Gary Flannery – a dancer of the World: An Interview (Part II)

(You can find the first part of this interview just by scrolling down on the Blog to October 11th)

„Gary, let's continue on your „Yellow Brick Road": I cannot wait until we arrive at the „Emerald City" with all its wonderful characters... or, as you put it „The top Sheld!„ I say jokingly (or is it just „half-jokingly"?) since I cannot wait until I hear more about Shirley MacLaine, Bob Fosse and so many others... There's so much to find out...

„Ok" he laughs „I got to see the original Gwen Verdon on Broadway in „Sweet Charity", one of the first shows I saw, and I was hooked! I still worked in ballet and jazz but eventually, I come back to NYC in 1973 and Bob Fosse is having an audition for a single male for the Broadway Company of „Pippin"! I went there with my foreign Equity Card, which got a laugh from the staff, and met about 400 equally talented and hopeful male dancers on the original Imperial Theatre where the show was playing! All the guys were in black and white—I was in bright red top, pants and shoes", he said and I could not keep wondering why they were all in black and white... „Fosse laughed at me when he first came on stage and mumbled something like "look at you"! I had a great dance Audition and had prepared a good song and when I got into the last 20, I had to sing it. I started and after about 5 seconds Bob, now sitting in the 4th row of the theatre, stopped me, stood up and said very loudly "OK - that was good - now I want you to sing that again, only this time I want you to grab yourself and play with yourself while your singing!!" I was shocked, having never seen the show, and knew nothing about it -I said "I beg your pardon!"—he answered even louder and angry his time saying "did you not hear me? I said.......". I took a gulp, started the song and was playing joyously with myself-and my voice! Bob was laughing, rolling in his chair and let me finish—the song! I guess he liked it because he immediately came up onstage and pulled me aside and said "Son, you are amazing, and I want you to swing this show - I want you to play the Noble in the 1st Tour that I am putting together!". Not bad for Starters, I thought.

Copyright: Roy Blakey for After Dark magazine

„And what happened then?"

„I went as his guest that night to see the show and laughed as I saw the Noble (Gene Foote), his big cape and hat— playing with himself in the opening number than through the whole show, including doing the sexy adagio to Bolero! I couldn't wait, but after about a month we started rehearsals!"

„Exciting... „ that was all I could whisper, so enthralled I was with his fascinating story-telling!.

„Now rehearsing a show with a legend is first-rate! I studied every move and every direction for everyone besides my part! I knew that eventually, I wanted to teach, choreograph, and direct someday, so here I am working with Einstein!". What a perfect metaphor, I thought.

„Bob was funny, and patient in rehearsals, especially since this was a young troupe that he had no experience with. I learned quickly though. But he expected 1000 per cent from you and he never said to mark, something that other choreographers might have you do to save energy. No. Everything was full out all the time, which suited me fine, and within no time Bob had me out in front demonstrating how he wanted things to look!"

„I keep thinking about these amazing times and about Fosse and his style... Funny, I just thought of something silly… I knew a Brazilian guy in Berlin who “also” called himself „choreographer" for a short while (he called himself many things; also director, dancer, actor, painter, writer… even Taylor! He was the “type” that did everything. Badly). To be quite honest, he did one or two works in provincial theatres in Germany but nothing that could amount to any success or a touch of professionalism. Just to give you a hint of the „type of choreographer" he was: he did not know that „Annie" was a big Broadway Musical, thought that the (TV) version of „Gypsy" with (a completely wrong Mama Rose) Bette Midler was an original, asked „who" Jerome Robbins was and looking for the first time, well into his 50s, at a Fosse choreography („Nowadays" with Bebe Neuwirth and Karen Ziemba - „My favourite Broadway: the leading Ladies") just said casually „Oh, is that all? So easy. It is JUST style, nothing else" - Can you believe that? “Just Style?” - I shall refrain from telling my opinion about HIS work (No wonder that he does not choreograph or “direct” anymore - somebody put a stop to that, doing a great service to Humanity!) but now, listening, reading to all you are giving us, I could not stop thinking of the richness of everything that such genius like Fosse's gave us... from „From this moment on" with Carol Hainey through „The Pajama Gane", „Sweet Charity", „Pippin", „Cabaret" until „Dancin'", „All that Jazz" and and and... It still amazes me. More and more... „

„No, you couldn't pay for that kind of learning! What a joy it was to be with Barry Williams, from “The Brady Bunch” on stage. He was playing Pippin and Irving Lee, that great giant of a man and talent, as the Leading Player. The tour was an enormous success and Bob complimented me often! The only thing I didn't enjoy about rehearsals was Fosse sucking on packs of cigarettes all day" he laughs „while we were dancing and singing. Others smoked too, even in the room- and it was a Smokey Mess! After the 9 month tour -I was asked to step into the show and relieve guys as they took one-month vacations. Ben Vereen had come back into the show with Michael Rupert and it was a gas! Bob came by a couple of times and he was thrilled with my work—and work ethics. He found out I was working with a black jazz company in NYC at the same time and taking ballet classes daily. He was impressed!"

