Carnival in Flanders (musical)

Carnival in Flanders is a 1953 musical with a book by Preston Sturges, lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen.Based on the 1934 French comedy film La Kermesse Héroïque, it is set in 1616 in the small Flemish village of Flackenburg, where a Spanish duke and his entourage descend upon...

, Zenda

Zenda (musical)

Zenda is a musical with a book by Everett Freeman, lyrics by Lenny Adelson, Sid Kuller, and Martin Charnin, and music by Vernon Duke.Based on the 1894 Anthony Hope novel The Prisoner of Zenda, it sets the action in contemporary times and transforms the protagonist into British song-and-dance man...

, Foxy

Foxy (musical)

Foxy is a musical with a book by Ian McLellan Hunter and Ring Lardner, Jr., lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and music by Robert Emmett Dolan.Based on Ben Jonson's Volpone, it transports the original play's setting of early-17th century Renaissance Venice to the Yukon during the gold rush of 1898...

, Kismet

Kismet (musical)

Kismet is a musical with lyrics and musical adaptation by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin, and a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on Kismet, the 1911 play by Edward Knoblock...

, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....

, Kean

Kean (musical)

Kean is a musical with a book by Peter Stone and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest.Using material by Jean-Paul Sartre and Alexandre Dumas, père as its source, it centers on the adventures of Edmund Kean, considered the greatest Shakespearean actor of the 18th century, focusing...

, Donnybrook!

Donnybrook!

Donnybrook! is a musical from 1961, with music and lyrics by Johnny Burke and book by Robert E. McEnroe. It is based on the film The Quiet Man. It had 66 performances at Broadway's 46th Street Theatre, opening on May 18, 1961 and closing on July 15, 1961. Leading players Art Lund and Joan Fagan...

, Jamaica

Jamaica (musical)

Jamaica is a musical with a book by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Harold Arlen. Harburg was blacklisted in Hollywood at the time of the writing of the musical...

, and Man of La Mancha

Man of La Mancha

Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...

.

He studied the Indian dance form Bharata Natyam and used other ethnic material in his dances. The Jack Cole Dancers performed in nightclubs in the late 1930s, including the Rainbow Room

Rainbow Room

The Rainbow Room was an upscale restaurant and nightclub on the 65th floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-Cuisine:...

.

His film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 work includes Moon Over Miami, Cover Girl

Cover Girl (1944 film)

Cover Girl is a 1944 American musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The film tells the story of a chorus girl given a chance at stardom when she is offered an opportunity to be a highly-paid cover girl...

, Tonight and Every Night

Tonight and Every Night

Tonight and Every Night is a 1945 musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Lee Bowman, about wartime romance and tragedy in a London music hall that was determined not to miss a single performance during the Blitz...

, Gilda

Gilda

Gilda is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' wardrobe for Hayworth , and...

, Down To Earth

Down to Earth (1947 film)

Down to Earth is a musical comedy starring Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks, and Marc Platt, and directed by Alexander Hall. It is a sequel to the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan, also directed by Hall. Edward Everett Horton and James Gleason reprise their roles from the earlier film, but Roland Culver...

, The Merry Widow

The Merry Widow (1952 film)

The Merry Widow is a 1952 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It starred Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas.The film received two Academy Award nominations: for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color and Best Costume Design, Color...

, Meet Me After The Show

Meet Me After the Show

Meet Me After the Show is a 1951 musical film starring Betty Grable and released through 20th Century Fox. The film was one of Grable's last musical films for Fox during her box office reign of the past decade.-Plot:...

, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, On the Riviera(1951 film with featured dancer Gwen Verdon), There's No Business Like Show Business

There's No Business Like Show Business (film)

There's No Business Like Show Business is a 20th Century Fox musical film that was released on December 16, 1954. The title is borrowed from the famous song in the stage musical Annie Get Your Gun....

, The I Don't Care Girl, The Thrill of Brazil, Kismet

Kismet (1955 film)

Kismet is an American musical film in Cinemascope and Eastman Color released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the fourth movie version of Kismet—the first was released in 1920 and the second in 1930 by Warner Brothers—and the second released by MGM...

, Les Girls

Les Girls

Les Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 musical comedy film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by George Cukor, produced by Sol C...

, Let's Make Love

Let's Make Love

Let's Make Love is a 1960 musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter and Arthur Miller...

,"Some Like it Hot

Some Like It Hot

Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....

", "Three for the Show

Three for the Show

Three for the Show is a 1955 musical comedy remake of Too Many Husbands. It starred actress Betty Grable in her last musical, opposite Jack Lemmon, Gower Champion and Marge Champion.-Cast:*Betty Grable as Julie Lowndes...

", "Lydia Bailey

Lydia Bailey

Lydia Bailey is a 1952 film directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the historical novel by Kenneth Roberts. It stars Dale Robertson and Anne Francis.-Plot:...

", "Eady was a Lady", and many others. He was famous in Hollywood for his work with Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...

 and Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

.

Legacy

Cole virtually invented the idiom

Idiom

Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...

 of American Show Dancing known as "Theater Dance." He developed a mode of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

-ethnic

Folk dance

The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....

-ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 that prevails as the dominant dancing style in today's musicals

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

, film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s, nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

 revue

Revue

A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

s, television commercials and music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

s. According to Martin Gottfried, Cole "won a place in choreographic history for developing the basic vocabulary of jazz dancing-the kind of dancing done in nightclubs and Broadway musicals."

Cole is remembered as the prime innovator of the theatrical jazz dance heritage.

Cole's unmistakable style endures in the work of Gwen Verdon

Gwen Verdon

Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...

, Bob Fosse

Bob Fosse

Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...

, Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...

, Gower Champion

Gower Champion

Gower Carlyle Champion was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.-Early years:Champion was born in Geneva, Illinois, the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Carlisle. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from Fairfax High School...

, Peter Gennaro

Peter Gennaro

Peter Gennaro was an American dancer and choreographer.-Biography:Gennaro was born in Metairie, Louisiana. He made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Make Mine Manhattan in 1948. He followed this with Kiss Me, Kate and Guys and Dolls...

, Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....

, Tommy Tune

Tommy Tune

Thomas James "Tommy" Tune is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won nine Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts.-Early years:...

, and countless other dancers and choreographers. Verdon said that "Jack influenced all the choreographers in the theater from Jerome Robbins, Michael Kidd, Bob Fosse down to Michael Bennett and Ron Field today. When you see dancing on television, that's Jack Cole." Verdon was Cole's assistant for seven years.

External links

• Los Angeles Times