Fosse/Verndon 2019 FX

        Fosse/Verndon is a 2019 biographical miniseries put out by FX chronicling the professional and personal 30+year relationship of choreographer/director Bob Fosse played by Sam Rockwell and dancer/actress Gwen Verndon played by Michelle Williams.

       Bob Fosse first met Gwen Verndon while working on casting for the musical Damn Yankees in 1955 when he cast her for Lola. In truth, he probably fell for her the second she walked in the room. It probably took a little longer for Gwen to fall for Bob. But I don't think anyone could deny the terrific working relationship they had that was only eclipsed by their obvious chemistry.

   
   Bob and Gwen got married in 1960 after he directed and choreographed Gwen in the musical Redhead, for which they both won Tony Awards. 

   There were many Broadway musicals that Bob Fosse directed and /or choreographed that were hits. And even though Gwen wasn't in all of them, she was in a few like Sweet Charity and Chicago. For many of Bob Fosse's choreographed work, he would often ask her opinion or assistance with much begging and pleading on the telephone to come to the studio and help him, like How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Little Me, Cabaret, and Pippin, which earned Bob another Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. It seemed that even though Gwen's name wasn't on the billboard outside the theater, she was very much a part of the production. 

  Bob Fosse always had a wandering eye for the ladies, which put a strain on his marriage to Gwen. By 1971, they were separated though they never divorced. Bob also struggled with drug addiction to cocaine and Dexadrine most of his life that didn't help their relationship either. 

   By 1987, the names of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verndon had become synonomous with the Broadway stage in New York. In Washington DC a revival of Sweet Charity was planned for the fall. Opening night was September 23, 1987 and the curtain went up at 7pm. Gwen went to fetch Bob at his hotel room at the Willard Hotel and walk to to the nearby National Theatre together. They got to the sidewalk and took several steps towards the theatre and Bob collapsed and had a massive heart attack and died in Gwen's arms.
    

  The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards nominated Fosse/Verndon seventeen times in several categories. In the end, Michelle Williams won the Outstanding Actress Emmy for her portrayal of Gwen Verndon.