Nick Castle (dance director)
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Nick Castle (1910–1968; born Nicholas John Casaccio[1][upper-alpha 1]) was an American choreographer and dance director of television and film.
Castle was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 21, 1910, to an Italian-American family.[1][3] He danced in vaudeville numbers before moving to Los Angeles in 1935.[4]
There, Castle became "[o]ne of Hollywood's most important and prolific tap dancers, choreographers, producers, and teachers"[1] and "worked with all the major musical stars".[5] His credits include Hellzapoppin' and Stormy Weather.[1]
Castle changed his surname from Casaccio to Castle upon learning that Casaccio meant "dilapidated house" in Italian.[2] He was married to Milly Granata Castle; they had two children.[6] His son, Nick Castle, is a film director and screenwriter.[1][5]
Castle died of a heart attack August 28, 1968, in Los Angeles.[1][6] He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.[7]