Hal Le Roy (born John LeRoy Schotte, December 10, 1913 – May 2, 1985) was an American dancer, actor, and singer appearing on stage, in film, and on television.

Life and career

Le Roy was born John LeRoy Schotte in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, on December 10, 1913. He broke into New York theater as a dancer. His dancing teacher,

Ned Wayburn Ned Wayburn ''(né'' Edward Claudius Weyburn; 30 March 1874 – 2 September 1942) was an American choreographer. Career Wayburn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Elbert Delos Weyburn and Harriet Landon Beach. Ned Wayburn spent much of ...

, got him his first job, in ''Hoboken Hoboes'' in 1928. He quickly worked his way into Broadway roles, where his dance style created a sensation in the 1931

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

. On April 12, 1934, he married Ruth Hedwig Dod (March 13, 1911 – July 1, 1979), who had been one of his dance partners. He also began doing a series of musical film shorts for

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...

and

Warner Brothers Pictures Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. Aside from his work on Broadway and in film, he performed in revues and vaudeville and as a featured entertainer in New York's nightclub scene. He was selected as a feature performer by Bob Hope for Hope's TV Premier appearance. Le Roy died on May 2, 1985, in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

, of complications following heart surgery. He left no survivors. In 2021 Le Roy was inducted posthumously into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame

Broadway

* ''The Gang's All Here'' (1931) * ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1931'' (1931) * ''Strike Me Pink'' (1933) * ''Thumbs Up!'' (1934–1935) * ''Too Many Girls (1939–1940) * ''Count Me In'' (1942)

Complete filmography

*''The High School Hoofer'' (1931 short) as Hal Le Roy *''Tip Tap Toe'' (1932 short) as Hal Evans *''The Way of All Freshmen'' (1933 short) as Hal *''Use Your Imagination'' (1933 short) as Hal *'' Mr. Broadway'' (1933) as Hal Le Roy *''Picture Palace'' (1934 short) as Hal *''Hollywood Newsreel'' (1934 short) as Himself (uncredited) *''

Wonder Bar ''Wonder Bar'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley. It stars Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Dolores del Río, Ricardo Cortez, Dick ...

'' (1934) as dancer in blackface *''

Harold Teen ''Harold Teen'' is a discontinued, long-running American comic strip written and drawn by Carl Ed (pronounced "eed"). Publisher Joseph Medill Patterson may have suggested and certainly approved the strip's concept, loosely based on Booth Tarkingt ...

'' (1934) as Harold Teen *''Private Lessons'' (1934 short) as Hal Le Roy *''Syncopated City'' (1934 short) as Hal Le Roy *''In the Spotlight'' (1935 short) as Hal *''Main Street Follies'' (1935 short) as Hal *''Oh, Evaline!'' (1935 short) as Hal *''Wash Your Step'' (1936 short) as Hal Rogers *''Rhythmitis'' (1936 short) as Hal *''Swing for Sale'' (1937 short) *'' Ups and Downs'' (1937 short) as Hal Smith *''

Start Cheering ''Start Cheering'' is a 1938 American musical film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Jimmy Durante, Charles Starrett, Joan Perry, and Walter Connolly. It is best remembered today for guest appearances throughout the film by The Three Sto ...

'' (1938) as 'Tarzan' Biddle *''The Prisoner of Swing'' (1938 short) as Rudolph, King of Sulvania, and Mr. Razzenstill *''The Knight Is Young'' (1938 short) as Hal *''Public Jitterbug No. 1'' (1939 short) as Hal Sturges *'' Too Many Girls'' (1940) as Al Terwilliger *''The Star-Spangled Revue'' (1950 TV movie) as Himself

References

External links

* * *
Steppin' Hal: Book 2, 1933-1946
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

1913 births 1985 deaths Male actors from Cincinnati American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors American male dancers American tap dancers Vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors Eccentric dancers 20th-century American dancers {{Dance-bio-stub