Berkeley, Busby

Berkeley, Busby (bŭz`bē bûr`klē), 1895–1975, American film director and choreographer, b. Los Angeles as William Berkeley Enos. He choreographed several Broadway revues before moving (1930) to Hollywood, where he achieved his greatest successes at Warner Bros. (1933–39). Berkeley became famous for staging elaborate dance numbers in which lines of showgirls performed synchronized movements which, photographed from innovative angles, particularly from above, created kaleidoscopic, often surreal patterns of moving figures. The height of his style was reached in the 1930s in such films as 42nd Street (1933), Dames (1934), and a series of Gold Diggers movies, for which he directed either the dance sequences or the entire production. Although his kind of spectacular became passé, he continued to direct other musicals during the 1940s, staged musical numbers for a few films into the 1960s, and returned to Broadway to direct a revival of No, No Nanette (1970).

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Berkeley, Busby

 orig. William Berkeley Enos

(born Nov. 29, 1895, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.—died March 14, 1976, Palm Springs, Calif.) U.S. film director and choreographer. The son of itinerant actors, he acted and danced in comedies from age five. After choreographing over 20 Broadway musicals, he was summoned to Hollywood to direct dance numbers for Whoopee (1930). His elaborate production numbers, innovative camera techniques, and opulent sets in such films as Gold Diggers of 1933 and Footlight Parade (1933) revolutionized the musical and offered escapist fare for moviegoers during the Great Depression. When rising production costs made such extravaganzas unfeasible, he directed less innovative but still popular films such as The Gang's All Here (1943).

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Berkeley, Busby (b. William Berkeley Enos) (1895–1976) choreographer, film director; born in Los Angeles. He went on the Broadway stage at age five, and by the 1920s was one of the top Broadway choreographers. In 1930 he went to Hollywood to choreograph Eddie Cantor films and Mary Pickford's musical, Kiki (1930). A long string of musicals followed that featured his innovative choreography and camera techniques. He later directed complete films, but without much success.