Joe Layton.

Joe Layton, the award-winning choreographer, director, and producer, died after a long illness at his home in Key West, Florida, on May 5, 1994. He was sixty-four years old.

A native of New York City. Layton as a child performed at Catskill mountain resorts and made his debut at the age of sixteen as a dancer in Oklahoma! He performed in several other shows and first choreographed musicals and opera in an Army Special Services unit during the early 1950s. After his discharge he worked in Europe as a dancer, choreographer, and director, returning to the United States in 1956, when he first performed on television in a CBS-TV production of Cinderella,. On Broadway Layton choreographed a 1959 revival of On the Town, and, Off Broadway, Once Upon a Mattress. Further important Broadway assignments included The Sound of Music, Greenwillow, Tenderloin, Sail Away, No Strings, and George M!

Layton's film choreography is represented by Thoroughly Modern Millie and For the Boys. He directed Richard P or: Live on the Sunset Strip and was the executive producer of Annie. He created and choreographed several television specials, and his classical ballet credits include three works for Royal Ballet and the 1972 Double Exposure for Joffrey.