Famed for her dancing — and her romantic and creative affiliation with legendary director and choregrapher Bob Fosse (1927-1987) — Broadway singer, dancer, choreographer and actress Ann Reinking died Saturday, December 12, at 71 in Washington.
No cause of death has been released.
Born November 10, 1949, in Seattle, her first exposure to the world of dance came via ballet lessons, and expanded when she danced with the English Royal Ballet at 12 in a production of Giselle.
Reinking's career on Broadway was dazzling, starting with her debut in Cabaret (1966-1969) and including the shows Coco (1969), Wild and Wonderful (1971), Pippin (1972), Over Here! (1974), Goodtime Charley (1975), A Chorus Line (1976), Chicago (1977), Dancin' (1978), Sweet Charity (1986), and the revival of Chicago (1996-present).
She met Fosse during Pippin, and remained involved with hi from 1972-1978, overlapping with his marriage to iconic performer Gwen Verdon (1925-2000). The situation was addressed in the popular 2019 miniseries Fosse/Verdon, which she was played by Margaret Qualley (b. 1994). Her affiliation with Fosse's Chicago included choreographing the wildly successful revival, for which she won a Tony.
In 1991, she appeared in the Broadway national tour of Bye Bye Birdie. She went on to choreograph the TV-movie version of the show in 1995.
Reinking also appeared sporadically in films, including playing a version of herself in Fosse's All That Jazz (1979), performing in the first big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Annie (1982), and acting in Micki & Maude (1984).
In her later years, she taught dance and remained active, including, in 2012, contributing choreography to the Broadway show An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin.
Married four times, she is survived by her husband Peter Talbert, and her son Chris with third husband James Stuart.
