Born Richard Gosso on Feb. 10, 1938 in San Francisco, CA, Mr. Goss appeared as a dancer in numerous Bob Fosse productions, including the original companies of Little Me, Sweet Charity, Dancin' (National Tour, 1979) and Chicago. He also danced in the film version of Sweet Charity.

Upon moving to New York in the early '60s, he landed a job in the musical Bajour. He also acted in the Superman musical It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman.

As early as the early '60s, Mr. Goss had turned to choreography, designing the dances for Off-Broadway shows like The Plot Against the Chase Manhattan Bank, I Dreamt I Dwelt in Bloomingdale's, Sterling Silver and Chase a Rainbow. He worked extensively in San Francisco Bay Area. He staged the San Jose Rep production of Cole!, a musical about Cole Porter, earned him the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for direction and choreography. The show had an 18-month run in San Francisco.

In 2002, Goss directed the Off-Broadway drama, Roman Nights, a two-character play about the relationship of Anna Magnani and Tennessee Williams at the Daryl Roth 2 Theatre. In 2007, Mr. Goss directed the musical War Brides, which won two honorable mentions at the NYMF Awards.

In 1999, he founded the non-profit Musical Mondays Theatre Lab at the Century Center for the Performing Arts. The enterprise was dedicated to new musical theatre works. Writers whose early work debuted at Musical Mondays include Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (Avenue Q), and Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, when their show Next to Normal was still entitled Feeling Electric. Performers in both readings and table readings have included Norbert Leo Butz, Rebecca Luker, Liz Larsen, Sal Viviano, Tovah Feldshuh, Jan Maxwell and Tammy Grimes. He is survived by his brothers, Blaine and DeanGoss, and his cousin, LaRue Larussa, as well as six nieces and nephews. A memorial service is being planned for a later date and location to be announced.