Nick Castle (dance director)

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Nick Castle (1910–1968; born Nicholas John Casaccio[1][A]) was an American choreographer and dance director of television and film.

Castle was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 21, 1910, to an Italian-American family.[1][3] He danced in vaudeville numbers before moving to Los Angeles in 1935.[4]

There, Castle became "[o]ne of Hollywood's most important and prolific tap dancers, choreographers, producers, and teachers"[1] and "worked with all the major musical stars".[5] His credits include Hellzapoppin' and Stormy Weather.[1]

Castle changed his surname from Casaccio to Castle upon learning that Casaccio meant "dilapidated house" in Italian.[2] He was married to Milly Granata Castle; they had two children.[6] His son, Nick Castle, is a film director and screenwriter.[1][5]

Castle died of a heart attack August 28, 1968, in Los Angeles.[1][6] He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.[7]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Some sources give his birth name as Nicola John Casaccio.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Billman, Larry (1997). "Nick Castle (Nicholas John Casaccio)". Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 254–257. ISBN 978-0-89950-868-9.
  2. ^ a b Johnson, Erskine (April 15, 1967). "Nick Castle Is Hollywood Mains". The Kingston Daily Freeman . p. 28. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  3. ^ a b LaGumina, Salvatore J.; Cavaioli, Frank J.; Primeggia, Salvatore; Varacalli, Joseph A. (2003). The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-58332-3.
  4. ^ Witbeck, Charles (May 23, 1965). "'Old man' Nick Castle creates dance routines—for non dancers". The Sacramento Bee. pp. TV7 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Hischak, Thomas S. (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Oxford University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-19-533533-0.
  6. ^ a b "Castle, movie and TV dance director, dies". The Los Angeles Times. August 29, 1968. Part III – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3rd ed.). McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.
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