To all dancers, dance enthusiasts and tap dancers, join us in celebrating the Birthday of Maceo Anderson, today September 3, 1910.
Maceo was born in Los Angeles, California, and started dancing at the age of three.
As a child, Maceo and his friends would sneak into the Lafayette Theater, Harlem, to watch performances and then practice the dance routines they saw. As a young man in his teens, he founded a trio of dancers who performed at at The Cotton Club in Harlem, NYC.
Anderson was the founder of the The Four Step Brothers The group performed successfully for over thirty years. They were credited as being the first black act to perform at Radio City Music Hall. Their dance routines were a unique blend of soft shoe, tap, mixed with acrobatics, and flashy footwork.
The Four Step Brothers, started as a trio in 1925 with Maceo Anderson, Al Williams and Red Walker as The Three Step Brothers, and in 1927 they added Sherman Robertson, then came Prince Spencer who replaced Sylvester Johnson and all are true Tap Masters and National Treasures. Their Tap Dance Act was the longest lasting Dance Group Act, lasting into the 1960’s, appearing in Hollywood and on major TV Shows such as the ABC Variety Show, Martin and Lewis, and the Guy Mitchell Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and the Jack Benny’s TV Show to name a few.
They received the Dance Masters Life Achievement Award in 1960 among others, and in 1988 they received their own Star on the Hollywood walk of fame.
The group performed in a variety of short films, In 1946, they performed with Frank Sinatra, after which they embarked on a six month performance at the Parisian Cabaret LIDO followed by several tours in Europe. In 1953, they performed with Bob Hope in Here Come the Girls.
Sit Back and Enjoy the clip with Bob Hope from Here Come The Girls.