Herbert Ross
Biography
Herbert David Ross was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in the stage and film. Ross was born on May 13, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Martha Grundfast and Louis Chester Ross, a postal clerk. At the age of 9, his mother died and his father moved the family to Miami and opened a luncheonette. In 1942, Ross' stage debut came as "Third Witch" in a touring company of Macbeth. The next year brought his first Broadway performance credits with Something for the Boys. By 1950, he was a choreographer with the American Ballet Theatre and choreographed his first Broadway production, the Arthur Schwartz-Dorothy Fields musical adaptation of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Ross's first film assignment came as an uncredited choreographer on Carmen Jones (1954). In the UK, he choreographed The Young Ones (1961) and Summer Holiday (1963), both starring Cliff Richard. Later, he worked with Barbra Streisand as choreographer and director of musical numbers for Funny Girl (1968). His film directorial debut came with the musical version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), made by MGM-British, with Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark. He went on to direct films involving ballet, such as The Turning Point (1977), Nijinsky (1980) and Dancers (1987). Other movies of critical acclaim followed in the 1970s and 1980s such as Neil Simon's adaptations of his own plays and film adaptations of Broadway productions through his last project, Boys on the Side (1995).
Personal Details
Movies (40)
Poster Boy
Producer (Production)
2004
Jean-Pierre Aumont, charme et fou-rires
as Self
1999
Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough
as Self
1997
Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels
as Self
1996
Boys on the Side
Director (Directing)
1995
Undercover Blues
Director (Directing)
1993
Soapdish
Executive Producer (Production)
1991
True Colors
Director (Directing)
1991
My Blue Heaven
Director (Directing)
1990
Steel Magnolias
Director (Directing)
1989
Dancers
Director (Directing)
1987
The Secret of My Success
Director (Directing)
1987
Follies: In Concert
as Self- Concert Director
1986
Sondheim on Broadway: Follies - Four Days in New York
as Self
1986
Protocol
Director (Directing)
1984
Footloose
Director (Directing)
1984
Max Dugan Returns
Producer (Production)
1983
I Ought to Be in Pictures
Director (Directing)
1982
Pennies from Heaven
Director (Directing)
1981
Nijinsky
Director (Directing)
1980
California Suite
Director (Directing)
1978
The Goodbye Girl
Director (Directing)
1977
The Turning Point
Director (Directing)
1977
The Making of 'The Goodbye Girl'
as Self
1977
The Amazing Miss Cummings: An Actress at Work and Play
1977
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Director (Directing)
1976
The Sunshine Boys
Director (Directing)
1975
Funny Lady
Director (Directing)
1975
The Last of Sheila
Director (Directing)
1973
Play It Again, Sam
Director (Directing)
1972
T.R. Baskin
Director (Directing)
1971
The Owl and the Pussycat
Director (Directing)
1970
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Director (Directing)
1969
Funny Girl
Choreographer (Crew)
1968
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Choreographer (Crew)
1966
Inside Daisy Clover
Choreographer (Crew)
1966
The Fantasticks
Choreographer (Crew)
1964
The Bacchantes
Choreographer (Crew)
1961
Meet Me in St. Louis
Choreographer (Crew)
1959
Wonderful Town
Director (Directing)
1958
