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Bob Avian, the Tony Award-winning Broadway mainstay, both on and off stage for more than four decades, died Thursday in Ft Lauderdale, Fla. Of cardiac arrest. The co-choreographer for A Chorus Line and Ballroom was 83 years old.
Born in New York City on December 26, 1937, Avian attended Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and the Boston Ballet School and made his Broadway debut in the original stage production of West Side Story. Trained as a dancer, he was recognized alongside Barbra Streisand in the stage production of Funny Girl in 1964, before teaming up with his longtime creative partner, choreographer and director Michael Bennett, for a series shows including Promises, Promises, Coco, Company, Folies, twigs, swing and God’s favorite.
The couple have won multiple Tonys for their work on A Chorus Line and Ballroom, for which Avian has also served as a producer. Avian went on to be a lead producer on the original and national tours of Dreamgirls, which won six Tony Awards in 1982.
Avian also created the musical production, both in London and on Broadway, for Sunset Boulevard by Miss Saigon and Andrew Lloyd Webber; won the Olivier Prize in 1997 for his staging of Martin Guerre; and directed the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line. His memoir Dancing Man: A Broadway Choreographer’s Journey, co-written with Tom Santopietro, was published in 2020.
He is survived by her husband, Peter Pileski, and sister, Laura Nabedian, according to Broadway Buzz.
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