Bill Robinson
Nascimento : 1878-05-25, Richmond - Virginia - USA
Morte : 1949-11-25
História
According to one jazz dance source, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson was the chief instigator for getting tap dance "up on its toes." Early forms of tap, including the familiar "buck and wing", contained a flat-footed style, while Robinson performed on the balls of his feet with a shuffle-tap style that allowed him more improvisation. It obviously got him noticed and it certainly made him a legend.
Born Luther Robinson in Richmond, Virginia, on May 25, 1878, he was orphaned in infancy and reared by a grandmother. He took his brother Bill's name for his own once he went professional. His brother, in turn, took the name Percy and later became a renowned drummer. Hoofing in beer gardens at age 6, Bojangles joined traveling companies and vaudeville tours in his teens and slowly built up a successful reputation in nightclubs and musical comedies. He headlined with Cab Calloway many times at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem. Bojangles' unique sound came from using wooden taps and his direct claim to fame would be the creation of his famous "stair dance," which involved tapping up and down a flight of stairs both backwards and forwards. Both black and white audiences were taken by his style and finesse and, following the demise of vaudeville, he easily transferred his talents to Broadway. Lew Leslie, a white producer, put together "Blackbirds of 1928," an all-black revue that would prominently feature Bill and other black musical talents.
From there it was films for the now old-timer. In the 1930s various studios usurped his patented talent in their old-fashioned Depression-era musicals. Times being what they were, he was typically cast as a butler or servant. Nevertheless, he enjoyed immense popularity, especially when partnered with reigning #1 box office moppet Shirley Temple. Bojangles would be featured in four of Shirley's sentimental vehicles: The Little Colonel (1935) (in which he recreated his "stair dance" with her), The Littlest Rebel (1935), Just Around the Corner (1938) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). In addition, he assisted in the choreography on one of her other films, Dimples (1936). For the most part Bill was a specialty player, but every once in a while he got into the thick of things, playing Lena Horne's love interest in One Mile from Heaven (1937) for instance. Still tapping his heart out as a 60-year-old, Bojangles returned to the stage in "The Hot Mikado" which was a tuneful jazz reworking of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic operetta. Suffering from a chronic heart condition, he slowed down in the mid-'40s and died in New York City in 1949 of heart disease.
Tap Dance History: From Vaudeville to Film is a collection of rarely seen original film footage from Soundies and short films of the 1930's and 1940's.
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s 50s and 60s up to the break dance and the music videos from the 80s.
Bill Williamson
Em sua casa, Bill conta a seus sobrinhos como começou sua carreira como bailarino. Assim, retorna aos anos nos quais licenciou-se como soldado da banda de seu regimento, no final da Primeira Guerra, de seus trabalhos humildes como garçom, e seus primeiros êxitos em números musicais. Filme integramente interpretado por atores negros, rodado durante a Segunda Guerra. A leve trama serve como uma perfeita armação para integrar luxuosos números musicais, como o do bolo, o número africano com sapateados sobre os tambores com guerreiros zulus; brilha especialmente o último, que dá título ao filme. Há um magnífico sentido de humor, que interveem famosos personagens do mundo do espetáculo interpretando a si mesmos, como Cab Calloway. Foi o último filme de Bill Robinson. Números de sapateados inimagináveis. Obra-prima musical inigualável.
HImself
"Let's Scuffle" is a short subject -- a single song-and-dance number -- that appears to have been cut from a feature-length movie: to be precise, a 'race film'. (This was the term used by American cinema exhibitors in the 1940s and earlier for any movie with an all-black cast, intended primarily for distribution in black neighbourhoods at a time when many American cinemas were segregated.) The song-and-dance performer here is none other than the great Bill Robinson.
Memphis Jones
A group of prison inmates pass the time playing football and romancing ladies in this prison escape crime musical screwball comedy that was apparently a wacky spoof of the crime movies that were so popular in the 1930s. It seems to be completely forgotten today, except by major film buffs.
