Jack Cole (choreographer)

Jack Cole
Jack Cole with Virginia Miller
Born	John Ewing Richter (1911-04-27)April 27, 1911 New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S...
Died	February 17, 1974(1974-02-17) (aged 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations	choreographer dancer

Jack Cole (born John Ewing Richter; April 27, 1911 – February 17, 1974) was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director known as "the Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance"^[1] for his role in codifying African-American jazz dance styles, as influenced by the dance traditions of other cultures, for Broadway and Hollywood. Asked to describe his style he described it as "urban folk dance".^[2]

His work as a dancer and choreographer began in the 1930s and lasted until the mid-1960s. Beginning in modern dance, he worked in nightclubs, on the Broadway stage, and in Hollywood films, ending his career as a teacher. He was an innovative choreographer for the camera and a hugely influential choreographer and teacher, training Gwen Verdon, Carol Haney, and Buzz Miller, among many others, and influencing later choreographers, such as Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, and Alvin Ailey, all of whom drew heavily from his innovations.^[3]