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Kenny Ortega
Birth at
18 April 1950
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Future director and choreographer Kenny Ortega (full name – Kenneth John Ortega) was born on April 18, 1950 in Palo Alto, California. He was raised in the family of waitress Madeleine and factory worker Octavio. Kenny Ortega’s grandparents are from Spain.
His career as a choreographer began in 1980 on the set of the film Xanadu, where he worked with Gene Kelly. It was followed by the romantic comedies St. Elm’s Lights, The Girl in Pink, Ferris Bueller Takes a Day Off and finally, in 1987, the crazy
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Future director and choreographer Kenny Ortega (full name – Kenneth John Ortega) was born on April 18, 1950 in Palo Alto, California. He was raised in the family of waitress Madeleine and factory worker Octavio. Kenny Ortega’s grandparents are from Spain.
His career as a choreographer began in 1980 on the set of the film Xanadu, where he worked with Gene Kelly. It was followed by the romantic comedies St. Elm’s Lights, The Girl in Pink, Ferris Bueller Takes a Day Off and finally, in 1987, the crazy Dirty Dancing.
Michael Jackson He has long been a good friend of his. Ortega staged Jackson's world tours. In addition, the choreographer had a hand in Super Bowl XXX, the 72nd Oscars, the Summer Olympics in Atlanta (1996) and the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (2002). At the same time, the trilogy “School Musical” was released, which brought Ortega huge popularity.
In May 2009, Kenny Ortega began preparations for Michael Jackson’s 50th birthday concert tour. After the sudden death of the singer, Ortega took over the direction of the concert film "That's it." The film premiered on October 28, 2009. On July 7, 2009, Kenny Ortega delivered the Michael Jackson Public Memorial in Los Angeles, which aired on multiple channels. The audience reached 31 million in the US and more than 1 billion worldwide.
In August 2011, it became known that Kenny Ortega will direct a remake of Dirty Dancing.
He is also known for making actors pay $1 each if they see them yawning on set.