Denis George Mahan (born June 15, 1950), better known as Deney Terrio, is an American

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 ...

and hosted the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

musical variety series ''

Dance Fever ''Dance Fever'' is an American musical variety television series that aired weekly in syndication from January 1979 to September 1987. The series was technically created by Merv Griffin but his agent Murray Schwartz actually conceived the idea o ...

'' from 1979 to 1985.

Early life and career

Raised in

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...

, Terrio achieved fame as the dance coach and choreographer for

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

in the movie ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brooklyn borough of New York. Manero spends his ...

''. During his heyday with ''

'', he appeared in a number of films, including '' The Idolmaker'', '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', ''

A Night in Heaven ''A Night in Heaven'' is a 1983 American romantic drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Christopher Atkins as a college student and Lesley Ann Warren as his professor. The film's screenplay was written by Joan Tewkesbury. Film critic ...

'' and ''

Knights of the City ''Knights of the City'' (originally ''Cry of the City'') is a 1986 action adventure film starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, Nicholas Campbell, John Mengatti and Janine Turner. It was directed by Dominic Orlando and written by Leon Isaac Kennedy. Mob ...

'' and

guest star In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

red on popular television series of the time including ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

''. Throughout the 1990s, he toured nightclubs, performing with Motion and judging dance contests.

Recent years

Terrio has appeared on several VH1 specials and co-hosted the 2004

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

special '' Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion'' which featured many popular disco artists from the 1970s and actress

Karen Lynn Gorney Karen Lynn Gorney (born ) is an American actress who had roles in television shows and films including the soap opera ''All My Children'' and the movie ''Saturday Night Fever''. Early life Gorney's father is Jay Gorney, who was born in Białys ...

. During the show, Terrio and Gorney danced to

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

’ live performance of “ More Than a Woman”, as Gorney had with

in ''

''. Currently, Terrio is hosting his own

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

radio show on the

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

network and is a choreographer and competitor at regional ''Dancing with the Stars'' competitions. In 1991, he sued

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own ta ...

, the show's producer, for

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

; the

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

11.3 million case was later dismissed. In 2015, Terrio sued the toy company

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

in a federal court for creating an animated gecko and toy figurine named Vinnie Terrio. He alleged that his publicity rights were violated by the gecko and figurine. In February 2016, Terrio and Hasbro settled Terrio's claims out of court.

In popular culture

Terrio was referred to in the

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

movie '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', in which Martin's character, a con man and hustler named Freddy Benson, poses as a crippled

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

as part of a plan to extract money from a rich woman. In order to induce her pity, Benson claims that he lost use of his legs after he found his girlfriend having sex with Terrio. In the final episode of season 1 of ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

'', Claire tells Phil he looks like Deney Terrio. Jay then spouts off that Deney Terrio was a 1970s disco dancer from Ohio. Obviously he was wrong about the Ohio part. In Eddie Murphy’s classic standup special, ‘Raw’, Eddie makes a joke referencing an encounter with Terrio, prompting his father to inquire as to why he was with Terrio in the first place.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Terrio, Deney American choreographers American male film actors American game show hosts Living people 1950 births Film choreographers People from Titusville, Florida