Steve Merritt
Encyclopedia
Steve Merritt was an American
dancer and choreographer. Together with Nancy and Ronnie Horowitz and Mark Donnelly, Merritt created the musical
Dream Street, which played in Las Vegas from 1983 to 1987. Merritt and Donnelly also conceived the Broadway-style format for the Chippendales show. In 1989 Merritt choreographed the opening number of the 61st Academy Awards
presentation.
Steve Thomas Merritt was born Steve Thomas Michaels in San Jose, California
, in 1945. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid 1960s and studied dance under David Winter while working as a dancer on a local TV show called The Farmer John Dance Show. He created the Solid Gold Dancers and performed on Casey Kasem's
weekly Top Forty Countdown television show.
Merritt died of AIDS
in 1993 at age 48.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dancer and choreographer. Together with Nancy and Ronnie Horowitz and Mark Donnelly, Merritt created the musical
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...
Dream Street, which played in Las Vegas from 1983 to 1987. Merritt and Donnelly also conceived the Broadway-style format for the Chippendales show. In 1989 Merritt choreographed the opening number of the 61st Academy Awards
61st Academy Awards
The 61st Academy Awards were presented on March 29, 1989 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The date had been moved from its usual Monday telecast due to Easter, which was on March 26. For this show, there was no "official" host as the show opened with a stage-show featuring Merv Griffin, Snow...
presentation.
Steve Thomas Merritt was born Steve Thomas Michaels in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, in 1945. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid 1960s and studied dance under David Winter while working as a dancer on a local TV show called The Farmer John Dance Show. He created the Solid Gold Dancers and performed on Casey Kasem's
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
weekly Top Forty Countdown television show.
Merritt died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in 1993 at age 48.