Seymour Felix (October 23, 1892 – March 16, 1961) was an American director,

performer The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

, and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

best known for his work in early

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals. Seymour was born on October 23, 1892 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He began his show business career as a professional dancer in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

at the age of 15. In the 1920s he became a dance director in New York, creating and staging dance numbers for such shows as '' Hit the Deck'' (1927), ''

Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on B ...

'' (1928), and '' Rosalie'' (1928). In 1929, he moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

to begin staging musical films. Although he did direct two films, '' Girls Demand Excitement'' (1931) and ''

Stepping Sisters ''Stepping Sisters'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Seymour Felix and starring Louise Dresser, Minna Gombell and Jobyna Howland.Solomon p.331 Premise A trio of former burlesque dancers now living in high society try to pr ...

'' (1932), he enjoyed his greatest successes as a choreographer in both New York and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. In Los Angeles, he choreographed his most notable films such as ''

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrn ...

'' (1936), '' Alexander's Ragtime Band'' (1938), ''

Rose of Washington Square ''Rose of Washington Square'' is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con art ...

'' (1939), ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Ro ...

'' (1942, which he choreographed with

LeRoy Prinz LeRoy Jerome Prinz (July 14, 1895 – September 15, 1983) was an American choreographer, director and producer, who was involved in the production of dozens of motion pictures, mainly for Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers, from 1929 through ...

and Jack Boyle), and ''

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a maga ...

'' (1944). Felix amassed sixteen Broadway credits in his career, with his last being ''Strike Me Pink'' in 1933. He died on March 16, 1961 in Los Angeles.

Awards

Felix won the Academy Award for Best Dance Direction (a short-lived award given from 1935–37) for staging " A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" in ''

'' (1936).Seymour Felix - Awards
at IMDb

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Felix, Seymour 1892 births 1961 deaths American directors American choreographers Best Dance Direction Academy Award winners