Steve Merritt; Choreographed Academy Awards Show in 1989

Steve Merritt, 48, Las Vegas choreographer and stage theater director who choreographed the 61st Academy Awards show in 1989. Merritt, who had created exotic male dance acts for Chippendales in Los Angeles, began his career designing acts for such stars as Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, Tom Jones, Liza Minnelli and Pia Zadora. In recent years, he had staged musicals primarily at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. His most recent production was “NightDreams” in 1991. On Tuesday in Los Angeles of the complications of AIDS.