biography
| name: |
Robinson, Bill ‘Bojangles’
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originally Luther Robinson, nickname the King of Tapology
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1878–1949)
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| biography:
| Tap dancer, born in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He began dancing professionally at age eight in Louisville, KY, then moved to New York City in 1891 to dance in the popular musical, The South Before the War. He first performed on Broadway in 1928, becoming the first African-American to star in the Ziegfield Follies. He appeared in four films with Shirley Temple, including The Little Colonel (1935); although extremely popular in their day, these films would later be criticized for forcing him into the role of a shuffling servant. A star of the movie Stormy Weather (1943), he was one of the first performers to tap dance on his toes (as opposed to flat-footed), and is credited with originating the routine of tapping up and down stairs. |
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