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

tap-dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

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 African-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 ...

. 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. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

at Palace Theatre in New York and performed on their own at the Paramount Theatre, and were in George White's ''Scandals of 1936'' and the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a 20th-century nightclub in New York City. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue from 1923 to 1936, then briefly in the midtown Theater District until 1940. The club operated during the United States' era of P ...

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 a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

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 a ...

'' (1936) *''

You Can't Have Everything ''You Can't Have Everything'' is a 1937 Fox musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot ...

'' (1937), *''

Pardon My Sarong ''Pardon My Sarong'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Abbott and Costello. The cast also featured Virginia Bruce, Robert Paige and Lionel Atwill. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures as ...

'' (1942) with

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

*''

All by Myself "All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, released by Arista Records in December 1975 as the first single from Carmen's self-titled debut album. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Russ ...

'' (1943), *'' Honeymoon Lodge'' (1943), with Frank Veloz *''

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. *''

The Human Tornado ''The Human Tornado'' is a 1976 American blaxploitation film directed by Cliff Roquemore. The film is a sequel to ''Dolemite''. In the film, a sheriff's wife has an extramarital affair with Dolemite. Her husband orders one of his subordinates ...

'' (1976), Sammy Green only

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 la ...

** Episode 2.3 (1950) ** Episode 2.17 (1951) * '' The Ken Murray Show'' (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. ...

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'' is 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 Mil ...

** with guest host

Morey Amsterdam Moritz Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. Between 1948 and 1950, he hosted his own TV sitcom ''The Morey Amsterdam Show''. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick V ...

(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