Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson danced his way between African-Americans and whites

WHEN Bill “Bojangles” Robinson danced his way up and down the stairs hand-in-hand with Shirley Temple, he tapped his way into the hearts of millions.

This scene where Bill “Bojangles” Robinson dances hand-in-hand with Shirley Temple from the 1935 film The Little Colonel, was cut when the movie was screened in America’s South.

WHEN Bill “Bojangles” Robinson tap danced his way up and down a set of stairs, hand-in-hand with child star Shirley Temple in the 1935 film The Little Colonel, he almost stole the show.

The scene made cinematic history as the first interracial dance pairing in a movie, but it also stirred controversy, being cut from the film when it was screened in America’s south.

Dexterous, energetic and always cheerful on stage and screen, offstage Robinson also worked to break down barriers for African-Americans.

Luther Robinson was born 140 years ago, on May 25, 1878, in Richmond, Virginia. His father Maxwell was a machine shop worker, and mother Maria a choir singer. When both parents died in 1885, he was raised by his grandmother Bedelia, a former slave. At five he made pocket money shining shoes and danced for pennies, to the disapproval of his Baptist grandmother who thought dancing was the devil’s work.

Head shot of dancer Bill Bojangles Robinson from 1942. Public domain image.

This scene where Robinson tap dances his way up and down a set of stairs, hand-in-hand with Shirley Temple in the 1935 film The Little Colonel, was cut from the film when it was screened in America’s south.

Robinson continued despite her protests and was spotted by someone who gave him a job as a “pick”, short for pickanniny, child performers who supplied the cute factor in Black and White minstrel shows. He never liked the name Luther and took on his brother’s name Bill, bestowing on his brother the name Percy.

Robinson was nicknamed Bojangles as a child. One story says he stole a hat from a local hat repairer whose name sounded like Bojangles. Another says it came from the term “jangler” meaning a noisy troublemaker.

At nine he toured with Mayme Remington and Her Pickanninies, an all-African-American Vaudeville troupe. But when he outgrew the Pick roles, he moved on to doing a solo act in clubs and bars.

In 1898 he joined the US Army during its war against Spain, returning to show business when his duty ended. He made a name for himself in 1900 when he challenged Harry Swinton, then considered America’s best dancer, to a dance-off and won.

However, he was often constrained by rules that “coloured” entertainers had to perform in pairs or paired with a white performer. In 1914, his white co-star, Rae Samuels, introduced him to agent Marty Forkins who became his manager and urged him to go solo.

When the US entered the war in 1917, Robinson offered his services to entertain the troops. It was the first time he performed in front of an audience that wasn’t all African-American. It earned him a War Department Commendation in 1918.

As a publicity stunt he set a world record running 100 yards backwards in 13.5 seconds. This record stood until 1977.

Actors Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson doing a dance sequence in the 1935 film The Littlest Rebel.

Robinson continued his solo shows, but in the ’20s also joined the cast of several Broadway shows. A breakthrough came when he was cast in Blackbirds of 1928, an all-African-American review show, but catering to white audiences. It featured his crowd-pleasing stair dance.

The white audiences loved him, which led to film offers. His first was a short titled Hello Bill in 1929, which showed off his dance skills, and then he featured in a dance number in the 1930 film Dixiana.

After several more film appearances, he was cast in The Little Colonel. On set Temple and Robinson quickly took to each other, she called him “Uncle Billy”, and he called her “darlin”, their mutual affection made for great screen chemistry. He was cast with Temple in three more films — The Littlest Rebel (1935), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) and Just Around the Corner (1938).

The films helped broaden his appeal, but he used his growing fame to help others; in 1936 forming the Negro Actors Guild of America. In 1939 he appeared in the lead role of The Hot Mikado, a jazzy modern adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado, with a mixed white and African-American cast. At the age of 61, to celebrate his birthday, he danced down all 61 blocks of Broadway.

Shirley Temple with former co-star Bill “Bojangles” Robinson in New York in 1944.

Boxing champ Joe Louis serves food from his Harlem restaurant to dancer Bill Bojangles Robinson in 1946.

He continued performing in his 60s, doing stage and radio shows, making films, appearing in benefit concerts, including those for WWII and the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. He also convinced President Franklin Roosevelt to implement a better pay deal for negro soldiers serving in the war.

At the peak of his fame he was earning $6000 a week, but he was overly generous with his money and had a gambling habit, that left him struggling financially. When Broadway heard about his poverty they began to organise a benefit, but he died in November 1949 before it could happen.

Thousands turned out to his funeral where Minister Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. said in his eulogy “Bill wasn’t a credit to his race, meaning the Negro race, Bill was a credit to the human race. He was not a great Negro dancer, he was the world’s greatest dancer.”