Zephyr
At the Indianapolis Speedway mobsters try to bump off a young racer just as they did his dad. Junk yard owner tap dances.
Samuel G. Henshaw
Plucky Penny Hale está animada porque vai voltar do internato para morar com seu pai viúvo, mas quando fica sabendo que ele está com dificuldades financeiras devido a um projeto imobiliário, Plucky decide conquistar um ranzinza investidor do ramo imobiliário, que ela erroneamente acredita ser o "Tio Sam".
Aloysius
Rebecca é uma garotinha talentosa deixada aos cuidados de sua tia Miranda. Seu vizinho Anthony Kent, um caçador de talentos, leva-a secretamente para participar de um programa de rádio, onde a garota irá se transformar em um sucesso.
Officer Joe Dudley
A female journalist travels to a new neighborhood after getting a (false) lead and is surprised by what she finds.
Uncle Billy
O Capt. Herbert Cary (John Boles) perdeu sua esposa durante a guerra e visita sua filha que agora vive com a tia. Descoberto, é preso como desertor. A sua filha, a pequena Virginia (Shirley Temple), procura o presidente Lincoln (Frank McGlynn) para que ele interceda junto aos militares e possa salvar a vida de seu pai.
Greyboy
Horse trainer Steve Tapley is caught between the feuding Martingale and Shattuck families. He sides with young Nancy Martingale and her grandfather Ezra, and the feud is to be resolved by a horse race between the favorites of each family. Unfortunately, the Martingale's horse, Greyboy, only runs well in mud. And it hasn't rained in a long time.
Wash Jackson
Horse trainer Steve Tapley is caught between the feuding Martingale and Shattuck families. He sides with young Nancy Martingale and her grandfather Ezra, and the feud is to be resolved by a horse race between the favorites of each family. Unfortunately, the Martingale's horse, Greyboy, only runs well in mud. And it hasn't rained in a long time.
Specialty
The wisp of a storyline involves two-bit radio station owner Spud Miller, who doubles as the station's sole announcer while his comic partner Smiley serves as the house crooner. On the verge of bankruptcy, Spud is receptive to the wacky notions of George and Gracie, who've just invented a television device which can pick up and transmit any signal, any time, anywhere.
Himself
A wealthy young man falls hard for a beautiful showgirl, and her wily father quickly realizes the naïve boy would make the perfect investor for his daughter's new show. Comedy with music.
Walker
Depois da guerra a bela sulista Elizabeth Lloyd, foge para se casar com o ianque Jack Sherman. Seu pai, um Coronel Confederado durante a Guerra Civil, deixa de falar com a filha, avisa nunca mais lhe dirigir a palavra. Vários anos se passam e Elizabeth volta à sua cidade natal com o marido e sua linda filha(Shirley Temple). A pequena menina encanta e conquista o avô durão, e tenta consertar as coisas entre o coronel e a mãe. Belíssimos números musicais, entretenimento de alto nível para toda a família. Contém a cena em que Shirley Temple dança na escada com Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Na época era proibido um negro dançar com uma mulher branca, mas essa cena foi permitida por se tratar de uma criança. Essa cena clássica foi uma "abertura" para acabar com o racismo que era comum nos filmes da época.
Bill Green
A talented tap dancer who can't get an audition uses his prowess at playing craps to gain ownership of a musical show, making himself the star.
Bill
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson made his movie acting debut in this 1932 film, featuring Putney Dandridge, James Baskett (Oscar winner for "Song of the South"), Cotton Club dancer Anita Boyer, Henri Wassell, Alma Smith, Bob Sawyer, and composer/bandleader Eubie Blake and his orchestra.
Specialty Dancer
A circus performer falls in love with the son of a plantation owner in antebellum New Orleans. When the young man's stepmother objects to the wedding, the couple break apart and go their separate ways for a time. Also in the mix are two circus comics who feud over the heart of another Southern belle.
