All His Jazz: The Life And Death Of Bob Fosse

by Martin Gottfried

Winner of an Oscar for Cabaret, a Tony for Pippin’, and an Emmy for Liza with a ‘Z’—all in one year, 1972—Bob Fosse (1927–1987) was one of America’s greatest choreographers and directors. Born in Chicago, young Fosse began his career tap-dancing as part of the Riff Brothers in sleazy strip joints, where he encountered the erotic style that later became his signature. Best known for his Broadway hits (The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Sweet Charity, and Chicago), he was also a successful movie director. Three of his five films were nominated for Academy Awards: Cabaret, Lenny, and the autobiographical All That Jazz. A compulsive womanizer, he had many affairs, even during his three marriages, the last of which was to actress Gwen Verdon, with whom he shared his most fruitful Broadway collaborations. As his fame grew, so too did his insecurities and addictions. He survived two heart attacks and several epileptic seizures, only to die on a street corner in Washington, D.C., in Verdon’s arms. After his death Fosse became a Broadway legend. Based on interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, this eloquent biography provides a vivid connection between Bob Fosse’s life and his work for stage and screen.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Theatre, Film, History, Music

496 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1990

About the author

Martin Gottfried,was a New York drama critic for over forty years and the author of five biographies and two books of theater criticism.

Gottfried graduated from Columbia College in New York City in 1959,and attended Columbia Law School for three semesters, next spending one year with U.S. Army Military Intelligence.Gottfried began his writing career as the classical music critic for The Village Voice, doubling as an off-Broadway reviewer for Women's Wear Daily, a position that made him the youngest member of the New York Drama Critics Circle in the organization's history.

Winner of the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism and recipient of two Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships, Martin Gottfried was the chief dramatic critic for the New York Post and Saturday Review. He is the author of A Theater Divided, Jed Harris: The Curse of Genius, All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse, Balancing Act: The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury and Nobody’s Fool: The Lives of Danny Kaye.

Reviews

[Heather McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

The index proved very handy for a quick scan and read.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up after watching the TV series Fosse/Verdon, based on the lives of choreographer-director Bob Fosse and his wife dancer-actress Gwen Verdon. The series was based on a later biography, but this one was very good, and hit the same marks as the TV series. A driven perfectionist, Fosse produced great works but always felt partly like a fraud. Martin Gottfried goes deeply into the success/failure aspects of Fosse's life. I had seen the movie Cabaret when it came out, and I recall it as amazing. I also saw the Broadway musical Pippin, which I don't recall as well, but it, too was dark and magical. I watched the movie "All That Jazz" the other day out of curiosity. In retrospect, it's hard to believe it was a serious contender for an Oscar. It was interesting, but basically Fosse's life on film, along with dancing and dirty dancing. In the movie he made himself out to be an unlikeable person. In reality, he had close friends, but drove others away with his domineering personality. I thought the biography was well-written. It's obvious that Gottfried researched much through interviews with Fosse's friends and colleagues. I feel like it presents a fair picture of Bob Fosse.

[Konzie Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book within two months that I’ve read about Bob Fosse (the first being “Fosse” by Sam Wesson).

I think it was a really good book. There were tidbits in this one that Martin Gottfried really did get the scoop on that were not in the other book.

One thing that I did not enjoy was how he would diverge from the actual story of Fosse’s life to telling us the ENTIRE plot of certain movies that Fosse directed. I feel like that could have been a separate book, analyzing those. Trust me, his real life was jam-packed with plenty of ripe material.

Definitely entertaining if you want to learn more about Fosse.

[Georgie’s Book Nook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read about someone who’s work I have adored for years, but this book completely showed a different side to him which I really enjoyed.

I love how it was put together, jumping from normal biographic form to almost fictional conversation between the main players. I found this really kept my interest throughout!

I didn’t whizz through this, however, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. Sometimes, I just wasn’t motivated to pick it up, which was bizarre because when I did, I really enjoyed it!

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taken from the book. "He was a ladies' man who never let marriage stand in the way of his affairs, and an artist whose obsession with sex, dance, and death fueled his creative fires even as it worked to destroy him. He was Bob Fosse..." Yet he was much more. The book starts off in his younger years and how he got started in the entertainment business then goes on to him becoming the Bob Fosse that people loved, hated or admired. The book has a lot of information piled into it and I did learn a lot of things about him and made some connections to my own self-doubt and self-destruction tendencies.
Quote from the book, "Had he been able to grasp the truth of it-that these audiences were coming to see Bob Fosse the choreographer rather than Bob Fosse the dancing star- he would have known that the recognition he so coveted was already his."

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another re-read. Must be twenty years since I read this and really had the feeling that Gottfried disliked Fosse. Maybe it's a function of being older, but didn't feel that way as much. Fosse's (in)famous flaws and self destructive tendencies are on flagrant display but somehow it's less shocking. There are so many new books out on him, as well as a television show, and it will be interesting to see how they compare. Worth noting that Joan Aocella had a Fosse article in NYRB a few months ago that pretty much eviscerated his aesthetic as well as his character.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Fosse's movies and shows but didn't know anything about him until I read this book. The book doesn't seem to glorify him but portrays him as a stubborn womanizer who desperately wanted to break into acting, but directed shows and movies instead. There's no big revelations, name-dropping, or gossip but it's a well-made biography about a man who made movies about men who were imperfect. Now I'll be watching Fosse's swath of films with completely new knowledge.

[Peter Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a long-time fan of Bob Fosse's work, I really liked this book. Approximately the first third of the book is based on information from secondary or tertiary sources, and is not as strong as the later portion, wherein the author spoke to people who actually knew Fosse. This book is a must-read for dance fans.

[Scott Fuchs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fiirst class, in depth biography, with one hell of a few last pages.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this book so many times I lost count. Love the man, love the story.

[Studvet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhaustive, detailed, fascinating. Includes so many well - known figures and entertainment icons in intimate details. Same with some historic musicals, films and plays. Loved it (Cabaret is one, if not the, of my favourite films and was sensational) . Didn't love HIM tho. Obviously extremely talented and unique in his way, revolutionary too, but emotionally a cot case. Often treated people badly because of this. However the most shocking thing is not his behaviour but that so many people put up with it and were basically sycophantic thru it all. Particularly women. Almost all of them experienced selfish, cruel, sadistic behaviour from him yet stayed devoted to him, defended him and came back for more when it was obvious he should have been told to eff off. Weird! They debased themselves with nary a whisper. Was it due to an extraordinary personality or just the enthralled-ness to fame and celebrity? These women were the most frustrating of all and their behaviour the most depressing and sickening. He was a genius in his field but essentially an emotionally-stunted a-hole. Some saw this as "the suffering of an artist" but I don't think so!

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I enjoyed the personable style in which this was written but then I began to question the veracity- more a fan’s notes? Also, I was disappointed that none of Fosse/Verdon TV specials were included such as fantastic pieces on the Carol Burnett show and Bob Hope specials. There was so much more...

[Riley Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I didn’t know you were going to become Bob Fosse.”

“Neither did I.”

[Alan Teasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

For background in my Kander and Ebb class, I read the sections on directing the film of Cabaret, Pippin, Liza with a Z, and Chicago.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old TT mini-review:

All That Jazz was one of my favorite movies when I was younger, and we just watched it again. I think it really held up after 25 years (how can I be that old??). Good bio with so-so writing.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating man.

[Ilyse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like the author's tone from the outset. Made Gwen Verdon sound lonely and pathetic and I do not believe she was either.

[Bianca Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impulse purchase from the little book section at the Loop Reckless.

[S Miller]

Used - Good (Corners and creases show signs of shelf wear)