Biography

He died leaving a sizable portion of his estate to funding research to fight the AIDS epidemic.

The unnamed choreographer played by Richard Gere in And the Band Played On (1993) was based on him.

Won Broadway's Tony Award six times: as Best Director (Musical), along with collaborator Harold Prince, and as Best Choreographer, in 1972 for "Follies;" as Best Director (Musical) and Best Choreographer, along with Bob Avian, in 1976 for "A Chorus Line:"and as Best Choreographer, in 1974 for "Seesaw;" and in 1982, along with colaborator Michael Peters, for "Dreamgirls." He was also nominated ten other times: as Best Choreographer, in 1967 for "A Joyful Noise;" in 1968 for "Henry, Sweet Henry;" in 1969 for "Promises, Promises;" in 1970 for "Coco;" and in 1971 for "Company;" as Best Director (Musical) and Best Book (Musical), in 1974 for "Seesaw;" as Best Director (Musical) and Best Musical co-producer , in 1979 for "Ballroom;" and as Best Director (Musical) in 1982 for "Dreamgirls."

During the rehearsals of "A Chorus Line", he was dancing with the cast when he suddenly collapsed and began to writhe and cry out in pain. Several dancers stood in shock, several ran to his side, a few ran for pain killers and Bob Avian ran to call an ambulance. Within a minute, Michael had jumped back up on his feet and told them to remember what they had just done and how they felt. He later had the cast use this experience for the famous scene in "A Chorus Line" where Paul falls and injures his knee, taking him out of the running for a spot on the line. Although several cast members were furious at him for this stunt, it worked.

Dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to join a touring company of "West Side Story."