Jerome Robbins (October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American choreographer, director, and theater producer who worked in classical ballet, on Broadway, and in films and television. Among his numerous stage productions he worked on were
On the Town,
Peter Pan,
High Button Shoes,
The King And I,
The Pajama Game,
Bells Are Ringing,
West Side Story, , and
Fiddler on the Roof; Robbins was a five time
Tony award winner and a recipient of the
Kennedy Center Honors. He received two
Academy Awards, including the 1961
Academy Award for Best Director with
Robert Wise for
West Side Story. A documentary about his life and work,
Something to Dance About, featuring excerpts from his journals, archival performance and rehearsal footage, and interviews with Robbins and his colleagues, premiered on PBS in 2009 and won both an Emmy and a
Peabody Award the same year.