With flaming red hair and an irreverent attitude, Verdon was considered the best dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s. She would forever be identified with her role as the vampish "Lola" in Bob Fosse's Damn Yankees (1955), which is based on the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant. In the play, Verdon played a Devil's disciple who entices a baseball aficionado to sell his soul to play for the Washington Senators. The musical ran for 1,019 performances. She won another Tony and went to Hollywood to repeat her role in the 1958 movie version, Damn Yankees, singing the memorable lyrics, "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets."
She and estranged husband Bob Fosse collaborated on projects like Chicago (1975) (in which she played murderess Roxie Hart) and the musical Dancin' (1978), as well as Fosse's autobiographical movie, All That Jazz (1979). She developed a close working relationship with Fosse's domestic companion, actress Ann Reinking, and instructed for Reinking's musical theatre classes.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon- Damn Yankees
From Wikipedia: