Biography
Field was born in New York City, New York where he made his Broadway debut as a child in Lady in the Dark (1941) with Gertrude Lawrence. He later danced in the ensembles of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Kismet (1954), and The Boy Friend (1955) before deciding to concentrate on choreography. His first two efforts Nowhere But Up (1962) and Cafe Crown (1964) were flops, but in 1966 he won his first Tony Award for his dazzling work in the smash hit Cabaret, the first of several noteworthy successes.
During rehearsals for Stephen Sondheim's trouble-plagued Merrily We Roll Along in 1981, Field was unceremoniously dismissed from the creative team. It wasn't until a revival of Cabaret in 1987 that he would have another Broadway success.
In addition to his work on Broadway, Field staged such diverse projects as Las Vegas nightclub acts, the 44th Annual Academy Awards telecast in 1972, a Hollywood Bowl concert and television special with Bette Midler in 1977, the opening ceremonies for the 1986 Los Angeles Olympics, and an acclaimed revival of Kiss Me, Kate in London's West End. He also choreographed Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977).
On February 6, 1989, Field died of brain lesions in New York City at the age of fifty-five.
Read more about this topic: Ron Field
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