#bobavian

. . #MichaelBennett (April 8, 1943 – July 2, 1987) was a musical theatre director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He died of AIDS aged of 44. . In 1976, Bennett won @thetonyawards for Best Direction of a Musical and for Best Choreography for #AChorusLine. He also directed and co-choreographed Dreamgirls with #MichaelPeters (1948 – 1994) who also died of AIDS. . Bennett, who always collaborated with his assistant and a lifelong friend #BobAvian, in total won 7 Tony Awards and was nominated for an additional 11 times. He is also known for his work on Promises, Promises, Ballroom, Company and Follies. . Bennett, born Michael Bennett DiFiglia in Buffalo, New York, had relationships with women and less publicised ones with men that included dancers Larry Fuller, Scott Pearson, Richard Christopher. . In 1976, Bennett married #DonnaMcKechnie, who won the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in the role he had created for her in A Chorus Line. However, although they “quietly” divorced in 1979 they remained good friends until his death. . In the late 1970s he began an affair with Sabine Cassel wife of French actor #JeanPierreCassel (1932 - 2007). She left her family in Paris to be with Bennett in New York with the intention that they would eventually marry, but the relationship did not last. . Bennett's addictions to alcohol and drugs affected his ability to work and also many of his relationships. with friends and colleagues. His drugs addiction made him so paranoid that he even began to believe that he might fall prey to a Mafia hit due to his father's Italian heritage. . Bennett's last lover was Gene Pruitt. In 1986, both Pruitt and friend Bob Herr lived with Bennett for the last 8 months of his life in #Tucson, #Arizona, where he received care at the Arizona Medical Center. . Bennett's left an estimated 7 million dollars from his estate to AIDS research after his death from AIDS-related lymphoma. . #whatisrememberedlives #theaidsmemorial #aidsmemorial #neverforget #endaids . (at Tucson, Arizona)