Grover Dale

Grover Dale
Born Grover Robert Aitken
July 22, 1935
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation Actor, choreographer, dancer, director, pedagogue
Years active 1953-2010
Spouse(s) Anita Morris (1973-1994; her death); 1 son (actor James Badge Dale)
Partner(s) Anthony Perkins (1967-1973)

Grover Dale (born July 22, 1935) is an American actor, dancer, choreographer and theatre director.

Early years

Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur, and Emma Bertha Ammon.[1] He studied dance with Lillian Jasper in McKeesport from 1945 to 1952 before he appeared in his first professional job in with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in 1953.

Career

Dale's Broadway stage debut was in the 1956 musical, Li'l Abner as a dancer. He appeared in the original cast of West Side Story as Snowboy, a member of the Jets gang. Other stage credits include the role of Andrew in Greenwillow, in which he also understudied Anthony Perkins as Gideon Briggs; in Noël Coward's Sail Away, where he had the juvenile lead role of architect Barnaby Slade; and in Half a Sixpence, where he played Pearce, one of a quartet of 19th century London shop apprentices around whom the show is structured.

He made his film debut in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. He also appeared in Half a Sixpence, The Young Girls of Rochefort, and The Landlord.

Dale was nominated for the Tony Award twice, for his choreography of Billy, a musical version of Billy Liar and his direction of The Magic Show. He also received an Emmy Award nomination for his choreography of Barry Manilow's 1985 television musical Copacabana. As co-director of Jerome Robbins' Broadway, he shared Best Director Tony Award with the famed director-choreographer Jerome Robbins. In 1992 he became publisher/editor of Dance & Fitness magazine. In 1999 Dale founded the website, Answers4Dancers.com, whose stated goal is "to empower dancers and choreographers to think, to grow, and to create satisfying careers for themselves..."

Personal life

Dale was involved in a six-year relationship with actor Anthony Perkins that ended in 1973 when he married actress/singer Anita Morris; they remained married until Morris's death in 1994.[2] Their son, actor James Badge Dale (born 1978), played Simon in Lord of the Flies (1990), Chase Edmunds in the TV series 24, and is the lead actor in Rubicon.

Stage productions

Movies

Awards and nominations

Awards
Nominations

References

  1. ↑ "Grover Dale profile at FilmReference.com". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  2. ↑ Tina Gianoulis (January 9, 2008). "Perkins, Anthony (1932-1992)". glbtq Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-08-28.

External links