When I was a teenager in the 1970s I read somewhere that Diana Ross was considered for the Paula Kelly role (Helene). Can this be substantiated? Paula is terrific in the role, and Miss Ross would not have been good casting, but I know I read it. Diana's fame in the 1960s with the Supremes must have generated some interest in Hollywood, and she did play a singing nun in an episode of Tarzan in 1968! Seriously.
shareI'm sure a few Universal executives contemplated having Diana Ross in the cast, but Bob Fosse wouldn't have considered it - Ross simply couldn't have cut the dancing. As it was, Universal provided Fosse with a pool of dancers for the film, most of whom he couldn't use; they weren't up to the demands of his choreography. He ended up casting dancers from the original Broadway and touring companies.
shareGood point. I hadn't thought about the dancing aspect of the role, and you are right, Ross wouldn't have been upto Fosse's high standards. Also, at that stage in her career, Ross would have been too young and demure for the role of a tough, wise-cracking dance hall hostess, though she was great in Lady Sings the Blues a few years later (a much wiser choice for her movie debut).
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