Jaime Rogers

Jaime Juan Rogers (May 13, 1940 – January 4, 2024), pronounced and sometimes credited as Hymie Rogers, was an American dancer, choreographer, and director. Nominated for an Emmy in 1976, and perhaps best known for his work with Sammy Davis Jr. in the Broadway musical Golden Boy, his career spanned the stage, film and television.

Early life Rogers was born in New York City on May 13, 1940, to Jaime Juan Rogers Santos and Ambrosia “Fari” Clemente Y Torres. His parents were respectively from Juncos County and Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. They married in Puerto Rico in 1925. His paternal grandparents were Juan Rogel and Esperanza Santos. When his father moved to New York in 1929 he changed Rogel to Rogers on his documentation and was known as Rogers from then on. Rogers' older sister Margareto (1928–), was born in Puerto Rico, After the war, he and Ambrosia separated, and Jaime Sr. opened a barber shop and remarried, going on to have two sons, Glbert and Hiram, with his new wife Tiana. Rogers' father died in 1969 in The Bronx, and his mother died in 1984.

Rogers began dancing at the age of four, taught by his sister Polly. Together, they were child stars on the Latin variety show Spanish Hour. Rogers trained at the High School of Performing Arts and The Juilliard School. Finian's Rainbow, Wildcat, Kicks and Co., We Take the Town with Robert Preston, In the musical Golden Boy, he played alongside Sammy Davis Jr. as He-Who-Gets-Killed. The show climaxed in a fight scene between the two, choreographed by Donald McKayle. When Davis later that year hosted the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, he invited Rogers on to the show to do a dance piece. Rogers later choreographed the London production of Golden Boy. During the 1971-72 television season, her served as choreographer on the NBC series The Dean Martin Show and the weekly syndicated series Chevrolet Presents The Golddiggers, both produced by Greg Garrison.

In 1985, he replaced Debbie Allen as choreographer for 48 episodes of the TV series Fame. Rogers choreographed other TV series and films including Breakin', Wholly Moses, Caddyshack, and Americathon. The Los Angeles Times described his style as an "exuberant, modern dance-based combination of geometrically balanced lines, driving rhythms and explosive leaps and turns".

In 2005, Rogers was presented with a Lifetime Achievement award at the Les Horton Dance Award ceremony.

Personal life and death In 1962, Rogers married dancer Barbara Dell Alexander and later divorced in 1981. He was survived by his wife, Austrian-born actress and dancer, Ina Haybaeck-Rogers (born 1975).

Credits Theatre Finian's Rainbow, 1960 Flower Drum Song, 1960 Wildcat, 1960 We Take the Town, 1961 Kicks and Co., 1961 Bravo Giovanni, 1962 Golden Boy, 1964 Annie Get Your Gun, 1966 Golden Boy, 1968 West End – producer and choreographer at the London Palladium

Film West Side Story, 1961 movie – Loco Breakin' – choreography Wholly Moses – choreography Caddyshack – choreography Americathon – choreography

Television The Dean Martin Show, 1971-72 Chevrolet Presents The Golddiggers, 1971-72 The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, 1971, 33 episodes Ben Vereen... Comin' at Ya, 1975 Fame, 1985 Elvis Presley Comeback Special, 1968 Mary’s Incredible Dream, 1976

Concert tours and productions Sha Na Na The Jackson Five The Temptations The Supremes The Fifth Dimension The Manhattan Transfer