Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley (1895-1976), American stage and motion-picture director and dance choreographer, known for his innovative direction of lavish dance routines for the screen. Born William Berkeley Enos to a theatrical family in Los Angeles, California, he was educated at Mohegan Military Academy in Peekskill, New York. He served in World War I (1914-1918), directing parade drills and staging performances for soldiers. After the war, Berkeley worked as a stage actor in New York City, and by the late 1920s he was known as one of the leading dance directors on Broadway. In 1929 he became the first person to both direct a Broadway musical and choreograph its dance routines.

In 1930, at the invitation of American motion-picture producer Samuel Goldwyn, Berkeley moved to Hollywood, California, and worked as a dance choreographer on such commercially successful films as Whoopee (1930), Flying High (1931), and Bird of Paradise (1932). Berkeley then signed a contract with Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. (see Warner Bros.) in 1933 and went on to achieve great success as both a dance choreographer and a motion-picture director with films that showcased spectacular dance sequences, such as Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935). While at Warner Bros., Berkeley developed his distinctive style, which was marked by the use of fluid camera movements, outrageous stage sets, and sexually suggestive dances and props. After he was hired by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios in 1935, he directed Babes in Arms (1939), the first musical starring the popular team of American actors Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. During this period Berkeley also directed For Me and My Gal (1942), the first musical that teamed Garland with American actor Gene Kelly.

Working with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 1943, Berkeley made The Gang's All Here (1943), an extravagant musical starring Brazilian singer and dancer Carmen Miranda. In 1949 he returned to New York City and filmed Take Me Out to the Ball Game, his last film as a director. Partly in response to the decline in the popularity of large-scale musicals in the 1950s, Berkeley retired from direction and choreography although he continued to work sporadically on the projects of others. His last film was Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962), for which he choreographed the dance sequences.