Robert Avedisian (December 26, 1937 – January 21, 2021), professionally known as Bob Avian, was an American choreographer, theatrical producer and director.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to an Armenian family in December 1937, Avian spent his early career dividing his time between dancing in such Broadway shows as ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', '' Funny Girl'', and '' Henry, Sweet Henry'' and working as a production assistant on projects like '' I Do! I Do!'' and '' Twigs''. He first met Michael Bennett when they both appeared in the European tour of ''

'' in 1959, and over the course of the next two decades the two collaborated on '' Promises, Promises'', ''

Coco Coco or variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Coco'' (2009 film), a French comedy film * ''Coco'' (2017 film), an American animated fantasy film * '' Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle'' (), a 2020 Japanese anime film ...

'', ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

'', '' Follies'', '' Seesaw'', '' God's Favorite'', ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical conceived by Michael Bennett with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is cent ...

'', '' Ballroom'', and ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

'', Avian's first credit as a solo producer. Additional Broadway credits include '' Putting It Together'', ''Nowhere to Go But Up'' and the 2006 revival of ''A Chorus Line'', which he directed. In

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's West End, Avian choreographed ''Follies'', '' Martin Guerre'', ''

The Witches of Eastwick ''The Witches of Eastwick'' is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, '' The Widows of Eastwick'', was published in 2008. Plot The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s, follows the witc ...

'', ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'', and ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

'', repeating the assignment for the Broadway productions of the latter two. He also staged '' Hey, Mr. Producer!'', the

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...

tribute.

Personal

Avian was openly gay and survived by his husband Peter Pileski, and his sister, Laura Nabedian.

Awards and nominations

;Awards *1976 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography – ''A Chorus Line'' *1976 Tony Award for Best Choreography – ''A Chorus Line'' *1979 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography – ''Ballroom'' *1979 Tony Award for Best Choreography – ''Ballroom'' *1997

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

for Best Choreography – ''Martin Guerre'' ;Nominations *1979

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...

– ''Ballroom'' *1982

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Winners and nominees ...

– ''Dreamgirls'' *1982 Tony Award for Best Musical – ''Dreamgirls'' *1991 Tony Award for Best Choreography – ''Miss Saigon'' *1995 Tony Award for Best Choreography – ''Sunset Boulevard''

References

* *Kelly, Kevin(1990),''One Singular Sensation: The Michael Bennett Story'', Zebra, *Mandelbaum, Ken (1990), ''A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett'', St. Martins Press, *Stevens, Gary (2000), ''The Longest Line: Broadway's Most Singular Sensation: A Chorus Line'', Applause Books, *Flinn, Denny Martin (1989), ''What They Did for Love: The Untold Story Behind the Making of "A Chorus Line''", Bantam, *Viagas, Robert (1990), ''On the Line - The Creation of A Chorus Line'', Limelight Editions,

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avian, Bob 1937 births 2021 deaths American theatre directors American choreographers American theatre managers and producers American male dancers American people of Armenian descent Drama Desk Award winners Film directors from New York City Tony Award winners LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ theatre directors Musical theatre choreographers 21st-century American LGBTQ people