{"product_id":"jazzed-jack-cole-and-twentieth-century-american-dance-9781985904552","title":"Jazzed: Jack Cole and Twentieth-Century American Dance","description":"\u003cp\u003eRenowned dancer and choreographer Jack Cole (1911-1974), whose birth name was John Ewing Richter, was a one-of-a-kind artist who initiated a gripping style of theatrical jazz dance that forever vanquished the vaudeville kickline. Cole's distinctive four-decade career choreographing for stage, screen, and his iconic nightclub act began during the Great Depression. He transformed early modern dance by injecting angularity, syncopation, and body isolations derived from Indian, Latin American, African, and Caribbean dance forms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the forefront of Broadway innovation, Cole worked on shows like \u003ci\u003eZiegfeld Follies of 1943\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eKismet \u003c\/i\u003e(1953), and \u003ci\u003eMan of La Mancha\u003c\/i\u003e (1965). But his greater renown came as a film choreographer, with quintessential contributions to \u003ci\u003eGilda \u003c\/i\u003e(1946), \u003ci\u003eThere's No Business Like\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eShow Business (1954), Les Girls\u003c\/i\u003e (1957), \u003ci\u003eSome Like It Hot \u003c\/i\u003e(1959), and \u003ci\u003eLet's Make Love \u003c\/i\u003e(1960). In \u003ci\u003eGentlemen Prefer Blondes \u003c\/i\u003e(1953), Cole shepherded Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, who were considered nondancing movie stars, through an array of eye-catching production numbers. His work on Monroe's exceptional performance in \"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend\" helped catapult Monroe to superstardom. Cole also collaborated with Gwen Verdon, Mitzi Gaynor, Rita Hayworth, and Chita Rivera. He influenced Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Gene Kelly, and Michael Bennett. Yet Cole's impact on American dance has long been overlooked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith lucid prose and unmatched research pulled from film and art archives, public events, memoirs, and interviews, \u003ci\u003eJazzed \u003c\/i\u003etakes readers on a journey through Cole's professional and personal transitions. Author Debra Levine not only focuses on Cole's choreography career at MGM, Columbia Pictures, and Twentieth Century-Fox but also uncovers details of his obsessive training, his struggles with depression and alcoholism, his proclivity for violence, and his encounters with homophobia. Levine winnows fact from fiction to deliver an insightful, entertaining biography of the dance renegade whose unique brand of theatrical jazz dance still resonates in nightclubs, music videos, and musicals today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Debra Levine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Kentucky\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/11\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.51h x 6.39w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781985904552\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eDebra Levine \u003c\/b\u003eis a Hollywood-fascinated dance critic whose discovery of Jack Cole turned her aesthetic world on its head. Her writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDance Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHuffington\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ePost\u003c\/i\u003e, and more. She is the founder of\u003ci\u003e artsmeme\u003c\/i\u003e, a fine arts blog.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Debra Levine \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":48816015540381,"sku":"9781985904552","price":72.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_4dc44877-e4a3-480a-a0c2-14743f912d31.jpg?v=1787063927","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/jazzed-jack-cole-and-twentieth-century-american-dance-9781985904552","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}