Celebrity Deathwatch: Jose Greco, Famed Flamenco Dancer, 82

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

http://www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Arts/01/03/obit.greco.ap/index.html

Famed flamenco dancer Jose Greco dead at 82

January 3, 2001
Web posted at: 11:17 a.m. EST (1617 GMT)

LANCASTER, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Jose Greco, a flamenco dancer and
choreographer who became known as the greatest Spanish dancer in the world,
has died. He was 82.

A spokesman for Franklin & Marshall College, where Greco was an adjunct
professor, said Tuesday that he suffered heart failure on Sunday at his home
in Lancaster.

"He danced with such verve and such contagious joy that when you watched him
you had to share that same enthusiasm and pleasure," said Lynn Brooks, a
colleague of Greco's at Franklin & Marshall.

Born in Montorio nei Frentani, Italy, of Spanish-Italian parents, he moved
to Seville, Spain, at the age of 3, then was raised in Brooklyn from the age
of 10.

He began his career in 1937 and became known as the greatest Spanish dancer
in the world.

In 1941, the already famous Argentine-born dancer La Argentinita (known off
the stage as Encarnacion Lopez) was preparing for an American tour when she
saw Greco dance and asked him to perform as her partner and the featured
male performer in her company. After her death in 1945, Greco danced with
her sister, Pilar Lopez.

In 1951, Greco shared with Carol Channing the title of "New Broadway
Personality of the Year." The Jose Greco Dance Company, which helped
integrate flamenco with mainstream ballet, toured extensively in North
America, and six times worldwide, over the next two decades.

He appeared in several movies, including "Around the World in 80 Days,"
"Ship of Fools," "The Proud and the Damned," "Sombrero" and "Holiday for
Lovers."

In 1962, he was knighted by the Spanish government.

Greco retired from dance in the 1960s; in later years, the dance company he
founded starred his son Jose Greco II, who now lives in Laredo, Texas. His
two daughters are also professional dancers.

Copyright 2001   The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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