Jelly’s Last Jam opened at the Virginia Theater on April 26, 1992 and closed on September 5, 1993 after 569 performances and 25 previews. The musical was directed by George C. Wolfe, choreographed by Hope Clarke, with Tap choreography by Gregory Hines (Co-Founder of Tap Legacy™) and Ted L. Levy. Gregory Hines and Savion Glover played the older and younger versions of Morton respectively. Enjoy….
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[Daily Post] Sammy Davis, Jr. and Lionel Blair
Sammy Davis Jr. and Lionel Blair give an amazing performance in 1961 at The Royal Variety Performance, watch and enjoy Sammy’s famous impersonations, the duo singing and … YES, tap dancing … Wow!!! And what a performance, true entertainment, classic!!!!
[Daily Post] Mable Lee
Mable Lee – HAPPY BIRTHDAY
From the Newsletter archives of Tap Legacy™:
To all dancers, dance enthusiasts and tap dancers, join us in celebrating today 08/02/1921 the Birthday of Mable Lee “Queen of the Soundies”, she began performing at the age of 4 in her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia and became a soloist with the Red McAlister Band by the age of nine.
As a teenager, Ms. Lee came to New York City where she worked in chorus line of the West End Theatre followed by that of the Apollo Theatre before being given a spot as a soubrette, a featured soloist with a line of girls behind her. Mable toured with big bands led by the likes of Cab Calloway, Eubie Blake, Louis Jordan, Fats Waller, Lucky Milinder and many more.
During World War II, Mable performed in the first all-black USO unit, conducted by Eubie Blake and his sixteen-piece orchestra, and would later take her own show, complete with chorus line and band, out with the USO.
From 1942-1946, Mable Lee appeared in over 100 SOUNDIES, earning her the title, “Queen of the Soundies.”
Ms. Lee has also made her mark in theatre starring in Eubie Blake’s Shuffle Along, the national touring production of Bubblin’ Brown Sugar, and AMAS Repertory Theatre’s production of Suddenly the Music Starts (alongside Harold Nicholas). She was also the only female member of the cast of The Hoofers, which opened at the Mercury Theatre and included such luminaries as Lon Chaney, Chuck Green, Jimmy Slyde, Sandman Sims, and Buster Brown, among others.
Ms. Lee has received the Flo-Bert Award for lifetime achievement, has been inducted in the Tap Dance Hall of Fame and is a member of the Tap Legacy™ Honorary Board. She was nominated for an Audelco Award for Outstanding Musical Performance (Suddenly the Music Starts), received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and has been on the cover of Ebony Magazine.
Mable Lee can be found performing today at the Tap Extravaganza®, and other tap dance events.
[Daily Post] The Four Step Brothers
The Four Step Brothers appear with host Milton Berle at the RCA/Whirlpool Variety Hour. Milton Berle tries to get in on their Act!! Watch and smile when he tries…
[Daily Post] Sunnie O’Dea
Sunnie O’Dea, the forgotten female tap dancer was born Martha Bonini, in Pittsburgh PA. In this clip Sunnie is tap dancing (2:45) to Shake It Off With Rhythm sung by Ethel Merman from the 1936 film Strike Me Pink.
Sunnie started dancing at the age of nine, by ten she was touring in Orpheum Vaudeville. At sixteen, Sunnie was in New York doing specialties in musicals, and shortly after dancing with Ray Bolger in Keep off The Grass Sunnie was discovered by Universal Pictures as their star dancer destined to be famous.
[Daily Post] Gregory and Maurice Hines
Characters Sandman Williams and Clay Williams (played by Gregory & Maurice Hines) in a tap dance duet in the 1984 crime-drama film The Cotton Club, centered around the famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s.
Choreographed by Dr. Henry LeTang, Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines. Nominated for Golden Globes for “Best Director” and “Best Picture” (Drama) and Oscars for best “Best Art Direction” and “Film Editing”. Enjoy…..Gregory & Maurice Hines from the film “The Cotton Club”.