Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was born on May 25, 1878 in Richmond, VA. He was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the frenetic manner of the jitterbug in favor of cool and reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on busy, inventive feet and an expressive face.
A figure in both the Black and White entertainment worlds of his era he is best known today for his dancing with Shirley Temple in a series of films duirng the 1930s.
At the age of six, Robinson began dancing for a living, appearing as a "hoofer" or song-and-dance man in local beer gardens. He soon dropped out of school to pursue dancing as a career. In 1886, he joined Mayme Remington's troupe in Washington, DC and toured with them. In 1891, at the age of 12, he joined a travelling company in The South Before the War, and in 1905 worked with George Cooper as a vadeville team. Not until he was 50 did he dance for white audiences, having devoted his early career exclusively to apperances on the black theater circuit.
In 1989, a joint U.S. Senate/House resolution declared "National Tap Danced Day" to be May 25, the anniversary of Bill Robinson's birth.
Source: Wikipedia
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