Arthur Duncan
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Arthur Duncan
Arthur Duncan (born September 25, 1933) is an American tap dancer, also called an "Entertainer's Entertainer,"“About the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame: Biographies,” American Tap Dance Foundation, accessed April 27, 2022. known for his stint as a performer on ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1964 to 1982. This, along with his earlier inclusion (despite objections) on '' The Betty White Show'' in 1954 and with the help of White herself, made him the first African-American regular on a variety television program. He has performed all over the world and notably at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Early life Born in Pasadena, California, Duncan entered show business at age 13, when he was a member of a dance quartet that performed at McKinley Junior High School in Pasadena. He later entered Pasadena City College to study pharmacy, but left to pursue a career in show business. Personal life Not much can be found on Arthur Duncan’s personal life, but at one point in h ...
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Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its population was 138,699 at the 2020 census, making it the 44th largest city in California and the ninth-largest city in Los Angeles County. Pasadena was incorporated on June 19, 1886, becoming one of the first cities to be incorporated in what is now Los Angeles County, following the city of Los Angeles (April 4, 1850). Pasadena is known for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade. It is also home to many scientific, educational, and cultural institutions, including Caltech, Pasadena City College, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Fuller Theological Seminary, ArtCenter College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Ambassador Auditorium, the Norton Simon Museum, and the USC Pacif ...
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Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The Western Bloc was led by the United States as well as a number of other First W ...
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Bunny Briggs
Bunny Briggs (February 26, 1922 – November 15, 2014) was an American tap dancer who was inducted into the American Tap Dancing Hall of Fame in 2006. Briggs was born under the name Bernard Briggs in Harlem, New York on February 26, 1922. When asked about his nickname Briggs said "Well, I'm fast." At one point he thought about becoming a Catholic priest but his priest told Briggs that "God clearly wanted him to be a dancer." In the 1960s, Briggs was known to dance with the likes of bandleaders Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington, so much so that Briggs was deemed "Duke's dancer." In May 1985 Briggs performed on the NBC TV Special, "Motown Returns to the Apollo." He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1989 for his work in the Broadway show ''Black and Blue''. He appeared on stage and in movies including the Gregory Hines film ''Tap'' in 1989. In 2002, Briggs received an honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts in American Dance by Oklahoma City University in 2002, honoring him as one of t ...
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Savion Glover
Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor, and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great grandfather on his mother's side, Dick Lundy, was a shortstop in the Negro leagues. He managed eleven Negro league baseball teams, including the Newark Eagles.Lahr, 270. His grandfather, Bill Lewis, was a big band pianist and vocalist. His grandmother, Anna Lundy Lewis, was the minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. She played for Whitney Houston when she was singing in the gospel choir, and was the one who first noticed Savion's musical talent. She once held him and hummed some rhythms to him, and he smiled and joined along. Glover graduated from Newark Arts High School in 1991. Career Glover stated that his style is "young and funk." When asked to describe what funk is, he says it is the bass line. "Funk is anyt ...
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Howard Sims
Howard "Sandman" Sims (January 24, 1917 – May 20, 2003) was an African-American tap dancer who began his career in vaudeville. He was skilled in a style of dancing that he performed in a wooden sandbox of his own construction, and acquired his nickname from the sand he sprinkled to alter and amplify the sound of his dance steps. "They called the board my Stradivarius," Sims said of his sandbox. From the 1950s to the year 2000, Sims was a regular attraction—a "fixture"—at Harlem's noted Apollo Theater, comedically ushering failed acts offstage with a hook, broom or other prop. He was also involved in New York City's Hoofers Club, a venue primarily for black tap dancers. As part of the resurgence of interest in tap dancing in the 1980s, Sandman Sims served as a cultural ambassador, representing the United States with dance performances around the world. He was featured in the 1989 dance film '' Tap'', along with Sammy Davis Jr., Gregory Hines and Savion Glover, demonstrati ...
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Steve Condos
Steve Condos (October 12, 1918 in Pittsburgh, PASeptember 16, 1990 in Lyon) was an American tap dancer. He was a member of the Condos Brothers, with siblings Nick and Frank. The Condos Brothers are credited in the film '' Wake Up and Live'' (1937), in which two of the brothers are introduced by orchestra leader Ben Bernie and dance two tap routines, but the brothers are not further identified. They were also credited in the film '' Moon Over Miami'' (1941), as specialties. He danced in the films '' Song of the Open Road'' (1944), '' Meet Me After the Show'' (1951), '' Tap'' (1989), and numerous others. He collaborated with Jimmy Slyde on a program of jazz tap improvisation at the Smithsonian Institution during the 1980s. He died at 71 of a heart attack, in Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and ...
