Dancer and choreographer Robert “Bobby” Banas, 90, died on July 29. Banas was a dancer from early childhood: “I was on the move trying different lifts with Sis and we had so much fun; at times we couldn’t stop laughing. I just couldn’t stop. I had the music in me and had to move or explode.” Beginning in 1952, Banas danced in such films as Carousel, Rock Around the Clock, The King and I, Annie Get Your Gun, the abysmal Let’s Make Love, West Side Story (as Jet Joyboy), Bye Bye Birdie, and Mary Poppins. He also choreographed for The Judy Garland Show (his "Nitty Gritty" dance on that show is now a YouTube sensation), Skatetown USA, Mork & Mindy, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and Teen Witch, among other movies and TV shows. Banas told The Martin Report, “I worked all the time. And yes, it was unfortunate to sometimes not be credited. But I will say, Steven Spielberg always went out of his way to credit everybody. I was in both Hook and Always, and he was very generous about giving credit. At the time I was starting out, getting credit didn’t really matter to me. All I wanted to do was dance. But looking back on it now? Sure, I should have been credited. We all deserved it.”
Related Posts