„A hard worker though and through... I like that!"

„Now, I had gotten a great apartment that was rent control and was happy in my nightly slip with bio and pictures that were put in the Broadway program every show—and I knew I would go into one of the parts soon - then Shirley MacLaine had to come into town and ruin everything—not hardly!"

„I can't wait to hear about that... „

Gary and his daughter Adrienne with Shirley MacLaine backstage at the Gershwin Theatre (N.Y.), 1984 , just after jumping back into her show.

„ Ok - now the really weird audition for Shirley! I had gotten a one week break from „Pippin" and took an industrial show for stage and video shooting with Seventeen Magazine in Boston. It was a nice and well-paying job, and I decided to take a late-night train back to NYC arriving at Penn Station around 3am and just fell asleep when my phone rang. It was my friend Adam, and he was excited and yelling at the phone that Shirley MacLaine wanted to see me! Turns out that, because I never had an agent, I missed an audition that had been that week but friends knew I was out of town. They decided to do a partnering number, and they had no partner for Shirley so my name came up from several dancers. They were starting early morning, and wanted to see me at NBC Studios on 57th Street NOW! I told Adam I would kill him if this was a joke, and showered and grabbed my dancewear. At the front desk of NBC, the security had my name and hustled me up to the 2nd floor. As I opened the door to the large rehearsal room, I was freaked out by how many people were there, including all my dance friends, Shirley, Lucille Ball, Liza Minnelli, Fred Ebb, Cy Coleman, and all sorts of other celebrities - at 6:30 in the morning!"

„Go on, Gary, please... don't stop! You're making me crazy" I said laughingly, just realizing that I was sounding more like an actor from a cheap porn movie!

„Well, I got mild applause upon entering and a short attractive man -Tony Charmoli - directing and choreographing walked over to me and said he wanted to see me dance! I said I needed to change, but he said „no need" and started teaching me in front of large mirrors, as everyone moved back and watched! I had developed a photographic memory from taking so many varying classes and picked up these steps the first time through. Tony looked at me and as we started the 2nd time he made a mistake, maybe on purpose, but I did it right - much to the delight of the room full of people! The 3rd time I did it myself flawlessly and received loud applause! Shirley came over to me and asked who had taught me that combination? I told her - that „short nice man". She said „You never learned that before?" and I said again „That little man". She turned around saying she had never seen anyone pick up steps like that so quickly, and I was hired! Then I went to the dressing room, changed, came back and signed some nice looking TV contracts and BINGO - I win! The rehearsals went smoothly, and as it turned out all the guys partnered Guest Star Lucille Ball, so they didn't really need me at that. TV History... Fred Ebb and Cy Coleman were writing and putting together the "Gypsy In My Soul" CBS Special, which won several Emmy awards"

„But you continue your collaboration with Fosse, didn't you?"

„Yes. I also went back into „Pippin" on Broadway and was rehearsing and performing with the Fred Benjamin Dance Company—so my typical day was Shirley 8 - 4 pm then walk 3 blocks to rehearse with Benjamin from 4 – 6 pm –then walk down 8th Avenue, grabbing a bite to eat on the walk and sign in at the Imperial for Pippin at 7:30 pm! The dancing machine! This went on for about 3 weeks of rehearsal and taping with Shirley MacLaine and as it turned out my friend Adam and I were asked by Shirley to do a 3-month live stage tour starting within a month in Monte Carlo, as the guest of her buddy Princess Grace Kelly, then a month each in London and Paris at $2500 a week, all expenses paid! I left Pippin and my NYC apartment for what was supposed to be 3 months, and turned into almost 3 years!! The "Dream Tour" was just beginning!"

„I am curious about that... First of all, which year are we remembering? 1975?"

„ Yes, late 1975. To be in Monte Carlo with a suite on the 2nd floor of the Hotel De Paris was spectacular, as was performing at the Sporting Club for a month and going out, dancing, eating and partying with Grace! Then on to London, where Elton John brought us bottles of Cristal every night, and selling out the Palladium"

„Yes, Elton John wrote at that time about the show: „Bring on the Videodisc!"... I still have this long-play… At recorded at “The Palace” in N.Y.! It was one of my favourites… So log ago… But, How wonderful! Also surely wonderful to be in such a hit like you were!"

„We broke 38 box office records around the world, and I calculated about 4 million miles, with stops in Japan, Australia, Denmark, Vegas and of course several trips to Paris! Our show was an incredible mix of Song and Dance with Shirley acting in between, and was built by Fred Ebb and Cy Coleman! Shortly after opening Alan Johnson took over the direction-choreography role, and we did a 2-hour show with no intermission and Shirley was offstage for 1 minute only!!! We rehearsed and added Fosse's Original staging of „Steam Heat" and a 20 minute long Choreographers number with a Fosse section that I helped choreograph! Shirley was the biggest star and this was THE great tour in the history of show business! She was making $500,000 a week, so let that settle in!"

