Biography for
Herbert Ross (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 May 1927, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Date of Death

9 October 2001, New York City, New York, USA (heart failure)

Birth Name

Herbert David Ross

Nickname

Herb

Spouse

Lee Radziwill	(23 September 1988 - 1999) (divorced)
Nora Kaye	(August 1959 - 28 February 1987) (her death)

Trivia

Former brother-in-law of Jacqueline Kennedy.

Former uncle of Caroline Kennedy and John Kennedy Jr.

Former stepfather of Anthony Radziwill and Tina Radziwill.

Grew up in Miami, Florida.

Directed the concert version of the Sondheim/Goldman musical "Follies" which was filmed and released as "Follies in Concert" in 1985.

Was a former ballet dancer and choreographer with the American Ballet Theater.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1964 Tony Award as Best Choreographer for "Anyone Can Whistle."

Directed 12 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Peter O'Toole, George Burns, Walter Matthau, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Browne, Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, Maggie Smith and Julia Roberts. Burns, Dreyfuss and Smith won Oscars for their performances in one of Ross' movies.

As of 2011, he is the only director to have directed both the Golden Globe winner for Best Drama and Best Musical/Comedy of the same year. (1977: 'The Turning Point' and 'The Goodbye Girl'; he also won the Golden Globe for Best Director that year for the former.).

He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.

Personal Quotes

[explaining why he quit ballet as a professional career) I was too tall and big-boned and never had good feet.

[on his father's death from heart failure after Ross dropped out of school] The truth will look very ugly in print, but the fact is that I don't feel guilty about what happened. I say this in spite of the fact that certain relatives--fortunately not my sister or my stepmother--accused me of causing my father's death. I would do the same thing again, because there was no other alternative for me. It was almost a primordial urge, like getting back to the sea.

[on working with Goldie Hawn on Protocol (1984)] Everyone knows that the woman is super-talented. She is also a saint. "Protocol" was a difficult production with lots of locations, a big cast and a tight schedule. Goldie was wonderful throughout.