Editing Ron Field (section)

== Life and career ==
Field was born in [[New York City, New York]] where he made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut as a child in ''[[Lady in the Dark]]'' (1941) with [[Gertrude Lawrence]]. He later danced in the ensembles of ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]]'' (1949), ''[[Kismet (musical)|Kismet]]'' (1954), and ''[[The Boy Friend (musical)|The Boy Friend]]'' (1955) before deciding to concentrate on choreography.  His first two efforts ''[[Nowhere But Up]]'' (1962) and ''[[Cafe Crown]]'' (1964) were unsuccessful, but in 1966 he won his first [[Tony Award]] for his dazzling work in the hit ''[[Cabaret (musical)|Cabaret]]'', the first of several noteworthy successes.

During rehearsals for [[Stephen Sondheim]]'s trouble-plagued ''[[Merrily We Roll Along (musical)|Merrily We Roll Along]]'' in 1981, Field was dismissed from the creative team.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/24/theater/merrily-we-roll-gets-a-new-choreographer.html "'Merrily We Roll' Gets A New Choreographer"] ''The New York Times'', October 24, 1981</ref><ref>Klemesrud, Judy. [https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/15/theater/prince-there-were-more-changes-than-i-m-used-to.html?pagewanted=all&pagewanted= "Prince: 'There Were More Changes Than I'm Used To'"] ''The New York Times'', November 15, 1981</ref>

It wasn't until a revival of ''Cabaret'' in 1987 that he would have another Broadway success.

In addition to his work on Broadway, Field staged such diverse projects as [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] nightclub acts, the 44th Annual [[Academy Awards]] telecast in 1972, ''[[Pinocchio (1976 TV musical)|Pinocchio]]'' (a 1976 TV special starring [[Sandy Duncan]]), a [[Hollywood Bowl]] concert and television special with [[Bette Midler]] in 1977, the opening ceremonies for the 1984 [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] [[Olympic Games|Olympics]],  and an acclaimed revival of ''[[Kiss Me, Kate]]''  in [[London]]'s [[West End theatre|West End]]. He also choreographed [[Martin Scorsese]]'s ''[[New York, New York (1977 film)|New York, New York]]'' (1977).

On February 6, 1989, Field died in New York City at the age of fifty-five.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-10-mn-2442-story.html "Award-Winning Choreographer Ron Field Dies"] ''Los Angeles Times'', February 10, 1989</ref><ref>Dunning, Jennifer. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/07/obituaries/ron-field-a-tony-award-winner-for-his-choreography-dies-at-55.html "Ron Field, a Tony Award Winner For His Choreography, Dies at 55"] ''The New York Times'', February 7, 1989</ref> Though obituaries at the time said his "cause of death was brain lesions and neurological impairments,"<ref>Dunning, Jennifer. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/07/obituaries/ron-field-a-tony-award-winner-for-his-choreography-dies-at-55.html "Ron Field, a Tony Award Winner For His Choreography, Dies at 55"] ''The New York Times'', February 7, 1989</ref>  it was common at the time for survivors of public figures to euphemize [[AIDS]] or provide only the symptoms and not the overarching cause in obituaries due to rampant [[Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS|stigma]]. Sources since have confirmed Field did die of AIDS.<ref>Riedel,  Michael. [https://nypost.com/1999/01/13/the-death-of-the-superstar-choreographer/ "The Death of the Superstar Choreographer"] ''The New York Post'', January 13, 1999</ref><ref>Gold, Sylviane. [https://www.dancemagazine.com/on-broadway-dancing-days/#gsc.tab=0/ "On Broadway: Dancing Days"] ''Dance Magazine'', June 28, 2011</ref>