Ann Reinking Ann Reinking was born November 10, 1949, in Seattle, Washington. She is noted as both an actress and a dancer, equally at home on the stages of Broadway as she is on the screens of Hollywood. Beginning her career on Broadway, Reinking appeared in the 1974 Sherman Brothers production Over Here! The show featured a surprising cast including Marilu Henner, Treat Williams, and John Travolta. Reinking went on to star in the musicals Pippin and A Chorus Line.
By 1978, Reinking broke into the world of film. She had a small role as Troubles Moran in Movie Movie, also starring movie and television icons George C. Scott and Art Carney. The film lays somewhere between a tribute and a parody of the 1930s film experience, and remains a great but widely unknown gem for film buffs. In 1979, Reinking followed that movie with her most notable film appearance. She played Kate Jagger in the Bob Fosse biopic All That Jazz. Based, not so loosely, on the life and career of Bob Fosse, the film chronicled the many relationships, addictions, and works of creative genius produced by Fosse. In real life, Reinking was actually involved for many years with the often troubled choreographer and director. All That Jazz was nominated and won numerous Oscars, Golden Globes, Cannes Awards, and BAFTAs. It was even nominated for the prestigious honor of Best Picture and Best Director. The film also starred Leland Palmer, Jessica Lange, and Roy Scheider. In 1982, Reinking stayed within her musical genre to star in Annie, the John Huston production. In Annie, Reinking played the lovable Grace Farrell, secretary to Albert Finney’s irritable Daddy Warbucks. In 1983, Reinking co-starred with Elaine Page and Eartha Kitt in A Night on the Town. The premise revolved around two friends, a photographer and advertising designer, who are trying on clothes in a vintage clothing store. After a few outfits, the two find themselves magically transported back to the 1930s, where they spend A Night on the Town visiting London, New York, Berlin, Paris, and New Orleans. While many people dismissed the film as substance-less cinema, dedicated fans of Reinking will still enjoy seeing this lighthearted and fun performance.
The next year, in 1984, Reinking starred in Micki + Maude. The film was led by Reinking, Amy Irving, and Dudley Moore. The film centers on Moore, portraying Rob Salinger, a man who impregnates two women and does the only honorable thing—marries them both. This romantic comedy is often hailed as Reinking’s best role, and marked her last appearance in a motion picture. Reinking fell out of celebrity status until her mid-90s return to Broadway with Chicago. For her choreography of the classic musical, Reinking won the 1997 Tony Award for Best Choreographer. Throughout Reinking’s dancing and singing career, she earned three more nominations. Her first was in 1975 for Goodtime Charlie in the category of Best Actress. She went on to a nomination in the same category in 1978’s Dancin', and was nominated one last time in 1999 for Best Director in Fosse. Reinking appeared again in 2005 with the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. She was highlighted as one of the enthusiastic judges for the New York City public school dance competition. In her personal life, Reinking was long-time partner of Bob Fosse. The two dated from 1973 to 1979 and remained close until his death in 1987. She then married financier Herbert Allen in 1981 and divorced in 1989. In this same year, Reinking remarried to James Stuart, the father of her one son. The two divorced in 1991. Her last marriage was in 1994 to sports writer Peter Talbert. The couple is still together. YUDDY |
