Bob Fosse and Joan McCracken: The Marriage That Shaped His Career

The FX limited series Fosse/Verdon delves deep into the passionate and tumultuous relationship between legendary choreographer Bob Fosse and his third wife, dancer Gwen Verdon. However, their relationship wasn’t Fosse’s first foray into complicated romantic entanglements with talented dancers. Before Verdon, there was Joan McCracken, a Broadway star who not only captured Fosse’s heart but fundamentally shaped his career trajectory. The story of Fosse and McCracken’s marriage reveals a troubling pattern in the choreographer’s romantic life—one that would repeat itself with devastating consequences.

A Choreographer’s Type: Three Dancers, Three Marriages

Bob Fosse had an unmistakable pattern when it came to romantic relationships. In a revealing 1980 interview, Fosse acknowledged that all three of his wives shared one critical characteristic: they were all dancers. His first wife was Mary Ann Niles, his dance partner in the early days of his career. His second wife was Joan McCracken, an established Broadway star who would become instrumental in his transformation from nightclub performer to serious choreographer. Finally, there was Gwen Verdon, the Tony Award-winning dancer who would become both his muse and his most enduring creative partner.

This pattern wasn’t merely coincidental. Fosse was drawn to women who understood the demanding world of dance and performance, women who could match his artistic ambition and creative vision. Yet this pattern also revealed something darker about Fosse’s character—a tendency to begin new relationships while still committed to previous ones, leaving a trail of heartbreak in his wake.

Joan McCracken: The Star Who Fell Down

When Joan McCracken and Bob Fosse met in 1949 during the Broadway revue Dance Me a Song, she was already an established name in the theater world. McCracken had achieved fame in the groundbreaking 1943 production of Oklahoma!, where she captivated audiences with a choreographed fall during a dance number that became her signature move. This moment of physical comedy and technical skill earned her recognition and established her as a rising star on Broadway.

In Dance Me a Song, McCracken held a leading role while Fosse was cast as a specialty dancer—a relatively minor position for someone still finding his footing in the Broadway world. The disparity in their professional standing couldn’t have been more pronounced. McCracken was the star; Fosse was the unknown talent trying to make his mark. Yet despite—or perhaps because of—this imbalance, the two dancers were drawn to each other with an intensity that would change both their lives.

An Affair Begins: The Pattern Emerges

According to Lisa Jo Sagolla’s 2003 biography The Girl Who Fell Down, McCracken and Fosse began an affair during the early tryouts of Dance Me a Song. This wasn’t a simple romance between two single people—it was an affair in the truest sense of the word. While McCracken had already divorced her first husband, Jack Dunphy, Fosse was still married to Mary Ann Niles, his first wife and dance partner.

The affair had all the hallmarks of what would become Fosse’s romantic modus operandi: intense attraction, professional collaboration, and a willingness to prioritize passion over existing commitments. Broadway insiders whispered about the relationship, which had the potential to create significant scandal in the tight-knit theater community. Yet McCracken and Fosse continued their relationship, seemingly unable—or unwilling—to resist their connection.

The Marriage: December 1952

When Fosse finally left Niles, he was free to marry McCracken, which he did on December 30, 1952, in a civil ceremony. McCracken was ten years Fosse’s senior, an age gap that was somewhat unusual for the time. This was a second marriage for both of them—McCracken’s first husband, Jack Dunphy, had gone on to have a long-term relationship with writer Truman Capote after their divorce. Interestingly, rumors persisted that McCracken may have been the inspiration for Holly Golightly in Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with Capote himself calling McCracken a “terrific girl” whom he liked “very much.”

When the marriage was announced, the New York Times notice reflected the professional disparity between the two. The announcement read: “Joan McCracken, musician comedy and television actress, and Robert L. Foss, an actor of Evanston, Ill. obtained a marriage license yesterday in the Municipal Building. Miss McCracken, who appeared in ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘Bloomer Girl’ and ‘Billion Dollar Baby,’ legally terminated her previous marriage to Jack Dunphy in 1951.”

The wording was telling. McCracken was identified by her impressive Broadway credits, while Fosse was simply noted as “an actor of Evanston, Ill.” At the time of their wedding, McCracken was unquestionably the bigger name, the more established talent, and the recognized star.

McCracken’s Impact on Fosse’s Career

What Joan McCracken saw in the young Bob Fosse went far beyond his talent as a performer. She recognized potential that he hadn’t yet realized himself—the potential to become not just a dancer or choreographer, but a transformative force in American theater. According to Fosse’s own later recollections, McCracken fundamentally changed the trajectory of his career.

“She’s the one who encouraged me to be a choreographer,” Fosse said of his second wife in a 1973 interview with the New York Times. “I was very show biz, all I thought about was nightclubs, and she kept saying, ‘You’re too good to spend your life in nightclubs.’ She lifted me out of that, and I’ll always be grateful.”

McCracken’s influence was both practical and profound. As Fosse later recalled, “She saw that I wasn’t going to be Fred Astaire, that I was floundering.” Rather than allowing him to continue in nightclubs, McCracken convinced Fosse to take a year off and “go back to school to study not only dancing but movement, acting, speech, and music.” This period of intensive study and reflection would prove crucial to Fosse’s development as an artist.

