Grover Dale is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, theater director, and publisher.

Early life

Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, to Emma Bertha (Ammon) and Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur. He studied dance with Lillian Jasper in

McKeesport McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. It ...

from 1945 to 1950. Partnering up with another dancer (Mary Lou Steele) in an aggressive rendition of "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue, Grover secured multiple performance opportunities in local nightclubs before getting his first professional job with the

Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh CLO) is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite its name, the organization presents musical theatre classics rather t ...

in 1953.

Career

Dale's Broadway stage debut was in the 1956 musical ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

'' as a dancer. He appeared in the original cast of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' as Snowboy, a member of the Jets gang. Other stage credits include the role of Andrew in ''

Greenwillow ''Greenwillow'' is a musical with a book by Lesser Samuels and Frank Loesser and music and lyrics by Loesser. The musical is set in the magical town of Greenwillow. It ran on Broadway in 1960. Overview Based on the novel by B. J. Chute, the ...

'', in which he also understudied Anthony Perkins as Gideon Briggs; Noël Coward's '' Sail Away,'' where he had the juvenile lead role of architect Barnaby Slade; and in ''

Half a Sixpence ''Half a Sixpence'' is a 1963 musical comedy based on the 1905 novel ''Kipps'' by H. G. Wells, with music and lyrics by David Heneker and a book by Beverley Cross. It was written as a vehicle for British pop star Tommy Steele. Background The ...

'', where he played Pearce, one of a quartet of 19th century London shop apprentices around whom the show is structured. He made his film debut in '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' (as Jam). He also appeared in ''

'' (Pearce), ''

The Young Girls of Rochefort ''The Young Girls of Rochefort'' (french: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, lit=The Young Ladies of Rochefort) is a 1967 French musical comedy film written and directed by Jacques Demy. The ensemble cast is headlined by real-life sisters Catherine D ...

'' (Bill), and ''

The Landlord ''The Landlord'' is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, adapted by Bill Gunn from the 1966 novel by Kristin Hunter. The film stars Beau Bridges in the lead role of a privileged and ignorant white man who selfishly becomes ...

'' (Oscar). Dale was nominated for the

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

twice, for his choreography of '' Billy'', a musical version of the Herman Melville novella, '' Billy Budd'', and his direction of ''

The Magic Show ''The Magic Show'' is a one-act musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Bob Randall. It starred magician Doug Henning. Produced by Edgar Lansbury, Joseph Beruh, and Ivan Reitman, it opened on May 28, 1974 at the Cort Thea ...

''. As co-director of ''

Jerome Robbins' Broadway ''Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' is an anthology comprising musical numbers from shows that were either directed or choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The shows represented include, for example, '' The King and I'', '' On the Town'' and ''West Side Stor ...

'', he shared Best Director Tony Award with the famed director-choreographer Jerome Robbins. He also received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for his choreography of

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

's 1985 television musical '' Copacabana''. In 1992 he became publisher/editor of ''Dance & Fitness'' magazine. In 1999 Dale founded the website, Answers4Dancers.com, whose stated goal is "to empower dancers and choreographers to think, to grow, and to create satisfying careers for themselves..."

Personal life

Dale was involved in a six-year relationship with actor

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influential ...

before separating in 1971. In 1973, he married actress and dancer

Anita Morris Anita Rose Morris (March 14, 1943 – March 2, 1994) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She began her career performing in Broadway musicals, including ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', ''Seesaw'' and ''Nine'', for which she received a Tony Awa ...

, with whom he had a son, actor

James Badge Dale James Badge Dale (born May 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase Edmunds in '' 24'', Robert Leckie in '' The Pacific'', State Trooper Barrigan in Martin Scorsese's ''The Departed'', Luke Lewenden in '' The Grey'', Eric Sa ...

(born 1978). Dale and Morris remained together until her death in 1994.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage productions

* 1955 ''The Amazing Adele'' musical (dancer) * 1956 ''

'' (dancer) * 1957 ''

'' (actor) * 1960 ''

'' (actor) * 1961 '' Sail Away'' (actor) * 1965 ''

'' (actor) * 1969 ''Billy'' (choreographer) * 1970 ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (choreographer) * 1973 ''

Seesaw A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeterboard) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most commonly found a ...

'' (choreographer) * 1973 ''

Rachael Rachel ( he, רָחֵל, Modern: Raḥel, Tiberian: Rāḫēl, Rāḥēl), meaning " ewe", is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, popularized by the biblical figure Rachel, the wife of Israelite patriarch Jacob. Ashkenazi Jewish matronymic ...

Lily Rosenbloom'' (show doctor) * 1974 ''Seven Brides For Seven Brothers'' (show doctor) * 1974 ''

'' (director, choreographer) * 1979 ''

King of Schnorrers The King of Schnorrers is Israel Zangwill's 1894 picaresque novel,Milton Hindus,The King of Schnorrers, by Israel Zangwill, '' Commentary'', March 1954 a collection of amusing tragicomic episodes of '' schnorring'' by "Manasseh Bueno Barzillai Azev ...

'' (director, choreographer) * 1988 ''

Mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

'' (choreographer) * 1989 ''

'' (co-director)

Awards and nominations

Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical 45th Tony Awards 1991 Jerome Robbins' Broadway won shared with Jerome Robbins

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, Grover 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American male actors Actors from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania American choreographers American male dancers American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American theatre directors Artists from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Dancers from Pennsylvania Drama Desk Award winners LGBT choreographers LGBT dancers LGBT theatre directors American LGBT actors LGBT male actors LGBT people from Pennsylvania Living people Male actors from Pennsylvania Year of birth missing (living people)