Tony Charmoli

Tony Charmoli was an American director, choreographer, and dancer. He was born on June 11, 1921. Tony Charmoli’s birthplace is Mountain Iron city in Minnesota, United States. Tony Charmoli was the youngest brother of nine siblings. When he was sixteen years old, he went to Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts, to intern as a dancer for the summer. On the next Valentine’s Day, he met Wilford Saunders, his life partner, and business manager. During  World War II World War II is a Malayalam information TV show on >> Read More... , he served in the military as an operations officer in the 43rd Fighter Squadron in the United States Air Force. And also, his wife Wilford Saunders was enlisted as a secretary to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower in Europe.

He started dancing on Broadway in the show “Make Mine Manhattan.” He marked his debut as a dancer in the production “Dear Judas” in 1947. He then started choreographing in television with ABC’s show “Stop the Music” in 1949. Next, he joined NBC-TV’s “Your Hit Parade” in 1950. For this show, he received his first Emmy Award in 1956. He later migrated to Los Angeles to participate in Dinah Shore’s television shows. In 1962, he choreographed “Eddie Fisher at the Winter Garden and directed Shirley MacLaine’s Broadway revue on the Great White Way (1976).

He always believed that both the dancers and the camera needed to be choreographed. And hence before every shoot, he used to block the camera movements. In 1977, he was nominated as Best Director for two Emmys in television variety programs such as “Shirley MacLaine: Where Do We Go from Here?” and “Mitzi…Zings Into Spring.” His most famous television special, “The Nutcracker,” starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, was also broadcasted in 1977. He choreographed and directed almost all of Mitzi Gaynor’s television specials in the 1970s. He also worked with the production company named Sid and Marty Krofft. He directed episodes for the television specials: Lidsville & The Bugaloos and Fol-de-Rol. Also, Tony Charmoli has directed several Bob Hope specials, televised beauty pageants, and the series “The Keane Brothers Show” in 1977.

Over his career, he was awarded three Emmy Awards and nominated for fifteen Emmy awards. He also won the Director’s Guild of America award for Shirley MacLaine’s show “Gypsy In My Soul” (1976). He is considered among the top choreographers in television history and was also awarded the American Choreographer Life Achievement Award in 2001. He lived for ninety-nine years and died on Friday, August 7, 2020. He died at his home in the Hollywood Hills, California. His life partner Willford Saunders died in 1999.