Today's Out Spotlight was a renowned choreographer and director. He won four Tonys, two Oscars and an Emmy. Today's Out Spotlight is Jerome Robbins.Born Jerome Rabinowitz on October 11, 1918, Robbins grew up in Weehawken, New Jersey. In 1937, he enrolled at New York University, but dropped out of college and began studying dance professionally.
By 1939, he was dancing in Broadway productions, notably “Great Lady” and “Keep off the Grass.” His career as a choreographer began in the Poconos, where he earned a reputation as an innovative perfectionist.
In 1944, Robbins created his first major dance composition, “Fancy Free,” a ballet that also marked his first collaboration with composer Leonard Bernstein. Its success brought recognition to both men and inspired their first full-length Broadway musical, “On the Town.”
In 1953, Robbins was accused of being a Communist by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Fearing he would be outed as bisexual, he revealed the names of several colleagues.
His Broadway shows include “High Button Shoes,” “West Side Story,” “The King and I,” “Gypsy” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” among others. His 60 ballets include “A Suite of Dances,” created for Mikhail Baryshnikov, and “West Side Story Suite.”
From the 1970’s on, he focused primarily on ballet, returning to musical theater only occasionally. His last Broadway production, “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” won six Tony Awards, including best musical and best director.
Robbins won two Academy Awards for the film version of “West Side Story.” He was also a 1981 Kennedy Center Honors recipient.His final work, “Brandenburg,” was created for the New York City Ballet.
Robbins passed away on July 29, 1998.“I SHALL DANCE. My classes shall be my daily worship and workshop.”
21 comments:
Here's something ironic for you.
The beard has been partying at the Oscars and Jake is doing a Clark Griswald over in Rome, Italy and just wandering around taking tours and acting as though he's being harassed by the paps over there.
Harassed by paps who are doing what they were called to do, which was to take pictures of him and that assistant or whatever type of chaperone/babysitter she is for Jake.
Btw, does anyone see the similarities in the latest Clark Griswold pics of the chaperone leaving Jake in the dust and those old pics of Reese leaving Jake in the dust on his crutches? Bah!! Jake, what do you do to these women that they just leave you trailing behind like that? **wink**
People who age gracefully and embrace age so much more attractive and appealing than people who look like they are wearing plastic Halloween masks. Kim Novak looked like someone who had a very bad doctor. Kim Novak was a beautiful young woman and I am sure she would also be a physically beautiful mature woman. Very sad to see people disfigure themselves.
I saw a picture of Goldie Hawn and she is still in terrific physical shape for her age. But her face has now been disfigured until she doesn't even look like herself.
Like someone else pointed out to me last night, look at Betty White. She can't hide her age, but she looks just like she should. She's an exception, I guess, in Hollywood because everyone else just fights oncoming age something fierce.
It's going to happen, people. Time cannot be stopped; we're all headed on the same train track. I read a quote online somewhere this morning from Jane Fonda and she said:
"I find my emotions are way more accessible than they were when I was younger and I've come to feel it has to do with age. I have become so wonderfully, terribly aware of time, of how little of it I have left; how much of it is behind me, and everything becomes so precious," Fonda wrote. "With age, I am able to appreciate the beauty in small things more than when I was younger perhaps because I pay attention more. I feel myself becoming part of everything, as if I bleed into other people's joy and pain."
A beautiful reflection; a keeper. Very honest I think of her and I bet she really believes what she said. It's too bad it takes so many years for some people to realize this.
Boy, people sure can't stand her though. I'm afraid I may step on toes by quoting Jane. I have to say, I don't remember what she did during the Vietnam era; am really unaware and uninformed, but she is still quite despised it looks like apparently. So sorry for that.
You know, passage of time can change a lot of feelings. Maybe she looks back now on some of the things she did which might have harmed or hacked off others and wishes she had reacted differently.
I just thought that was such a beautiful quote.
I agree about all the actors who've had lots of surgery looking awful. Novak and Hawn were downright scary. It also doesn't get them any work, so I don't know why they do it.
O've loved the work Robbins did. I didn't realize though that he had blabbed on others, how disappointing. I think it was inexcusable for people to do that.
Oops, excuse the typo.
I just read an interesting article about Matthew McConaughy's career. It's funny, as I was reading it I was thinking of Jake, and lo and behold, he gets a mention at the end of the article. Several other favorites of mine also get a nod, Matt Bomer and Taylor Kitsch.
Side Road to Success
Matthew is on quite a roll right now - it's impressive to see. It's amazing to see how far he's come from all the romcom movies that he used to do. He's always rubbed me the wrong way but I hope his speech was sincere last night. I just don't know how to take him but he seems to me to be on a good path right now.
I notice again how another article mentions that because Jake portrayed this "dark" character in Det Loki, that he is coming back from the Prince of Persia film, as though PoP was the only movie he ever did that didn't do well or was not well received. It's like his career began and stopped with that movie.
How dark of a movie was Zodiac? I don't think you could get much darker or scary than that.
What about Moonlight Mile? I only saw it once but that thing started off with a dramatic funeral and I don't know if I saw one ray of actual sunshine in that.
What is this obsession with "dark" and "edgy", anyway? Dark and edgy constitutes a full pie pan profile for an actor or actress? Seems pretty limiting to me.
And I don't think you could get much darker and somber than Brokeback Mountain.
I guess I just don't get why "dark" and "edgy" is being made to be some kind of new thing for Jake.
I used to think that Jake refusing to sign anything PoP was because he hated what that movie stood for - his bearding and the terrible reviews and the movie becoming a black mark on his dance card of films.
