{{short description|American dancer and choreographer (born 1945)}} {{COI|date=March 2017}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox artist | name = Jeff Kutash | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|4|8}} | birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | field = Dance and choreography | movement = Street dance | awards = {{nowrap|Emmy<br />Golden Globe}} }}
'''Jeff Kutash''' (born 1945) is an American dancer and choreographer.
==Early life== Jeff was born in Cleveland, Ohio.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} As a teen, he was a middleweight Golden Gloves boxer.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-jeff-kutashs-stre/148535663/ |title=Jeff Kutash's Street-Style Showdancing |first=Lewis |last=Segal |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |place=Las Vegas |page=222 |date=1986-08-31 |access-date=2024-06-01 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Career== Jeff Kutash began his entertainment career in Cleveland, Ohio, as a dancer/choreographer of the musical variety show ''Upbeat'', which was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-stepping-up-part-1/148536234/ |title=Stepping up |first=Lee |last=Branst |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |publication-place=Cleveland, Ohio |page=72 |date=1979-04-27 |access-date=2024-06-01 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wksu.org/news/story/36558 |title=R&B; Hall of Fame makes Cleveland its home... for now |first=Kabir |last=Bhatia |publisher=WKSU |date=2013-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906234913/http://wksu.org/news/story/36558 |archive-date=2013-09-06 |url-status=dead |access-date=2024-06-01}}</ref> He has choreographed for James Brown, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, John Travolta, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, Bette Midler, Cher and Jerry Lewis.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} He served as a Live Show Attraction Director for Elvis Presley, Dick Clark, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-31-ca-14911-story.html|title = Los Angeles Times: Jeff Kutash Profile}}</ref>
Kutash created Las Vegas' first water show, ''Splash'', which was a long-running hit for 20 years and paved the way for ''O''.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.vegasliveshow.com/links/legend-splash.html|title = "Splash!" Vegas Live Show}}</ref> His unique brand of "Street Dancing" is credited with invigorating Las Vegas' shows for a younger audience, innovating a format that had been held by French-themed revues that filled the nightclubs.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-31-ca-14911-story.html|title = LA Times Interview: Jeff Kutash's "Street Dancing"}}</ref>
==Personal life== Jeff currently resides in Las Vegas, NV.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} In September 1997, he testified in a trial denying accusations of bribing a judge for a favorable outcome concerning his show ''Splash'' in Las Vegas.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/1997/sep/04/kutash-calls-his-accusers-liars/|title = Las Vegas Sun: Kutash Calls His Accusers "Liars"}}</ref> He is divorced with one daughter, and has a long term girlfriend.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0476459}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kutash, Jeff}} Category:American male dancers Category:Dancers from Cleveland Category:Living people Category:1945 births