The Berry Brothers were an American "exotic, acrobatic

soft shoe Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own ...

dance" trio, active in the entertainment business for over 30 years. The trio was composed of Ananias (Nyas, "King of the Strut"), James and Warren Berry.

History

Ananias John Willington "Nyas" Berry Jr. (August 18, 1913 – October 5, 1951) and James Gerald Berry (July 9, 1915 – January 28, 1969) were born to Ananias John Willington Berry Sr. and Redna Ross Berry in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. As early as 1919 the two brothers already performed in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and then in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

where the family settled and the younger Warren Joseph Berry (December 25, 1922 – August 10, 1996) was born.American National Biography Online
In 1924 the family moved to Los Angeles, where as child actors Nyas, James and then Warren appeared in several films. In 1929 Nyas and James formed the dance duo "The Berry Brothers." They appeared with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

in "Rhythmania" at the Cotton Club. That same year they traveled to London and were featured performers in the critically acclaimed all-African-American revue ''

Blackbirds of 1928 ''Blackbirds of 1928'' was a hit Broadway musical revue that starred Adelaide Hall, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Tim Moore and Aida Ward, with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It contained the hit songs "Diga Diga Do", the duo ...

''. They were the first African American act at the Copacabana in 1929. They appeared in the musical "Rhapsody In Black" in 1931. The act supported the entire family and their father Ananias was upset when 19-year-old Nyas left the act in 1932 to marry 27-year-old Valaida Snow, a popular African-American entertainer. Ananias replaced him with Warren. Ananias disapproved that his son married a woman eight years older so he investigated Valaida. He discovered she had been previously married to Knappy Brown, and they hadn't divorced. This caused a scandal in the press until Valaida provided documents that she had divorced Brown, but Nyas and Valaida split up shortly after. When Nyas' marriage had dissolved in 1935 he talked his brothers into forming a Berry Brothers act consisting of the trio. In 1938, at the Cotton Club there was a legendary dance face-off between the

Nicholas Brothers The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their unique interpretati ...

and the Berry Brothers. By some accounts the Berry Brothers were more athletic but the Nicholas Brothers were better overall performers – better at pleasing the crowd. At the peak of their success, in the 1940s, the Berry Brothers also performed their routines in some Hollywood movies. They appeared twice in ''

Panama Hattie ''Panama Hattie'' is a 1940 American musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. The musical is about a nightclub owner, Hattie Maloney, who lives in the Panama Canal Zone and ends up dealing with ...

'' (1942), once solo and once accompanying singer

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

. The experience of the Berry Brothers came to a sudden end when Nyas died in 1951 of heart failure. James and Warren continued to perform together or individually for a few more years. James died in 1969, and Warren in 1996 after working for over 15 years as a film editor.

Filmography

* '' $50,000 Reward'' (1924) - Nyas Berry * ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' (1924) - short - James Berry * '' The Blow Up'' (1924) - short - James Berry * '' Oh, Teacher!'' (1924) - short - James Berry * '' Low Bridge'' (1924) - short - James Berry * '' Here He Comes'' (1924) - short - James Berry * '' Speed Boys'' (1924) - short - James Berry * '' Don't Fall'' (1924) - short - James Berry * '' Baby Blues'' (1925) - short - James Berry * ''

'' (1926) - short - James Berry * '' Oh Boy'' (1927) - short - Nyas & Warren Berry * '' The Newlyweds' Christmas Party'' (1927) - short - Nyas Berry * ''

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

'' (1936) - Nyas Berry * '' The Music Goes 'Round'' (1936) - Nyas Berry * '' Lady Be Good'' (1941) - The Berry Brothers (Nyas, James & Warren) * ''

'' (1942) - The Berry Brothers (Nyas, James & Warren) * '' Boarding House Blues'' (1948) - The Berry Brothers (Nyas, James & Warren) * '' You're My Everything'' (1949) - The Berry Brothers (Nyas, James & Warren)

Notes and references

{{authority control American dance groups African-American male child actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors American male child actors