Spencer Henderson III was a Broadway dancer and choreographer. Credits include Steel Magnolias, Footloose, and TV's The Love Boat. He died on November 14, 1993, at his family's home in Fort Worth. He was 44. (Picture: Spencer Henderson (left) with Kevin Bacon during the filming of Footloose (1983). Photo: courtesy Betty Alvarello)

The cause was AIDS, said Harold Fairbanks, a friend.

Mr. Henderson danced on Broadway in "Promises, Promises" and "Jesus Christ, Superstar" and in the national company of "Zorba." He performed in "Liza" at the Winter Garden and in nightclub acts with Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera. He also danced on many television programs, including the "Tonight" Show and "The Merv Griffin Show" as well as a number of awards specials.

He choreographed the stage show "David Copperfield IV" and the film "Steel Magnolias," and was the assistant choreographer for "Footloose," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and the television series "The Love Boat."

Spencer Henderson trained at the Joffrey and Harkness schools in New York and graduated from the National Ballet Academic School in Washington, D.C. in 1967. He danced on Broadway with the Theater Dance Collection and toured with Liza Minnelli, Shirley MacLaine, and Chita Rivera before moving to California to work on film choreography.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/18/obituaries/spencer-henderson-3d-dancer-is-dead-at-44.html

Further Readings:

Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia with a History and Filmographies, 1893 Through 1995 by Larry Billman
cover: 664 pages
Publisher: McFarland & Company; Casebound edition (August 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0899508685
ISBN-13: 978-0899508689
Amazon: Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia with a History and Filmographies, 1893 Through 1995

For each of 970 choreographers there is a biography providing date and place of birth (and death when appropriate), a description of their choreographic style, a listing of their stage, television, music video, nightclub, and concert credits, and a listing of the movies they choreographed.


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