Donald Saddler

Donald Edward Saddler was born in Van Nuys, California, in 1918. He began dance training after scarlet fever as a way to rebuild strength. Growing up near the film industry brought him into MGM musical production while still young, giving him practical experience in chorus precision, camera framing, and the rapid stylistic shifts demanded by studio work.

Saddler became an original member of Ballet Theatre, later American Ballet Theatre. He danced in repertory that included *Giselle*, *Pillar of Fire*, and *Fancy Free*. World War II interrupted that career; after military service, he redirected his professional life toward Broadway rather than returning exclusively to ballet.

As a dancer he appeared in *High Button Shoes* and other postwar productions. His choreographic breakthrough came with *Wonderful Town* in 1953, earning the Tony Award for Best Choreography. The assignment established his ability to use period-inflected movement and comedy in service of character and story.

His work extended beyond commercial Broadway. At Jacob's Pillow in 1958, he created and performed in a dance-drama adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's *Winesburg, Ohio*. That project exemplified a career that moved among ballet, theatre dance, television, opera, and concert settings without treating them as sealed categories.

Saddler won a second Tony for the 1971 revival of *No, No, Nanette*. Later productions included *Good News*, *The Robber Bridegroom*, *On Your Toes*, *Teddy & Alice*, and a 2000 revival of *Follies*. He remained active into the twenty-first century and was documented in the film *Keep Dancing* with Marge Champion.