„Any special memories from those days?"

„I had an apartment with a kitchen everywhere we went, even and especially in Vegas, after staying at Caesars Palace the first time! I met and dribbled over stars like Sophia Loren and other world-class stars - who always remarked about my special performances! Another highlight was doing President Jimmy Carter Inauguration special and a Royal performance for the Queen in England! We were the toast of the world, and I was one of the highest-paid show dancers on the planet! Another reason for that was that we had no understudies and went on every night regardless! More TV shows came along, and I was usually featured right next to Shirley and even fit in a few other specials when we were in LA, like a few shows with Mary Tyler Moore"

Copyright: All that Jazz / Production ( Film Photographer)

„I know that this may sound like impatience... but I am just so curious: and what about Bob?"

„It turns out that Bob Fosse had personally been calling Shirley about letting me come back to NYC for various projects! I never knew anything about that and Shirley just kept telling him she wasn't letting me go! Finally, Bob put his foot down in 1979 and demanded that I be let free, so I could do a Principal role in his new film „All That Jazz"! I was thrilled but leaving Shirley meant the end of the gravy train!"

„I see... „

„I took a 50% pay cut for my Principal role in the „All That Jazz" Film. Fine, because, now I was working on an original project with Bob Fosse, let alone a world-class movie! The cast was great and I knew most of the people… and, oh, the great Roy Scheider playing the lead role, in reality playing Fosse himself! We were just two days into rehearsals when Bob decided that he wanted me in the Broadway Company of „DANCIN'" - within a week!!! I went and stood with Bob at the show that night, as I had never seen it, and he was showing me the roles he wanted me to play, including „Recollections of an Old Dancer" (Mister Bojangles). I was thrilled with the show, so the next day I rehearsed the film during the day - then I rehearsed for 3 to 4 hours every night to learn my 12 numbers in the show! I picked up quickly and as Bob wanted, I was in the show performing in less than a week! Meanwhile, the movie was progressing well, and Roy was amazing. I was given a Male Adagio to do - a first, pretty much in film or on stage, and a tremendous Principal dancer from American Ballet Theatre was brought in, John Sowinski, and it was indeed exciting and erotic! Ricardo, I was so proud to do the male adagio, and I had no doubt that it was going to be a masterpiece. Longtime friends Sandhal Bergman and Leland Schwantes did the male-female adagio”

„It was, if I may say so, „revolutionary"!"

„Even though I wasn't gay, I knew and felt what we were creating would be groundbreaking and artistic! Our main number „Take off With Us", was erotic, to say the least! It was tribal and wild, and has been recognized as one of the truly great dance numbers created for Film - EVER!"

„The magic of Fosse... what a choreographer! Pure genius!"

„There were too many incredible Bob Fosse moments both in Broadway's „DANCIN'" - and Hollywood's „ALL THAT JAZZ", more about that? I guess you might have to buy my book, which I am looking forward to writing soon! Stay tuned! Let's just say that Bob himself used me to demonstrate to all the dancers how he wanted choreography to look! Once he pulled me aside, during the DANCIN' National Tour rehearsals—yes, the one he forced me to do for nine months, though I didn't want to leave the Broadway show,—he whispered to me as to say "Why don't they look like you"—I laughed and answered "They are NEVER going to look like me Bob" - he laughed and we went on with rehearsal! From then on, he complimented me every day, saying that I was the best dancer that he ever worked with - and that I was truly the greatest dancer in the world! I got those remarks from many famous people, including Michael Jackson, Misha, Gwen, Liza, Chita, Fred Astaire and longtime Dance Magazine editor Bill Como! Nuff Said!"

„All this experience... Amazing!", I say and then add „What a background... You have so much to give to younger generations!"

„All of my performance work was strictly chosen to give me the tools I needed to teach, direct and choreograph!! I have now been busy at that for over 40 years, with 30 years teaching and directing in major Universities around the United States, even helping to build a Master's in Music Theatre Program for the University of Central Florida, which I lost in the economic collapse of 2007-2008. I also lost the book, exhibition, and documentary that I had been preparing for 30 years on unknown showman George White and his Scandals! I am still hoping for a breakthrough in this game someday! I continue to teach but because of my location in Tampa Florida, I get no direction or choreography jobs. Too bad, since I was trained by the best, and the 100 + musicals that I have been able to produce have all gotten rave reviews! I plough on regardless and my life has been full!"

„No question about it, Gary! And how is your life at the moment?"

He smiles that big smile of his and says wholeheartedly „I have been happily married for 42 years and through my wonderful children, a son and a daughter, I am a grandfather to 4 young men!"

„One last word for our readers?"

„Thanks to all who have given me opportunities but it was my own HARD WORK that won those auditions and it ain't over yet! Maybe I should take Sophia Loren's advice and do my own show someday!"

“Gary dear, many, many thanks for this most pleasant time! This was FUN! I wish you could keep telling us stories, forever!”