Busby Berkeley

about

Busby Berkeley (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976), born William Berkeley Enos in Los Angeles, California, was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berkeley's quintessential works used legions of showgirls and props as fantastic elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances. He started as a theatrical director, just as many other movie directors. Unlike many at the time, he felt that a camera should be allowed mobility, and he framed shots carefully from unusual angles to allow movie audiences to see things from perspectives that the theatrical stage never could provide. This is why he played an enormous role in establishing the movie musical as a category in its own right. He made his stage debut at five, acting in the company of his performing family. During World War I, Berkeley served as a field artillery lieutenant, where he learned the intricacies of drilling and disciplining large groups of people. During the 1920s, Berkeley was a dance director for nearly two dozen Broadway musicals, including such hits as ‘A Connecticut Yankee’. As a choreographer, Berkeley was less concerned with the terpsichorean skill of his chorus girls as he was with their ability to form themselves into attractive geometric patterns. His musical numbers were among the largest and best-regimented on Broadway. The only way they'd get any larger

top songs

albums

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Shanghai Lil

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Lullaby of Broadway

Don't Say Goodnight

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Lullaby of Broadway - The Best of Busby Berkely at Warner Bros. (CD1)

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Lullaby Of Broadway: The Best Of Busby Berkeley At Warner Bros.

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Busby Berkeley: 42nd Street

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Beyond Patina Jazz Masters: Busby Berkeley

And the Movies

Lullaby Of Broadway: The Best Of Busby Berkeley At Warner Bros. [Disc 1]

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Lullaby of Broadway - The Best

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Lullaby of Broadway The Best Of Busby Berkeley At Warner Bros.

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rner Bros.

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