The Nicholas Brothers

Film Career

The Nicholas Brothers made their screen debut in Pie, Pie, Blackbird (1932), an all-black musical short directed by Roy Mack and starring Nina Mae KcKinney. Harold Nicholas briefly broke out on his own for the Disney short Stoopnocracy (1933)—where he got to show off his Cab Calloway impression—as well as the independently produced pre-code drama The Emperor Jones (1933), a landmark film starring Paul Robeson. Producer Samuel Goldwyn saw them at the Cotton Club and invited them to California to be a part of Kid Millions (1934). The duo reunited again for the Warner Bros. Vitaphone short An All-Colored Vaudeville Show (1935). Also directed by Roy Mack, the Nicholas Brothers are one of five acts in the film.