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David Winters (choreographer)

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This article is about the dancer, choreographer, actor, director, and producer. For other David Winters, see David Winters.
David Winters
Born
David Weizer
Occupation(s)Producer, Director, Dancer, Actor, Choreographer
Years active1954 - present
Websitehttp://www.davidwinters.net


David Winters (born 5 April, 1939, London, UK) is a dancer, choreographer, producer, director and actor[1] [2]. Born to a musically inclined British family, they relocated to the United States while he was still young. Winters currently lives in Thailand.[3]

As the character, Baby John, Winters was the youngest cast member in the original production of West Side Story and later as A-Rab, one of the main characters, in the West Side Story film musical,[4][5] winner of 10 Academy Awards.[6]

Original cast album
Original cast album

Career

In all, he has directed and produced over 200 shows, specials and movies. Of these, He has directed, produced and distributed over 50 films.

Dance Career

Winters taught dance to world famous actors, such as Ann-Margret, Raquel Welch and Elvis. He became a regular singer/dancer and choreographer on "Hullabaloo" (1965) expanding his previous role on the earlier "Shindig" (1964)[7]. The 1967 Nancy Sinatra special: Movin' with Nancy (1967) (TV), featured his choreography, dancing and earned him his first of many Emmy Nominations.

Choreography Career

A Star is Born (1976
A Star is Born (1976

In addition to dancing, he also choreographed many major films, including at least three Elvis Presley films[8][9][10] and later, Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born (1976)[11] [12]. Winters often choreographed the productions in which he danced. In addition to the the Nancy Sinatra special, Winters choreographed and directed numerous episodes of The Monkees[13]. That show is sometimes considered to have launched the music video as a promotional device.


In 1970, Winters teamed up with Raquel Welch and Tom Jones[14] for the multi million-dollar TV special "Raquel!". Now seen as a classic '70s timepiece, pairing together two pop-culture icons of the time. The song & dance extravaganza was filmed around the world - from Paris to Mexico. Lavish production numbers of classic songs from the era, and guest performances, including John Wayne and Bob Hope in the Wild West.

Winters' award-winning Once Upon a Wheel (1971), starring Paul Newman[15] was followed by the (first) musical version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973) (TV) starring Kirk Douglas[16][17][18]. For his television work, Winters has won the coveted Peabody Award, the Christopher Award and many Emmy Nominations. As his vintage specials are released on DVD, they are being exposed to new generations of viewers, many that were unaware of his work.

Acting Career

In Television's early years, Winters appeared in several television episodes, including; Milton Berle Show, Perry Mason, Suspense, Shindig, Hullabaloo, Lux Video Theater as well as appearing in some of the specials as a dancer. He was interviewed and appears in the 2005 documentary Inside Deep Throat, discussing the affair, as well as Linda Lovelace for President.

Other feature films in which winters has appeared, include West Side Story[4], The Last Horror Film, Blackbeard (2005) (TV), The King Maker and Welcome 2 Ibiza.

Directing Career

On the success of his many nominations, he began to direct. First live shows, then scripted productions. Winters directed Paul Newman in Once upon a wheel1[15], Kirk Douglas in Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde (1973)[16] [17][18] as well as the film version of the successful Alice Cooper tour "Welcome to my Nightmare" In the 1980s he produced, directed, wrote and co-starred in The Last Horror Film (1982), which he filmed during the Cannes Film Festival and which went on to win numerous awards including the Paris Film Festival Award, the Los Angeles Golden Scroll Award and the Sitges Film Festival Award[19].

Producing Career

This article is about an overview as producer. For a more complete list of Winters productions, see List of David Winters Productions.

In the 1970s, in addition to the Welch special, Winters produced the Alice Cooper Show: Welcome to my Nightmare as well as the soft-core "Linda Lovelace for President[20][21] and "Young Lady Chatterly". Winter's two-year affair with Lovelace has been linked to her desire for a Vegas career.[22] [23] Recounting the affair, Winters was featured in the 2005 documentary Inside Deep Throat. In 1978, in a jam-packed Universal (now Gibson) Amphitheatre, fans of Diana Ross, were treated to a concert spectacular, conceived and executed by Winters[24].

