Mable Lee (August 2, 1921 – February 7, 2019), sometimes spelled Mabel Lee, was an American jazz

tap dance 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 ...

r, singer, and entertainer. Lee appeared on Broadway, at the Apollo Theater, and was known as "Queen of the

Soundies Soundies are three-minute American musical films, and each short displays a performance. The shorts were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos" by UCLA. Soundies exhibited a variety of musical gen ...

" due to her numerous performances in the films.

Biography

Born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

to Rosella Moore and Alton Lee, Mable Lee was a child prodigy who began performing when she was 4 years old, at age 9 was performing in local clubs with a big band and as a 12-year-old was appearing at the Top Hat nightclub in Georgia. Neither of her parents were in show business, but they would sing and dance around the house. When she was in grade school, she asked her principal to use the assembly room to put on entertainment shows, putting up posters, and making programs. Lee also sang and danced for her teachers growing up—they were all aware of her talent from an early age. Her high school music teacher was

Graham W. Jackson Sr. Graham Washington Jackson Sr. (February 22, 1903 - January 15, 1983) was an American theatre organist, pianist, accordionist, and choral conductor. He was the subject of a ''Life'' magazine photograph taken at the departure of Franklin D. Roosevel ...

Amazed by her talent, he took her with him to perform, including for Franklin Delano Roosevelt to his vacation house in White Plains, Georgia. Lee's mother and aunt were always supportive of her performance endeavors and went with her to every show growing up.

The Whitman Sisters The Whitman Sisters were four African-American sisters who were stars of Black Vaudeville. They ran their own performing touring company for over forty years from 1900 to 1943, becoming the longest-running and best-paid act on the T.O.B.A. cir ...

noticed her when she was performing at Top Hat, but her mother encouraged her to finish high school before moving to pursue her career. She moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

with her mother in 1940 to pursue a career as a singer and dancer, and soon joined the chorus of the Apollo Theater in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

. She also did acrobatics performed with a chair, which she referred to as her novelty. She simultaneously did vaudeville and nightclub shows. She auditioned and was chosen to perform at the West End Theatre. She subsequently worked at various nightclubs, before Dick Campbell sent her to London, where she spent 18 months and performed at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

. Regarding her work at the Palladium, she says “I represented America in the nightclub scene, and Africa in the jungle scenes.” She met Buddy Bradley in London and began teaching alongside him. She got married in London, but the marriage did not last long. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she toured with the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

as a member of their first all-black unit. She traveled and did shows for the Navy, Air Force, and at different camps. She also performed for wounded veterans after the war in hospitals and did a show at Leavenworth. She was known for her dancing in more than 100

soundies Soundies are three-minute American musical films, and each short displays a performance. The shorts were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos" by UCLA. Soundies exhibited a variety of musical gen ...

in the 1940s. Here she became known as “Queen of the Soundies.” Lee was featured on the cover of the March 1947 issue of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

''. She came back from Europe in 1950 and moved back to Atlanta, where she met her husband (Tony Mansfield). She played theaters and nightclubs in Atlanta again, but this time she was doing her own act. She also appeared on Broadway in multiple productions, including the 1952 revival of the musical ''

Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Americ ...

''. She traveled to raise money for the show and was a part of raising between $500,000 and $600,000. The show only lasted three days, and all of that money went to nowhere. She also danced in ''The Hoofers'' and '' Bubbling Brown Sugar''. She did choreography throughout her career including for the Soundies, though she did not receive credit for it. In 1956, she fronted an uncredited vocal group on the rhythm and blues ballad “Dearest Dream,” cowritten by Billy Dawn Smith and released by Hull Records. In 1960, she gave birth to her only child, a son named Michael, with Tony Mansfield. Lee was the 2004 winner of the Flo-Bert Award which honors "outstanding figures in the field of tap dance", and a 2008 Inductee into the Tap Dance Hall of Fame. Her last performance was in July 2018 at Symphony Space in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

as part of the New York City Tap Festival. She kept creating so long because she was so curious and other people fostered that. Lee died on February 7, 2019, at the age of 97 at a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Mable 1921 births 2019 deaths African-American female dancers American female dancers American tap dancers Musicians from Atlanta African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women American expatriates in England