Biography
Choreographer, producer, director, and writer Joe Layton found success on Broadway, television, and in feature films. Renowned for setting up spectacular live concerts, Layton was especially adept at stage work and over his career won Tonys for choreographing No Strings (1962) and George M! (1969). In 1965, Layton won an Emmy for staging the television special
My Name Is Barbra, the show that introduced the world to the sophisticated side of
Barbra Streisand. He would later create three more specials for Streisand. Born Joseph Lichtman in New York City, Layton launched his career in 1959 when he directed and choreographed the first run of Once Upon a Mattress, the show that made
Carol Burnett a star. The same year, he put on The Sound of Music, which starred
Mary Martin, and the
Anthony Perkins play Greenwillow. In 1960, he worked with Martin again, this time on television, on her much-loved Thanksgiving Day Special. Layton broke into films as the dance director for
Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and executive produced the screen version of
Annie (1982). Layton worked with
Bette Midler on several major projects, including her live Clams on the Half Shell Revue and the choreography for her ill-received tribute to the USO,
For the Boys (1991). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide