Louis Winston Douglas, sometimes spelled Douglass (May 14, 1889,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

- May 19, 1939,

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 ...

) was an American dancer, choreographer, and music businessman. Douglas toured Ireland with a children's revue in 1903 and then went on tour in Europe with Belle Davis from 1903 to 1908, and appears with her in the 1906 film ''Die schöne Davis mit ihren drei Negern''. He branched into solo dancing from 1910, doing shows throughout the major European capitals, and toured

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

in 1923.He and Miss Marion Cook starred in the revue "Tout Nue" at the Concert Mayol in Paris from March through September 1924. He was the star of the 1925 show ', which featured music by

Claude Hopkins Claude Driskett Hopkins (August 24, 1903 – February 19, 1984) was an American jazz stride pianist and bandleader. Biography Claude Hopkins was born in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his ...

and his Charleston Jazz Band. In 1926 he organized and starred in ''Black People'', with music by some of

Sam Wooding Samuel David Wooding (17 June 1895 – 1 August 1985) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader living and performing in Europe and the United States. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, between 1921 an ...

's sidemen; the show toured Europe and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. His shows in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1926 and in New York in 1927 featured, at times,

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic tempe ...

, Tommy Ladnier,

Valaida Snow Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Tr ...

, and Juice Wilson. He can be seen as a dancer in the films ''Einbrecher'' (1930) and '' Niemandsland'' (1931), he had a leading acting role in the latter. Douglas choreographed revues at the

Casino de Paris The Casino de Paris, located at 16, rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement, is one of the well known music halls of Paris, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is a performance venue, not ...

between 1933 and 1936, then did a final tour of Europe before returning to New York in 1937. There he starred in

Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote '' Shuffle Along'', one of the first B ...

and Andy Razaf's ''Tan Manhattan'', then worked with

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

on the show ''Tan Town Topics''. He and Johnson also worked on ''Policy Kings'' the following year. Louis Douglas married the daughter of composer

Will Marion Cook William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an American composer, violinist, and choral director.Riis, Thomas (2007–2011)Cook, Will Marion ''Grove Music Online.'' Oxford Music Online. Retrieved ...

and singer

Abbie Mitchell __NOTOC__ Abriea "Abbie" Mitchell Cook (25 September 1884 – 16 March 1960), also billed as Abbey Mitchell, was an American soprano opera singer. She performed the role of Clara in the premiere production of George Gershwin's ''Porgy and Bes ...

.David A. Goldfarb,
Douglas, Marion (1920-)
.

Notes

References

*Rainer E. Lotz, "Black People - Entertainers of African Descent in Europe, and Germany". Bonn (Lotz) 1997. *Rainer E. Lotz, "Louis Douglas". '' Grove Jazz'' online. *

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

, Louis Douglassat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

*March 26, 1924 - September 27, 1924 advertisements for Concert Mayol in Parisian publication Le Gaulois {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Louis 1889 births 1939 deaths American male dancers American jazz musicians 20th-century American dancers