While Oliver naturally manages to survive his dream sequence, Bob Fosse's alter-ego, Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), does not make it through "All That Jazz." Eerily, Fosse too would die of a heart attack eight years after the release of the film — he collapsed into the arms of his ex-wife Gwen Verdon on September 23, 1987, on a Washington D.C. street.
Much of the grist for Fosse's fictional mill came from his real life. The story fictionalizes his relationship with his daughter Nicole (called Michelle in the musical), estranged wife and partner Gwen Verdon (named Audrey Paris), and then-current partner Ann Reinking (playing a fictionalized version of herself as Kate Jagger) and his inability to stop drinking, smoking, womanizing, popping pills, or putting himself under heavy amounts of stress. As Joe tries to mount a new Broadway musical and edits another film while trying to balance his health and chaotic personal life, he becomes enamored of Angelique (Jessica Lange), a seductive woman in white and the angel of death personified.
At least Oliver manages to snag some inspiration from his dream, deciding to turn "Death Rattle" into a full-out musical. That increases the likelihood that Season 3 of "Only Murders in the Building" will indeed sport a full-out musical episode. But while Oliver's career-related stress has started to clear up, the mess related to Ben's death seems to be never-ending. Hopefully, he'll manage to make it through the rest of the season hale and well.
