Bob Fosse lusted after women, and he harassed women to get what he wanted. Lots of women.
He was married three times and had a long-term partner. He wasn't faithful to any of them. “Bob grew up around strip clubs. Women were his hobby,” [Gwen] Verdon once reportedly said, according to Winkler. “He’d even cheat on his mistress. Part of him felt guilty, another part was ecstatic.” (source: The Oprah Magazine https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a27056228/bob-fosse-gwen-verdon-true-story/)
Wife #1: Mary Ann Niles––his dance partner, married in 1947, divorced in 1951
Wife #2: Joan McCracken––dancer, married in 1952, divorced in 1959
Wife #3: Gwen Verdon––dancer, married in 1960, separated in 1971, never divorced, had a daughter named Nicole Fosse in 1963, Verdon was with Fosse when he died
Partner: Ann Reinking––dancer, with Fosse from 1972 to 1978, Reinking and Verdon were friends
Other Women: too numerous to know, but during the 1970s he seems to have been involved with
Jessica Lange on and off
I could write all sorts of trash about the ways Bob Fosse used women (each wife helped him reach greater heights in his career), but it's too damn depressing. That's why I didn't finish writing this post last night. I couldn't continue to write about a man who treated women so badly.
However, I have been tweeting and posting on Facebook about another man who mistreats women. This particular man's defense against the allegation that he raped E. Jean Carroll is "she's not my type."
It made me wonder if my friend's 90-year-old grandmother who was raped was her rapist's type. And how about my patient in a nursing home who was in a vegetative state and was raped? Was she her rapist's type?
Rape is not a crime of lust. It's a crime of anger, domination, and control.
I don't want to watch Bob Fosse dance today. I'd rather ask Liza Minnelli to do one of her brilliant numbers from Cabaret, the movie that earned her the Best Actress Academy Award in 1973. Joel Grey won Best Supporting Actor. Bob Fosse won Best Director, even though he was up against Francis Ford Coppola, whose The Godfather won Best Picture.
Cabaret had ten Academy Award nominations and eight wins, a record for a movie that didn't win Best Picture. It also won numerous BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and other awards.
Thank you, Liza, for performing for us today.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
I had to go back thru and catch up on your Fosse posts. His work may be brilliant but his personal is trash. He's trash. He most definitely would've been on the #metoo hit list as very well he should. I think #45 should be there as well but ya' know, if she's not his type I guess it didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment, Magical Mystical Mimi––and what an outstanding name you have. I'd like to be magical and mystical. #45 is sickening. I'm so tired of his antics. He reminds me of my ex-husband.
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DeleteNot being the prominent rapist in question's type would be a bonus. And a big yes to rape not being about sex but about abuse of power.
ReplyDeleteToo many people still believe that if a woman is abused in any way, she's to blame.
DeleteHi Janie; I finished watching the mini-series you recommended. Episode six explains a lot about why Bob Fosse turned out as he did. His parents used him as their meal ticket, and he was sexually abused at the age of 13 by a bunch of middle-aged strippers. Not that those circumstances are an excuse, but it's a fact that many abused children become abusers, themselves. And obviously, he was a sex addict. The scene in the hospital where he forces his girlfriend to have sex with him after his first heart attack was so telling! Not to mention disturbing. No wonder she left him after that! He definitely would not have a career in this age of #MeToo. And, you're so right about rape. Sex has nothing to do with it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you were able to watch the entire series. I agree that his parents' behavior and the women with whom he performed bred a hostile taker who wanted to be in control. I realize that not every detail in the series is correct, but it's probably more honest than a lot of shows because Nicole Fosse was one of the producers. She had an insider's look at Bob and Gwen's marriage and probably heard a lot of stories from her mom after Bob died. Besides, she was very much aware that her parents were still married but her dad lived with Ann Reinking and kept other women on a string. As you saw, she picked up his drinking and drug habit. She had a long struggle to get clean.
DeleteI haven't watched this series. But I am frustrated about how this type of predatory behavior has become acceptable.
ReplyDeleteIs it perhaps becoming less acceptable because of #metoo? Bill Cosby abused women for years and finally went to prison. Harvey Weinstein lost his wife and his job and is facing lawsuits and payments to women. The person who gets away with everything is Donald Trump, and he's laughing all the way to the bank. I want his day of reckoning to come.
DeleteLiza Minelli was amazing in that movie! Hers will always be the definitive portrayal of Sally Bowles.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the name of the man who wrote the book about Berlin that included the character of Sally (the title, I think, is I Am A Camera). Liza sat next to him at the premiere and still tells people that he loved her performance. Other people, including his long-time partner, said he was upset about it because Liza was much too talented to be Sally. If someone doesn't like what I do, then I hope it's because I'm too talented.
DeleteI suppose one reason I know little about the man is that I simply avoid such stories at the first whiff.That being said, I must also say, I wonder what is the end. How does it stop? Who does it? You may realize I have quite an investment it following this kind of story and looking at potential ends. A family member who went to prison for years in hope of bringing an end, only to find the consequences ripple forever and ever; is there an end? I am grateful to know I cannot live long enough to see if it can end.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid there isn't an end.
DeleteJust a sad man all the way around---and sad the way he used women---a payback for the way he was used perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post-I didn't know some of this stuff.
I think he wanted to control and dominate because of the way his parents controlled and dominated him.
DeleteHe not only used women but he used his power as the choreographer or director to bull dog the reluctant into submission. That is the worst type of user.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate his dance vision and talent but that is all.
He was an awful person, but had many friends who loved him. Had many admirers. Life is so strange.
DeleteMy childhood hero was Bill Cosby. I loved him. And truth be told, I still have a soft spot for him. I know it all looks damning and I should loathe the man, but I spent years thinking he was the bomb. That's hard to just flip the switch on. I'm sure loyal fans of Bill Clinton have felt the same angst. It's hard to see heroes be failures.
ReplyDeleteI know some people who are adamant in their belief that Bill Cosby is innocent, even though he admitted what he'd done in a deposition. I was not a Bill Clinton fan. Many of the people who love him say that what he did sexually was his private life and no one's business. I disagree. He was the president, involved with a young intern in The White House. Monica Lewinsky enjoyed the relationship and doesn't seem to have felt pressured by him, but other women on the receiving end of his advances don't feel the same way. Donald Trump has never been a hero to me. He sinks lower in my esteem every day.
DeleteHe was one complicated, F-up jerk who needed counselling in the very worst way but, sadly, even today, he would have shunned it. he was also extremely gifted in dance and in film making. I need to see All That Jazz, directed by Fosse that is supposed to be somewhat autobiographical. Kevin Spacey is a predator as well but so gifted as an actor and quite a comedian that we will now lose the talent because of his horrible ways. I wonder if Gwen Verdon was very keenly aware of how bad he was but still had a connection or , knowing how bad he was, still loved him and always forgave the way many abused women do.
ReplyDeleteI think Ms. Verdon appreciated her husband's talent. She knew he was horrible, but they continued to work together and spend time together with friends, even with Ann Reinking present. Gwen Verdon said she loved Ann Reinking and appreciated how good Ann was with Nicole. Counseling can't help someone who doesn't want to change; I don't think Fosse wanted to change.
DeleteLiza's energy is contagious.
ReplyDeleteLove you.
It is indeed. She is so talented.
DeleteIf not for Dr Ekpen what will I have done to restore joy in my marriage, may the good God continue to bless Dr Ekpen for helping me bring my ex husband back to me after 2 years of separation. If you are passing through break up, Dr Ekpen is the perfect solution for you. Contact him today at (ekpentemple@gmail.com) or whatsapp +2347050270218.
ReplyDelete