But now I wonder if PoP was also the casting couch film that Ted mentioned once and if that were true, and PoP not leading to those future franchise sequels, that maybe that's also part of the reason why Jake seems to detest it so. That could make more sense to me rather than just his over the top distaste over the bearding. Because he doesn't seem to mind the bearding so much now. He doesn't like to put in the time, but he doesn't seem so adverse to doing it in order to hide his kids. He'll do about anything for those kids of his, that much is clear.
But there has to be more to this revulsion over Prince of Persia than just bad reviews and needing to beard, for him to be so damning about that flick. It really does sound more than ordinary.
This is kind of funny.
I found an old interview with Austin from a publication called Ocean Drive and the edition is dated May 2007. Anyway, here's a segment:
What kind of food do you like?
I really like Mexican food, which is tough because I grew up in Texas and I'm used to a different kind of Mexican food than they have in California. I like Italian and I love sushi and I love Indian food. I like going to taco stands late at night. If I can, I'll flag down a taco truck, because they make the best stuff. And when I'm not eating I like to shoot pool. I'll go out to a sh**** bar and shoot pool.
Thank you AustinNicholsFan You and OMG are about the only Austin sources left
And the quote just made me think about last year:
Tamara Bascombe (@TamaraBascombe)
8/3/13, 17:27
Standing in line with Jake Gyllenhaal getting some fish tacos ��������
Anyway, it's quite an interesting interview, a multi-full pager back when Austin was doing JFC and you can't find it hardly anywhere. Thank goodness for AustinNicholsFan who has the full interview scanned. Hujlia (sp?) had it at one time on her LJ page but her journal is gone as is Spooky's. : (
And of course, Special posted a page of the interview back in 2010, I think it was? What an archival experience to go back to old days of OMG and read a day or two of comments.
It's incredible to see what we or you all were experiencing. What we thought was happening at the time or what we thought was going to or not going to happen.
It's fun to see old posters. Cryptic and foreseeing predictions published under one-shot names. Old familiar habits and behaviors.
When I found that interview, it was during a time when Austin and Sophia were first seen out together and we were all trying to figure out if it was a bearding in the making or just one particular outing.
How naive were we all back then. How times have changed so incredibly in just 3-4 years. Would you guys have ever thought back when Rendition first came out that things would have come to what they are today? When I first found OMG, I think Austin had just recently had his arrest and the guys were in the midst of public denial.
In this Oceandrive interview, Austin was asked about him and Jake. This is about the only time I think I myself have ever seen Austin speak Jake's name in an interview. It gives me chills.
After you and Jake Gyllenhaal starred together in The Day After Tomorrow, there were reports the two of you were dating.
And Austin's reply was this.
It was all new to me. Jake and I are great friends - we still are great friends - but it was strange to have the paparazzi take pictures and have people write stuff and say all kinds of junk. So that threw me for a second. And then I finally realized how ridiculous it is. As long as you know not to care, you're going to be fine. But the minute you start caring about that sh**, then you are going to be crazy.
chloebennet4
14 hours ago
This is how we hang at fancy Oscar parties.
http://instagram.com/p/lEg5YmF3wI/
Austin and Chloe are so hot together!!!
Yes, that picture is so hot with Austin looking like he's about ready to pick his nose.
It'll soon be pilot season, and I guess Austin is trying to get name out there in hopes of getting a new job.
Or maybe he's just kidding around with his girlfriend
smh. Someone thinks they're going to get a "strong" reaction. lol
Pssst everyone! Remember Jimmy Bean in the movie Pollyanna? Yeah. That character.
I think this is an excellent time for a Safety and Wellness moment. Because it's not just about safety, but also about wellness and taking care of ourselves.
And I'm going to hold up both Austin Nichols and his husband Jake Gyllenhaal as (unfortunately) excellent examples of poor hygienic behavior - the application of fingertips into the anterior naris, aka as the nostrils.
Apparently, neither gentleman has outgrown this childhood habit of "mining". What an invitation for millions of bacteria particles to enter the human body when one square of Puffs could prevent the risk of exposure.
What's particularly baffling about this oblivious and uneducated chance-taking is that we are still in the midst of flu season and they have a household of little ones who are at an even higher risk of becoming ill. Quite irresponsible.
Not to mention that whole little matter of what happens to their digit after they have completed their little excavation task. We won't speculate on that.
Everyone! Hands and fingers away from the mouth, nose and eyes. Remember:
If you touch a bacteria or virus and then rub your nose or eyes they can enter your body that way as well.
Bingo!!! Big thanks to Jake and Austin for being good sports and visual aids in demonstrating the ill-advised practice of unhealthy as well as socially-frightening behavior.
Are you two guys available for safety & wellness speaking engagements?
You know, I hope we don't have to worry about stories of Jake and Austin needing to enter treatment for mucophagy.
I think that could be a bigger worry at this point. I'm truly concerned.
Good info on zero me Robbins. The spotlights are always so informative.
I did not see a lot of the Oscar nominated movies, but Dallas Buyers Club was one and both Matt and Jared deserved their awards. And count me in as totally hooked on True Detective. Only one episode left and I will miss it like Breaking a Bad.
I think you nailed it PG. Didn't Nikke Finke say that Jakes team moved heaven and earth to get him that disastrous part in POP. He sold his soul on that one for nothing.
Nothing new with Austin doing some light bearding. We just watch the show and move on.
Sorry, auto correct changed Jerome to zero me. No idea how they came up with that one. I'm typing while horizontal on the couch so it must be my poor typing as I see it corrected Breaking Bad too!
Zero me, LOL, that is one of the funniest autocorrects I've seen.
Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone!!!
I love my fish on Lent Fridays. I have found THE best fish n chips at The Blue Moose Grill.
It's pricey but sooo worth it.
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