Tip, Tap, and Toe were a seminal African-American

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 Instrument, percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on da ...

comedy act that began in the late 1920s and appeared in several motion pictures in the 1930s and '40s. Its original members were Sammy Green, Teddy Frazier, and Raymond Winfield. At times it included Freddie James and Prince Spencer, also a member of

The Four Step Brothers The Four Step Brothers were an American dance group. The group started out as a trio in 1925, with the original members, Maceo Anderson, Al Williams and Red Walker. Although their original name was the ''Step Brothers,'' because that was also th ...

. They worked for

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

in New York and performed on their own at the Paramount Theatre, and were in

George White George White may refer to: Politicians * George White (died 1584) (c. 1530–1584), MP for Liverpool * George White (Liberal politician) (1840–1912), British Liberal member of parliament, 1900–1912 * George E. White (politician) (1848–1935), ...

's ''Scandals of 1936'' and 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 ...

Review. African-Americans were not allowed to star in major motion pictures in the 1930s and '40s, but specialty acts, such as ''Tip, Tap, and Toe,'' were permitted, and the group appeared in at least five major Hollywood films during that time. According to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Performing Arts Database

They were among the first to line up and tap the same sounds using different steps or the same steps making different sounds, and then to build on that idea. Raymond Winfield is said to have contributed to the act's innovative slides. Working on a small oval platform, Winfield slid forward, backward, sideways, and around, as if he had buttered feet on a hot stove: gravity-defying balance with a maximum of activity on a minimum of space.

Filmography

* ''By Request'' (1935 short) *''

Scandals A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

'' (1936) *''

You Can't Have Everything ''You Can't Have Everything'' is a 1937 Fox musical film directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film stars Alice Faye and Don Ameche, and was the film debut for Gypsy Rose Lee credited as Louise Hovick part of her birth ...

'' (1937), *''

Pardon My Sarong ''Pardon My Sarong'' is a 1942 comedy film starring Abbott and Costello. Plot Tommy Layton, a wealthy bachelor, rents a city bus to take him from Chicago to Los Angeles to participate in a yacht race to Hawai’i. The bus drivers, Algy and Welli ...

'' (1942) with

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...

*''

All by Myself "All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Sergei Rachmaninoff's circa 1900–1901 '' Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor'', Opus 18. The ...

'' (1943), *''

Honeymoon Lodge ''Honeymoon Lodge'', also known as ''Second Honeymoon'', is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Edward C. Lilley for Universal Pictures and starring David Bruce, Harriet Hilliard, June Vincent, and Rod Cameron. Plot Cast * David ...

'' (1943), with

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*''

Hi, Good Lookin'! ''Hi, Good Lookin'!'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Edward C. Lilley and written by Paul Gerard Smith, Bradford Ropes and Eugene Conrad. The film stars Harriet Nelson, Eddie Quillan, Kirby Grant, Betty Kean, Roscoe Karns, Vivian Aust ...

'' (1944), with Louis DaPron.

Television appearances

Cavalcade of Bands The Cavalcade of Bands is one of many competitive band organizations in the United States and is one of several major circuits in the mid-Atlantic states (other circuits include Tournament of Bands and USBands). Cavalcade was founded in the late ...

** Episode 2.3 (1950) ** Episode 2.17 (1951) * ''

The Ken Murray Show ''The Ken Murray Show'' was an American music and comedy television show on CBS Television hosted by Ken Murray that ran from 1950 to 1953. Show An established entertainer and vaudeville regular, Murray had hosted comedy and variety series on CB ...

'' (1950) *

Van Heflin Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

(1950) *

The Milton Berle Show ''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Mi ...

** with guest host

Morey Amsterdam Moritz "Morey" Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' from 1961 to 1966. Early life Amsterdam was born in Chicago ...

(1948) ** Episode 1.49 (1949) Tip, Tap & Toe
Internet Movie Database (IMDB)

References

*Marshall and Jean Stearns, ''Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance'' (1968) p. 272 *Larry Billman, ''Film Choreographers and Stage Directors: an Illustrated Biographic Encyclopedia, 1893–1995'' (1995) pp. 66, 146, 389, 508-509 *Rusty Frank, TAP! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900-1955 (1995), pp. 65, 229, 295, films: 303-315 {{dance-stub African-American male dancers American male dancers American dance groups American tap dancers Harlem Renaissance