Raw Nerve with Traci Lords and Glenn Ford
Raw Nerve with Traci Lords and Glenn Ford

The 1991 film Raw Nerve featured the unlikely film paring of Glenn Ford, in his last film role, with that of an adult film actress Traci Lords. [25] The Winters film, Welcome 2 Ibiza (2002), won the Bangkok Film Festival Audience Award in November of 2002 for Best Picture.

Recent

Winters is currently building a large movie studio in Thailand with acclaimed film director Oliver Stone[26] [27][28][29] and is producing a number of action films in Asia.

Partial Filmography

References

  1. ^ Singer, Michael. "David Winters". Film Directors: A Complete Guide. Toris Von Wolfe, Vera Anderson. Carson City, NV: Lone Eagle Productions, inc. pp. p427. ISBN 9780943728179. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ David Winters at IMDb
  3. ^ David Winters Sees New Global Opportunities for Thailand’s Film Industry
  4. ^ a b Munden, Kenneth W. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961-1970. University of California Press. pp. p1206. ISBN 978-0-520-20970-1. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) Cite error: The named reference "afi" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ West Side Story (1961) at West Side Story official site
  6. ^ West Side Story at TCM
  7. ^ "Hullabaloo" at TV.com
  8. ^ Viva Las Vegas at the TCM Movie Database
  9. ^ ibid Girl Happy
  10. ^ ibid Tickle Me
  11. ^ Nickens, Christopher. "A Star is Born". The Films of Barbra Streisand. Swensen, Karen. Citadel Press. pp. p132. ISBN 0806519541. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  12. ^ Star is born at IMDB
  13. ^ Lefcowitz, Eric. Monkees Tale. Last Gasp. pp. pp94-95. ISBN 0-867-19378-6. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |Location= (help)
  14. ^ Brown, Les. "Raquel!". Television: The Business Behind the Box. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pp. pp187, 188. ISBN 9780156884402. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  15. ^ a b Ormstein, Bill, "Winters-Rosen Triple Budgets",Hollywood Reporter,17, Nov, 1970: p1 Cite error: The named reference "HR1170" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b New York Times Review Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973) Cite error: The named reference "KD1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b Clute, John. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Grant, John. Macmillan. pp. p518. ISBN 9780312198695. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) Cite error: The named reference "KD2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. ^ a b Weldon, Michael J. "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1973)". The Psychotronic Video Guide. St. Martin's Press. pp. p167. ISBN 0-312-13149-6. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) Cite error: The named reference "KD3" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  19. ^ List of winners (in spanish) of Sitges awards. p28
  20. ^ Linda Lovelace for President" review in New York Press, April 12, 2000
  21. ^ Weldon, Michael J. "Linda Lovelace for President". The Psychotronic Video Guide. St. Martin's Press. pp. p334. ISBN 0-312-13149-6. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  22. ^ Lovelace,, Linda. "Section 9, David Winters, Mel Mandel, Marilyn Chambers ch20"". Ordeal. Citadel Press. pp. pp 217, 231. ISBN 9780806527741. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |other= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  23. ^ McNeil, Leggs. The other Hollywood: the uncensored oral history of the porn film industry,. Jennifer Osborne, and Peter Pavia. New York: Regan Books. pp. p112. ISBN 0-060-09659-4.. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  24. ^ Adrahtas, Thomas. A Lifetime to Get Here: Diana Ross: the American Dreamgirl. Adrahtas, Tom. Bloomington, IN:: AuthorHouse. pp. p167. ISBN 9781425971403. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  25. ^ Prouty, H. H. "Raw Nerve". Variety and Daily variety television reviews. New York: Garland. pp. 29, May, 1991. ISBN 9780824037963. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  26. ^ Walden, Celia, "Stone's Ollywood", Chatham, Kent , Telegraph.co.UK: 14 December 2007
  27. ^ Who is David Winters?
  28. ^ Oliver Stone - Stone's Hollywood Plans for Thailand
  29. ^ Stone to build studio in Thailand

Template:David Winters Producer Template:Persondata

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