Background
Gennaro was born in Metairie, Louisiana.
Gennaro was born in Metairie, Louisiana.
He made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Make Mine Manhattan in 1948. He followed this with Kiss Maine, Kate (1948) and Guys and Dolls (1950). A year later, he broke out of the chorus line and into choreography when he collaborated with Jerome Robbins on West Side Story, notably choreographing (without cr) a majority of the "America" and "Mambo" dance sequences.
In addition to his theater chores, Gennaro worked steadily in television, appearing in and/or choreographing such shows as Your Hit Parade, The Polly Bergen Show, Judy Garland"s Columbia Broadcasting System variety program, and the Kraft Music Hall.
He also served for many years as choreographer for Radio City Music Hall, staging routines for The Rockettes. He was inducted, posthumously, into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2002.
Personal life The family lived for a time in Paramus, New Jersey up to 1972. Gennaro died in New York City at the age of 80.
1964 Bajour President 1960 The Unsinkable Molly Brown and nominations.
He first drew notice from theatergoers as a member of the trio that danced the Bob Fosse number "Steam Heat" in The Pajama Game (1954), and continued to hold their attention with the "Mu Cha Cha" number with Judy Holliday in Bells Are Ringing (1956). With his dance troupe he was a guest on Editor Sullivan"s long-running Columbia Broadcasting System Sunday night variety show dozens of times, and he was a member of the regular repertory company on the short-lived Columbia Broadcasting System variety show The Entertainers (1964–1965), one of the stars having been John Davidson.