Fayard Antonio Nicholas (October 20, 1914 – January 24, 2006) was an American choreographer, dancer and actor. He and his younger brother Harold Nicholas made up the

Nicholas Brothers The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of biological brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their ...

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 ...

duo, who starred in the MGM musicals ''An All-Colored Vaudeville Show'' (1935), '' Stormy Weather'' (1943), '' The Pirate'' (1948), and ''Hard Four'' (2007). The Nicholas brothers also starred in the 20th Century-Fox musicals '' Down Argentine Way'' (1940), '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941), and ''

Orchestra Wives ''Orchestra Wives'' is a 1942 American musical film by 20th Century Fox starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, and Glenn Miller. The film was the second (and last) film to feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and is notable among the many sw ...

'' (1942).

Early life

Nicholas was born in Alabama, but grew up primarily in Philadelphia. He learned to dance while watching vaudeville shows with his brother while their musician parents played in the orchestra. His father, Ulysses D. Nicholas, was a drummer and his mother, Viola Harden Nicholas, was a pianist.FAYARD NICHOLAS
The History Makers, May 14, 2004

Career

In 1932, when he was 18 and his brother was only 11, they became the featured act at

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 ...

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 ...

. The brothers earned fame with a unique style of rhythm tap that blended "masterful jazz steps with daredevil athletic moves and an elegance of motion worthy of ballet". They appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway and in London they worked with jazz choreographer Buddy Bradley. The performances led them to a career in film. Nicholas appeared in over 60 films, including the 1943 musical Stormy Weather with their signature staircase dance.Minister of Grace Dance Legend Fayard Nicholas Joins the Soul to Sole Tap Festival
The Austin Chronicle, June 6, 2003 His career was interrupted from 1943 to 1944 when he served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Nicholas achieved the rank of Technician fifth grade while in WWII. After his dance career ended, Nicholas and his wife, Katherine Hopkins Nicholas, embarked on a lecture tour discussing dance. In 2003, Nicholas served as "Festival Legend" at the third "Soul to Sole Tap Festival" in Austin, Texas. Nicholas was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 2001.

Personal life

Nicholas was married three times. He remained friends with his first wife, Geraldine Pate, after their divorce. His second wife was Barbara January, and they remained married until her death in 1998. He married dancer Katherine Hopkins in 2000. He was a member of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

. Nicholas died of pneumonia following a stroke in 2006 at age 91. His widow Katherine died in 2012.

References

External links

Nicholas Brothers official website
* * * *
Fayard Nicholas's oral history video excerpts
at The National Visionary Leadership Project

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Fayard 1914 births 2006 deaths Actors from Mobile, Alabama African-American male dancers African-American dancers American male dancers African-American Bahá'ís American choreographers American male film actors African-American male actors American tap dancers Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Kennedy Center honorees Tony Award winners American male stage actors Male actors from Alabama Male actors from Philadelphia 21st-century Bahá'ís 20th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century American male actors United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers Deaths from pneumonia in California 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people