Onna White

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Onna White (March 24, 1922 – April 8, 2005) was a Canadian choreographer and dancer nominated for eight Tony Awards.

Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventually her studies took her to the famed San Francisco Ballet Company. Her first Broadway performance was in Finian's Rainbow in 1947. Her next assignment was Guys and Dolls, in which she both performed and assisted the choreographer, Michael Kidd, beginning an association that lasted through various productions until, in 1956, she choreographed her first Broadway show, Carmen Jones.

She married actor Larry Douglas in 1948; they divorced in 1959.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded White a special Oscar for her work on Oliver! (1968), only one of two ever presented for choreography.

[edit] Theater credits

[edit] Choreographed films

  • The Music Man (1962)
  • Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
  • Oliver! (1968)
  • 1776 (1972)
  • The Great Waltz (1972)
  • Mame (1974)
  • Pete's Dragon (1977)

[edit] Tony Award nominations

  • 1977 Best Choreography for I Love My Wife
  • 1968 Best Choreography for Illya Darling
  • 1966 Best Choreography for Mame
  • 1965 Best Choreography for Half a Sixpence
  • 1961 Best Choreography for Irma La Douce
  • 1960 Best Choreography for Take Me Along
  • 1959 Best Choreography for Whoop-Up
  • 1958 Best Choreography for The Music Man