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Hoofers Club
The Hoofers Club was an African-American entertainment establishment and dancers' club hangout in Harlem, New York, that ran from the early 1920s until the early 1940s. It was founded and managed by Lonnie Hicks (1882–1953), an Atlanta-born ragtime pianist. History The Hoofers Club was a legendary site of some of the best of jazz and tap performers, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s. It was located on Harlem's "Swing Street," the stretch of 133rd Street between Lenox and Seventh Avenues known for its music and dance venues. The Hoofers Club was actually a small room in the back of a comedy club. When you walked down the stairs of the Hoofers Club ... you would go into a little room. The room was no bigger than 30x20 feet. It had a piano in the corner and a good floor. All the dancers around town came in. You could hear dancing the minute you got in the building. There was always dancin' going on, known dancers and unknown dancers. Among the tap dancers who appeared at t ...
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Bill Williams (actor)
William Herman Katt (born Herman August Wilhelm Katt; May 15, 1915 – September 21, 1992), known as Bill Williams, was an American television and film actor. He is best known for his starring role in the early Television program#series, television series ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'', which aired in Broadcast syndication, syndication from 1951 to 1955. Life and career Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrant parents. He attended the Pratt Institute, and became a professional swimmer, performing in underwater shows. He landed a walk-on role as a theater usher in ''King Kong (1933 film), King Kong'' (1933). He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II, but was discharged before the end and became an actor. His credited debut was in ''Murder in the Blue Room'' in 1944, using the professional name Bill Williams. His first starring role was opposite Susan Hayward in ''Deadline at Dawn'' (1946). Williams appeared in ten films before he landed the ...
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Barbara Hale
Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 – January 26, 2017) was an American actress who portrayed legal secretary Della Street in the dramatic television series ''Perry Mason (1957 TV series), Perry Mason'' (1957–1966), earning her a 1959 Emmy Award for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised the role in 30 Perry Mason (TV film series), Perry Mason made-for-television movies (1985–1995). Early life Barbara Hale was born in DeKalb, Illinois, to Wilma (née Colvin) and Luther Ezra Hale, a landscape gardener. She had one sister, Juanita, for whom Hale's younger daughter was named. The family was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. In 1940, Hale was a member of the final graduating class from Rockford Central High School, Rockford High School in Rockford, Illinois, then attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, planning to be an artist. Her performing career began in Chicago, when she started modeli ...
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The Lennon Sisters
The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group made up of four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (aka DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Anne, April 8, 1941), Kathy (born Kathleen Mary, August 2, 1943), and Janet (born Janet Elizabeth, June 15, 1946). From 1955 to 1968, the group appeared regularly on ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' (receiving union scale wages) before having their own television variety show, called ''Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters'', with Jimmy Durante. After the show was cancelled, they partnered with Andy Williams to create a successful Las Vegas residency, which lasted a decade. In 1999, younger sister Mimi (born Miriam Theresa, October 16, 1955) replaced Peggy upon the latter's retirement. DeeDee has also since retired. The current line-up of the Lennon Sisters is a trio consisting of Kathy, Janet, and Mimi. They continue to tour around the country and, until recently, performed annually with their ...
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David Nelson (actor)
David Oswald Nelson (October 24, 1936 – January 11, 2011) was an American actor. Early life David Oswald Nelson was born October 24, 1936 in New York City. Nelson was the elder son of entertainment couple Harriet Hilliard Nelson (born Peggy Lou Snyder; July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) and Ozzie Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975). He was the older brother of singer Ricky Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985). In late 1941, David moved with his parents from Tenafly, New Jersey to Los Angeles, California.Weber, Bruce"David Nelson, Son in ''Ozzie and Harriet,'' Dies at 74" ''The New York Times'', January 12, 2011. Accessed May 11, 2017. "David Oswald Nelson was born in Manhattan on Oct. 24, 1936. The family lived for a time in Tenafly, N.J., but moved to California when David was about 5." Career Along with his brother and their parents, David Nelson appeared on the long-running sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' in the 1950s and 1960s. La ...
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Alan Hale Jr
Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan; (March 8, 1921 - January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead role as Captain Jonas Grumby, better known as The Skipper, on the 1960s CBS comedy series ''Gilligan's Island'' (1964–1967), a role he reprised in three ''Gilligan's Island'' television films and two spin-off cartoon series. Hale appeared in more than 200 films and television roles from 1941. He appeared primarily in Westerns, portraying the Sundance Kid in ''The Three Outlaws'' (1956) opposite Neville Brand as Butch Cassidy, performing with Kirk Douglas in ''The Big Trees'' (1952), Audie Murphy in '' Destry'' (1954), Ray Milland in '' A Man Alone'' (1955), Robert Wagner in ''The True Story of Jesse James'' (1957), and Hugh Marlowe in '' The Long Rope'' (1961). He also appeared in musical comedies opposite Don DeFore in ''It Happened on Fi ...
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