Gower Champion

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Gower Champion was an American theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.

He was born in Geneva, Illinois on June 22, 1919 (some sources state June 22, 1920, others 1921) and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he took dancing lessons from an early age. At the age of fifteen, he and a friend, Jeanne Tyler, toured nightclubs as "Gower and Jeanne, America's Youngest Dance Team".

During the late '30s and early '40s, Champion worked on Broadway as a solo dancer and choreographer. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, Champion met Marjorie Belcher (aka Marge Champion), who became his new partner, and the two were married in 1947. Throughout the 1950s, they performed on a number of television variety shows, and in 1957, they starred in their own short-lived CBS sitcom, The Marge and Gower Champion Show, which was based on their actual career experiences. During this period, they also made several film musicals, including the 1951 remake of Show Boat (with Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson), the autobiographical Everything I Have is Yours (1952), Give a Girl a Break (1953), and Three for the Show (1955).

In 1948, Champion had begun to direct as well, and he won his first Tony Award for his staging of Lend an Ear, the show that introduced Carol Channing to New York theater audiences. From then on he was involved in an eclectic mixture of both smash hits (Hello, Dolly!) and dismal flops (A Broadway Musical, which closed after one performance). A complete list of his productions appears below. In addition to his several Tonys, he was the recipient of the New York Critics Award and the Donaldson Award.

Champion never lived to enjoy one of his most successful runs. In 1980, he choreographed and directed a stage adaptation of the movie classic, 42nd Street. During the show's tryout in Washington, D.C., he learned that he had a rare form of blood cancer, and after the curtain call on opening night - August 25, 1980 - producer David Merrick stunned the cast and the audience by announcing, with Merrick's particularly oddball form of self-promotion, that Gower Champion had died that afternoon at the age of 60 or 61.

Champion was one of several notable graduates of Fairfax High School, West Hollywood, California. (see [link])

With wife and partner Marge at the height of their success as a dance team in musical films

Productions

• 42nd Street, Direction And Choreography (August 25, 1980 - January 8, 1989)
• A Broadway Musical, Production Supervision (December 21, 1978)
• Rockabye Hamlet, Direction and Choreography (February 17 - 21, 1976)
• Mack & Mabel, Direction & Choreography (October 6, 1974 - November 30, 1974)
• Irene, Direction (March 13, 1973 - September 8, 1974)
• Sugar, Direction and Choreography (April 9, 1972 - June 23, 1973)
• A Flea in Her Ear, Direction (October 3 - 25, 1969)
• The Happy Time, Direction and Choreography (January 18, 1968 - September 28, 1968)
• I Do! I Do!, Direction (December 5, 1966 - June 15, 1968)
• 3 Bags Full, Direction (March 6, 1966 - April 2, 1966)
• Hello, Dolly!, Direction and Choreography (January 16, 1964 - December 27, 1970)
• Carnival!, Direction and Choreography (April 13, 1961 - January 5, 1963)
• Bye Bye Birdie, Direction and Choreography (April 14, 1960 - October 7, 1961)
• 3 for Tonight, Direction and Performer (April 6, 1955 - June 18, 1955)
• Make a Wish, Choreography (April 18, 1951 - July 14, 1951)
• Lend an Ear, Musical Staging (December 16, 1948 - January 21, 1950)
• Small Wonder, Choreography (September 15, 1948 - January 8, 1949)
• Count Me In, Performer (October 8, 1942 - November 21, 1942)

Tony Awards and Nominations

• 1981 Best Choreography (42nd Street) (winner)
• 1981 Best Direction of a Musical (42nd Street) (nominee)
• 1975 Choreography (Mack & Mabel) (nominee)
• 1975 Best Direction of a Musical (Mack & Mabel) (nominee)
• 1973 Best Choreography (Sugar) (nominee)
• 1973 Best Direction of a Musical (Sugar) (nominee)
• 1968 Best Choreography (The Happy Time) (winner)
• 1968 Best Direction of a Musical (The Happy Time) (winner)
• 1967 Best Direction of a Musical (I Do! I Do!) (nominee)
• 1964 Best Choreography (Hello, Dolly!) (winner)
• 1964 Best Direction of a Musical (Hello, Dolly!) (winner)
• 1962 Best Direction of a Musical (Carnival!) (nominee)
• 1961 Best Choreography (Bye Bye Birdie) (winner)
• 1961 Best Direction of a Musical (Bye Bye Birdie) (winner)
• 1949 Best Choreography (Lend an Ear) (winner)

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