Bill Robinson

Bill Robinson

According to one jazz dance source, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson was the chief instigator for getting tap dance "up on its toes." Early forms of tap, including the familiar "buck and wing", contained a flat-footed style, while Robinson performed on the balls of his feet with a shuffle-tap style that allowed him more improvisation. It obviously got him noticed and it certainly made him a legend. Born Luther Robinson in Richmond, Virginia, on May 25, 1878, he was orphaned in infancy and reared by a grandmother. He took his brother Bill's name for his own once he went professional. His brother, in turn, took the name Percy and later became a renowned drummer. Hoofing in beer gardens at age 6, Bojangles joined traveling companies and vaudeville tours in his teens and slowly built up a successful reputation in nightclubs and musical comedies. He headlined with Cab Calloway many times at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem. Bojangles' unique sound came from using wooden taps and his direct claim to fame would be the creation of his famous "stair dance," which involved tapping up and down a flight of stairs both backwards and forwards. Both black and white audiences were taken by his style and finesse and, following the demise of vaudeville, he easily transferred his talents to Broadway. Lew Leslie, a white producer, put together "Blackbirds of 1928," an all-black revue that would prominently feature Bill and other black musical talents. From there it was films for the now old-timer. In the 1930s various studios usurped his patented talent in their old-fashioned Depression-era musicals. Times being what they were, he was typically cast as a butler or servant. Nevertheless, he enjoyed immense popularity, especially when partnered with reigning #1 box office moppet Shirley Temple. Bojangles would be featured in four of Shirley's sentimental vehicles: The Little Colonel (1935) (in which he recreated his "stair dance" with her), The Littlest Rebel (1935), Just Around the Corner (1938) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). In addition, he assisted in the choreography on one of her other films, Dimples (1936). For the most part Bill was a specialty player, but every once in a while he got into the thick of things, playing Lena Horne's love interest in One Mile from Heaven (1937) for instance. Still tapping his heart out as a 60-year-old, Bojangles returned to the stage in "The Hot Mikado" which was a tuneful jazz reworking of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic operetta. Suffering from a chronic heart condition, he slowed down in the mid-'40s and died in New York City in 1949 of heart disease.

  • Title: Bill Robinson
  • Popularity: 1.164
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1878-05-25
  • Place of Birth: Richmond, Virginia, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Luther Robinson, Bojangles
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Bill Robinson Movies

  • 1938
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    Just Around the Corner

    Just Around the Corner

    5.5 1938 HD

    Penny helps her idealistic architect father get his dream of a slum clearance project; The little miss dances with Corporal Jones.

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  • 1943
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    Stormy Weather

    Stormy Weather

    6.9 1943 HD

    The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early...

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  • 1935
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    The Littlest Rebel

    The Littlest Rebel

    6.3 1935 HD

    Virgie Cary's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his dying wife and is arrested. A Yankee officer takes pity and...

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  • 1938
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    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

    6.7 1938 HD

    Rebecca's Uncle Harry leaves her with Aunt Miranda who forbids her to associate with show people. But neighbor Anthony Kent is a talent scout who...

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  • 1937
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    One Mile from Heaven

    One Mile from Heaven

    6.7 1937 HD

    A female journalist travels to a new neighborhood after getting a (false) lead and is surprised by what she finds.

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  • 1935
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    The Big Broadcast of 1936

    The Big Broadcast of 1936

    5.444 1935 HD

    Two-bit radio station owner Spud Miller doubles as the station's sole announcer. On the verge of bankruptcy, Spud is receptive to the wacky notions...

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  • 1934
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    King for a Day

    King for a Day

    6 1934 HD

    A talented tap dancer who can't get an audition uses his prowess at playing craps to gain ownership of a musical show, making himself the star.

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  • 1935
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    Hooray for Love

    Hooray for Love

    4.7 1935 HD

    A wealthy young man falls hard for a beautiful showgirl, and her wily father quickly realizes the naïve boy would make the perfect investor for...

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  • 1930
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    Dixiana

    Dixiana

    5 1930 HD

    A circus performer falls in love with the son of a plantation owner in antebellum New Orleans. When the young man's stepmother objects to the...

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  • 1935
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    In Old Kentucky

    In Old Kentucky

    1 1935 HD

    Horse trainer Steve Tapley is caught between the feuding Martingale and Shattuck families. He sides with young Nancy Martingale and her grandfather...

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  • 1935
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    In Old Kentucky

    In Old Kentucky

    1 1935 HD

    Horse trainer Steve Tapley is caught between the feuding Martingale and Shattuck families. He sides with young Nancy Martingale and her grandfather...

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  • 2004
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    The Harlem Renaissance

    The Harlem Renaissance

    6 2004 HD

    Chronicling the Harlem Renaissance era, this retrospective documentary tracks the origins of the soulful music of the period, along with the...

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  • 1938
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    Road Demon

    Road Demon

    1 1938 HD

    At the Indianapolis Speedway mobsters try to bump off a young racer just as they did his dad. Junk yard owner tap dances.

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  • 1942
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    Let's Scuffle

    Let's Scuffle

    2 1942 HD

    "Let's Scuffle" is a short subject -- a single song-and-dance number -- that appears to have been cut from a feature-length movie: to be precise, a...

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  • 1932
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    Harlem Is Heaven

    Harlem Is Heaven

    6 1932 HD

    Bill "Bojangles" Robinson made his movie acting debut in this 1932 film, featuring Putney Dandridge, James Baskett (Oscar winner for "Song of the...

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  • 1935
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    The Little Colonel

    The Little Colonel

    6.433 1935 HD

    After Southern belle Elizabeth Lloyd runs off to marry Yankee Jack Sherman, her father, a former Confederate colonel during the Civil War, vows to...

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  • 1938
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    Up the River

    Up the River

    1 1938 HD

    A group of prison inmates pass the time playing football and romancing ladies in this prison escape crime musical screwball comedy that was...

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  • 2011
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    Dancetime Tap Dance History

    Dancetime Tap Dance History

    1 2011 HD

    Tap Dance History: From Vaudeville to Film is a collection of rarely seen original film footage from Soundies and short films of the 1930's and...

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  • 1985
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    That's Dancing!

    That's Dancing!

    7 1985 HD

    A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s,...

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  • 1942
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    By an Old Southern River

    By an Old Southern River

    1 1942 HD

    A Soundie with Bill Robinson and the tune "By an Old Southern River."

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  • 1948
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    The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

    6.632 1948 HD

    The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by...

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