McCracken’s biographer, Lisa Sagolla, noted that the dancer had a remarkable eye for talent. In The Girl Who Fell Down, Sagolla cited a Broadway producer who claimed that McCracken was “single-handedly responsible for getting Bobby Fosse his first job as a choreographer on Broadway.” McCracken didn’t just believe in Fosse—she actively worked to advance his career, using her influence and connections to open doors that might otherwise have remained closed to him.

The Cracks Begin to Show

Despite McCracken’s pivotal role in launching Fosse’s career as a choreographer, their marriage began to deteriorate almost as soon as Fosse found success. The pattern that had brought them together—Fosse’s attraction to talented dancers and his willingness to pursue those attractions regardless of existing commitments—would ultimately destroy their relationship.

As Fosse’s career began to flourish, McCracken’s health began to decline. She suffered from a serious heart condition complicated by type I diabetes, conditions that would plague her for the remainder of her life. Rather than supporting his wife through these health struggles, Fosse continued working obsessively, choreographing Broadway plays and pursuing new opportunities. The man whose career McCracken had essentially created seemed unable or unwilling to prioritize her needs during her most vulnerable moments.

History Repeats: Enter Gwen Verdon

The final blow to the Fosse-McCracken marriage came when Fosse was choreographing Damn Yankees. It was during this production that he met Gwen Verdon, a talented dancer who would become the great love of his life—and the catalyst for his divorce from McCracken. The parallels to how Fosse and McCracken’s relationship had begun were impossible to ignore.

Just as Fosse had begun an affair with McCracken while still married to Mary Ann Niles, he now began an affair with Verdon while still married to McCracken. The pattern was repeating itself with devastating precision. Fosse was once again drawn to a talented dancer, once again willing to betray his current wife for a new romantic and creative partnership, and once again seemingly unable to end one relationship before beginning another.

While Fosse was consumed by his affair with Verdon, McCracken’s health continued to deteriorate along with her career. The woman who had sacrificed so much to advance Fosse’s career found herself abandoned by the man she had helped create. By 1959, McCracken had endured enough. She filed for divorce, freeing Fosse to marry Verdon—a marriage that would last decades, though it too would be marked by Fosse’s infidelities.

The Aftermath and Legacy

Following their divorce in 1959, McCracken managed to find love one last time with Marc Adams, an actor with whom she had a relationship until her death. The two never married, but the romance brought some measure of happiness to McCracken’s final years.

Tragically, McCracken’s health problems proved insurmountable. She died of a heart attack in 1961 at the age of 43, though the New York Times reported her age as 38—she had shaved five years off her age long ago for career purposes, a common practice among actresses of that era. She had suffered from her heart condition for seven years before her death, conditions complicated by the type I diabetes that had made her final years so difficult.

Fosse was reportedly deeply disturbed by McCracken’s early death, a sorrow that lasted throughout the rest of his life according to Gwen Verdon. In his semi-autobiographical film All That Jazz (1979), the angel character played by Jessica Lange is dressed in a similar way to McCracken in her final performance in the off-Broadway play “The Infernal Machine” (1958), suggesting that McCracken remained in Fosse’s thoughts years after her death.

The Pattern Revealed

The story of Bob Fosse and Joan McCracken’s marriage reveals more than just another failed Hollywood relationship. It exposes a pattern of behavior that would define Fosse’s romantic life: an attraction to talented dancers, an inability to remain faithful, and a tendency to leave one relationship for another rather than honestly addressing problems in his current partnership.

McCracken was the woman who transformed Fosse from a nightclub performer into a serious choreographer. She used her influence, connections, and belief in his talent to give him opportunities he might never have achieved on his own. Yet when she needed him most—when her health was failing and her career was declining—Fosse was already moving on to his next muse, his next creative partnership, his next marriage.

The Fosse/Verdon series explores these complicated dynamics, showing how Fosse’s patterns of behavior affected not just McCracken but also Verdon, who would experience her own share of betrayal and heartbreak in her marriage to the legendary choreographer. Understanding Fosse’s relationship with McCracken provides crucial context for understanding his later relationship with Verdon—and for recognizing that genius and moral character don’t always go hand in hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When did Bob Fosse and Joan McCracken get married?

A: Bob Fosse and Joan McCracken married on December 30, 1952, in a civil ceremony. This was Fosse’s second marriage and McCracken’s second as well.

Q: How did Joan McCracken influence Bob Fosse’s career?

A: McCracken was instrumental in transforming Fosse from a nightclub performer into a serious choreographer. She encouraged him to study movement, acting, speech, and music, and was reportedly “single-handedly responsible” for getting him his first job as a choreographer on Broadway.

Q: Why did Bob Fosse and Joan McCracken divorce?

A: Fosse and McCracken divorced in 1959 after Fosse began an affair with dancer Gwen Verdon while choreographing Damn Yankees. McCracken filed for divorce as her health declined and Fosse continued his affair with Verdon.

Q: What happened to Joan McCracken after her divorce from Bob Fosse?

A: After divorcing Fosse, McCracken had a relationship with actor Marc Adams until her death. She died of a heart attack in 1961 at age 43, after suffering from heart problems and type I diabetes for seven years.

Q: Was Joan McCracken the inspiration for Holly Golightly?

A: There are rumors that Joan McCracken may have inspired the character Holly Golightly in Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Capote was in a long-term relationship with McCracken’s first husband, Jack Dunphy, and called McCracken a “terrific girl.”