Bobby Banas, known for his role as Joyboy in the 1961 film West Side Story, passed away on Monday at the age of 90.
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Banas passed away on Monday due to pneumonia at an assisted living facility in Encino, as confirmed by his son, director and photographer Eden Tyler Banas, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Born on September 22, 1933, in New York City, Banas made his mark as Kangaroo in the original 1954 Broadway production of Peter Pan. In 1956, he transitioned to film, taking on dancer roles in iconic musicals such as The King and I, Carousel, and the early rock ‘n’ roll classic Rock Around the Clock. Throughout the later part of the decade, he continued to shine in productions like The Girl Most Likely, Damn Yankees, Li’l Abner, and a television adaptation of Annie Get Your Gun.
His most renowned role arrived in the Oscar-winning musical West Side Story, where he portrayed the Jets’ Joyboy. Although the character had limited dialogue, he played a significant part in memorable dance sequences, including “Cool” and “Gee, Officer Krupke.’ Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, the film garnered 10 Academy Awards in 1962.
Banas made appearances in other notable 1960s musicals such as Bye Bye Birdie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and Mary Poppins. However, it was during this period that his choreography career truly began to flourish.
He served as both the choreographer and lead dancer in a 1964 segment of The Judy Garland Show. There he presented his interpretation of the Nitty Gritty, inspired by Shirley Ellis’ top 10 hit. Banas captivated the audience, outshining five other performers with his distinctive blend of jerky and fluid movements. The segment propelled his career as a choreographer. Eventually, the camera’s focus shifted to him, as directed from the control room.
Bobby Banas Goes Viral and a New Generation Discovers His Choreography
The “Nitty Gritty” clip was uploaded to YouTube in the early 2010s. It quickly went viral, much to the surprise of Banas.
“I can’t believe what has happened with the ‘Nitty Gritty’ clip,” Banas said in a 2013 interview. “Several years ago a friend said he had a copy that he found somewhere. He gave me one, I looked at it and put it away. I didn’t think it was anything to get that excited about, and that was that. Then I guess someone else found a copy, and posted it on YouTube.
“Then someone else posted it on Facebook, and the sh–t hit the fan,” he continued. “I was getting email and calls and questions about who was which dancer besides me, and all types of remarks wanting to know what type of dance it was. Yes, it was my choreography and my own interpretation of the song. Peter Gennaro was the choreographer for Garland, but he had to go to New York that week for some reason and his assistant didn’t have any idea what to do with the tune, so the director asked me to come up with a dance and that was the result.”
After the Garland show, Banas transitioned to other television choreography projects. These include The Jonathan Winters Show, Shiveree, and in the 1980s, Mork and Mindy. He also contributed to films such as Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Under the Boardwalk, Always, and more.