Joe Layton (May 3, 1931 – May 5, 1994) was an American director and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

known primarily for his work on Broadway.Dunning, Jennifer. (9 May 1994). Page B7.
'Joe Layton, Choreographer And Director, Is Dead at 64'
Obituary.

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

. (USA)

Biography

Born Joseph Lichtman in Brooklyn, Layton began his career as a dancer in ''

Wonderful Town ''Wonderful Town'' is a 1953 musical theatre, musical with book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. The musical tells the story of two sisters who aspire to be ...

'' (1953), and he appeared uncredited in the ensemble cast of the original live TV production of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (1957) starring

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

. (Book has page numbers) However, from the start, his primary interest was in musical staging. In addition to his many legitimate theatre credits, he conceived and directed Broadway concerts for

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

(1975),

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

(1976),

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

(1979), and Harry Connick Jr. (1990). He choreographed the Broadway version of The Sound of Music with Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel. Joe Layton won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for '' No Strings'' (1962), starring

Diahann Carroll Diahann Carroll ( ; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. Carroll was the recipient of numerous nominations and awards for her stage and screen performances, incl ...

, and for ''

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Franci ...

'' (1968), starring Joel Grey. In 1965, Layton won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for his work on '' My Name Is Barbra'', the television special that introduced the public to the more sophisticated side of

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

. It was his first of four collaborations with the star; the others were '' Color Me Barbra'' (1966), ''The Belle of 14th Street'' (1967) and ''Barbra Streisand ... And Other Musical Instruments'' (1973). He also directed and/or produced specials for

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and game-show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well know ...

, Hal Linden,

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

, and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

. Layton broke into films as the dance director for '' Thoroughly Modern Millie'' in 1967. He executive produced the first film version of '' Annie'' (1982) and reunited with Midler to choreograph '' For the Boys'' (1991). Layton directed the 1972 West End and 1973 Los Angeles productions of '' Scarlett'', the musical stage adaptation of ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'', and the 1985 world première of the

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

musical '' Pieces of Eight'' in Edmonton. In 1976, Layton collaborated with

for her one-woman international concert tour, '' An Evening with Diana Ross'', for which the singer won a Special Event Tony Award for the concert's performance at The Palace Theater. Joe Layton also choreographed a ballet for

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

, London titled "Grand Tour" which received critical acclaim as well as a warm reception from the audiences around the UK. In 1984, Layton was one of the three choreographers credited with staging the dances for the Opening ("How the West Was Won" sequence) and Closing (the break-dances in "All Night Long") ceremonies of the 23rd Summer Olympiad of Los Angeles. He was also the Director of Paul Green's symphonic outdoor drama, "The Lost Colony" from 1964-1984. In 1985, Layton directed and choreographed a Michael Edgley revival production of ''Aloha: A Musical of the Islands'' by Eaton "Bob" Magoon and Sir Robert Helpmann at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand), starring Derek Metzger from the

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

world première production, with Hollywood actress Patricia Morison. Derek Williams was the orchestrator and musical director for both productions. Despite being well reviewed however, houses for the Aloha revival didn't measure up to those for the première production and it finished early, destined for Honolulu, Hawaii with Layton again as Director, playing at the purpose built Aloha Showroom until the

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destroyed its tourist patronage. From 1989, in preparation for the ''Aloha'' production, Layton had moved to live with Magoon in Honolulu where he also directed a revival production of Magoon's '' 13 Daughters'' at the Hawaii Theatre. During this period, Layton was suffering from AIDS, from which he eventually died in 1994 at his home Key West, Florida, aged 63.

Personal life

He was married to actress Evelyn Russell in 1959; she predeceased him in February 1976.Evelyn Russell
IMDb They had a son, Jeb James Layton.

Selected credits

Stage

* ''

Once Upon a Mattress ''Once Upon a Mattress'' is a musical theater, musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway theat ...

'' (1959) * ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' (1959) * '' Tenderloin'' (1960) * '' Greenwillow'' (1960) * '' Sail Away'' (1961) * '' No Strings'' (1962) * '' The Girl Who Came to Supper'' (1963) * '' Drat! The Cat!'' (1965) * '' Sherry!'' (1967) * ''

'' (1968) * '' Dear World'' (1969) * '' Two by Two'' (1970) * '' An Evening with Diana Ross (stage show)'' (1975-1977) * ''

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

'' (1978) * '' Barnum'' (1980) * ''

Bring Back Birdie ''Bring Back Birdie'' is a 1981 musical theatre, musical with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams, and a book by Michael Stewart (playwright), Michael Stewart. It is a sequel to the 1960 musical ''Bye Bye Birdie (musical), Bye Bye Birdi ...

'' (1981) * ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (1984) * ''Aloha: A Musical of the Islands'' (1985 and 1991) * '' 13 Daughters'' (1989)

Television

* ''

'' (1964) * '' My Name Is Barbra'' (1965) * '' Color Me Barbra'' (1966) * ''The Belle of 14th Street'' (1967) * ''Androcles and the Lion'' (1967) * ''The Littlest Angel'' (1969) * ''A Special Olivia Newton-John'' (1976) * '' An Evening with Diana Ross'' (1977) * '' The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour'' (1978) * '' Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978) * ''Paul Lynde at the Movies'' (1979) * ''The Hal Linden Special'' (1979)

Film

* '' Thoroughly Modern Millie'' (1967) * '' Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip'' (1982) * '' Annie'' (1982) * '' For the Boys'' (1991)

Awards and nominations

;Awards * 1962

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Choreography – '' No Strings'' * 1965

for Conception, Choreography and Staging - '' My Name Is Barbra'' (TV) * 1969 Tony Award for Best Choreography – ''

'' ;Nominations * 1960 Tony Award for Best Choreography – '' Greenwillow'' * 1962 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – ''No Strings'' * 1966 Emmy Award - Musical Program - '' Color Me Barbra'' (TV) * 1973 Emmy Award - Special - Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music - ''Barbra Streisand ... And Other Musical Instruments'' (TV)Kaplan, p. 161 * 1980 Tony Award for Best Choreography – '' Barnum'' * 1980 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – ''Barnum'' * 1980

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Choreography – ''Barnum'' * 1980 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical – ''Barnum''

References

External links

* * *
Joe Layton papers, 1931-1992
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Joe 1931 births 1994 deaths American theatre directors American television directors American choreographers Musical theatre choreographers Tony Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners