Mario Melodia gave up a promising Broadway career but still was able to have it all back in Pittsburgh. The North Side native returned to his hometown and his best friend, June, whom he married shortly after appearing in "Brigadoon."

In the ensuing years before his death Sunday from cancer, which he discovered himself last fall while exercising to "Rock Hard Abs," the 78-year performer lived life with style and panache -- next best friend Larry Cervi calls him "a force of nature."

Family always came first, gradually expanding to include children Mark, Anastasia and Craig, and life was a "normal" mix of dance lessons, Little League baseball and breakfast at home with celebrities such as the late comedienne, Totie Fields.

His immensely varied career as teacher, choreographer and performer came in a strong second, and thousands of Pittsburghers on Broadway and beyond counted him prominently on their resumes and in their memories.

Mr. Melodia grew up in an Italian community on Boyce Street on the North Side.

By age 14, "Deals," as he was nicknamed, was immersing himself in the burgeoning dance scene around Pittsburgh, forming a strong ballet foundation with pioneering teacher Frank Eckl, who founded, among others, International Repertory Ballet Company, where a young Melodia choreographed his first works, including "Beth and the Temptress."

When New York didn't satisfy his aspirations, he came back to continue to put his own stamp on Pittsburgh.

Mr. Melodia became the epitome of a multitasker as he worked to support his family. Only in his 20s, he taught at the University of Pittsburgh, danced in the Civic Light Opera and opened his own studio in East Liberty.

Inspired by a summer in Colorado with modern dance icon Hanya Holm, who he said opened his mind to new possibilities, his choreographic career took off, over the years sweeping from Pittsburgh Opera's "Faust" to ballroom dancing at the Edgeworth Country Club, and from a stint at American Ballet Theatre II to industrial shows for Heinz and DuPont.

His most enduring stay was at the Kenley Players in Ohio, where he worked for 25 years.

Perhaps his greatest prowess came as a teacher. In the 1980s, Mr. Melodia opened a studio Downtown where his Monday night jazz classes were legendary, packed with professionals from touring companies and students such as Kathleen Marshall, currently a Broadway director and choreographer.

"When you [have] someone like Mario to believe in you, it takes you a long way to believing in yourself," Ms. Marshall said. "He could be tough and you wanted to please him, [but] there was never such a thing as too much praise."

Mr. Melodia spent 35 years at Sewickley Academy, where he insisted on a comprehensive dance program that included ballet for all students grades one through six, and optional courses for higher levels.

Sewickley's Man of the Year in 1988 also began the Summer Theater Performing Arts Camp there, continued by Pam Gregg and his daughter-in-law, Diane Melodia, where participants from 8 to 18 received professional instruction and learned the equivalent of eight musicals during the monthlong intensive workshop.

Mr. Melodia is survived by his wife and three children.

A tribute will be held Nov. 29 at Sewickley Academy.