Willie Eugene Bailey (December 8, 1912 – December 12, 1978), known professionally as Bill Bailey was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

tap dancer Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

. The older brother of actress and singer

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

, Bill was considered to be one of the best rhythm dancers of his time and was the first person to be recorded doing the

Moonwalk Moonwalk may refer to: Space travel * Moonwalk, an excursion on the Moon, see Moon landing ** For a specific event, see List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999 ** For a specific person, see List of people who have walked on the Moon *Extrave ...

, although he referred to it as the "Backslide," in the film '' Cabin in the Sky'' (1943), starring

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her not ...

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977) was an American comedian and actor. To a generation of early radio and television comedy he was known as "Rochester". Anderson entered show business as a teenager on the vaudevi ...

and

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

Early life

Bill Bailey was born Willie Eugene Bailey in the small town of Sedley, Virginia in

Southampton County, Virginia Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland. History In the early 17th century ...

to Joseph James Bailey and Ella Mae Ricks Bailey. He was named after Eugenia V. Turner who was the

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

that helped deliver him. He spent his adolescence in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

and Philadelphia. His father, Reverend Bailey, raised all his children Christian and hoped that Bill would also choose to become a minister.

Career

At eighteen years old, Bailey was discovered in New York by

Lew Leslie Lew Leslie (born Lewis Lessinsky; April 15, 1888 – March 10, 1963) was an American writer and producer of Broadway shows. Leslie got his start in show business in vaudeville in his early twenties. Although white, he was the first major imp ...

and put in his production Blackbirds of 1930. After the production, he and Derby Wilson, another prominent taps act, formed a team that challenged each other at the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

and toured with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

when his band traveled to Europe in 1933. Bailey was often compared to

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

, who he considered a mentor and friend. Once Bailey and Wilson went solo, Bailey continued to be booked as a Bill Robinson imitation act, often standing in for Robinson when he was away filming. Black press at the time regularly predicted that Bailey would follow Robinson into film stardom. For much of his career, the "backslide," later known as the "moonwalk," was his signature exit. It's first recording in during his routine during "Taking A Chance On Love," sung by star Ethel Waters in the 1942 musical film Cabin in the Sky. He also performed in the black musical short, Harlem Variety Revue, 1950-1954 (1955), in the films Going Native (1936), The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise (1952), The Rhythm and Blues Revue (1955), and Showtime at the Apollo (1955). In 1946, as nightclubs and theaters begin to close, and after struggles with drug addiction, Bailey left show business to study religion and open a church in Harlem near the Apollo Theater. He says he heard a voice that called him away from sin and toward a life of evangelizing among those he once worked with. At the time, he was making $1000 per week performing. For this reason, prominent figures in the entertainment industry were shocked at this sudden career change and doubted it would last but many came to support him once they heard him preach.

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

, and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

are a few of the celebrities who supported his religious efforts. Bailey aspired to ultimately start a church in New York that appealed to entertainers. In February of 1949, Bailey was declined an offer to play Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in a film about his life, stating that "It just wasn't for me. God is my only support now." He would later return to the stage to support his ministry. but mostly as an added attraction to his sister's act.

Personal life and death

He was married to Pernell Bailey, and they had a large family He died on December 12, 1978 in Philadelphia, PA, four days after his 66th birthday.

References

External links

*. * 1912 births 1978 deaths American tap dancers 20th-century American dancers {{dance-bio-stub