Harland Dixon (November 4, 1885 – June 30, 1969) was a Canadian

clog dancer Clogging is a type of folk dance practiced in the United States, in which the dancer's footwear is used percussively by striking the heel, the toe, or both against a floor or each other to create audible rhythms, usually to the downbeat with the ...

known for his inventive and

eccentric Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to: * Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal" Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics * Off-center, in geometry * Eccentricity (graph theory) of a v ...

moves, being especially good at mimicry and use of a cane. He was especially successful in partnership with

Jimmy Doyle James Doyle (20 March 1939 – 22 June 2015) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-forward for the Tipperary senior team. Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Doyle first played competitive hurling whilst at school in Thurles CBS. He ar ...

with whom he appeared in a series of

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

s, starting with ''Let George Do It'' in 1912. His signature move, which was imitated by others, was to keep his arms stiff by his side while twisting his shoulders.

Biography

He was born on November 4, 1885, in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. He married Charlotte MacMullen. He migrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and had a job as a paper hanger in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, then as a freight

elevator operator An elevator operator (North American English), liftman (in Commonwealth English, usually lift attendant), or lift girl (in British English), is a person specifically employed to operate a manually operated elevator. Description Being an effec ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1906 he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with just in his pocket and worked for George Primrose in his

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

. He then partnered with

Jack Corcoran John H. "Jack" Corcoran (May 15, 1858 – December 28, 1935), was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was ba ...

and joined

Lew Dockstader Lew Dockstader (born George Alfred Clapp; August 7, 1856 – October 26, 1924) was an American singer, comedian, and vaudeville star, best known as a blackface minstrel show performer. Dockstader performed as a solo act and in his own popula ...

's minstrels. It was in 1912 that he dissolved his partnership with Corcoran and joined with Jimmy Doyle. He died on June 27, 1969, at Physicians Hospital in

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

References

Tap dancers Canadian male dancers 1885 births 1969 deaths Eccentric dancers {{dance-bio-stub