Bill Robinson Net Worth

Bill Robinson Net Worth is
$16 Million

Bill Robinson Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (May 25, 1877 – November 25, 1949) was an American tap dancer and actor, the best known and most highly paid African American entertainer in the first half of the twentieth century. His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology, starting in the age of minstrel shows, moving to vaudeville, Broadway, the recording industry, Hollywood radio, and television. According to dance critic Marshall Stearns, “Robinson's contribution to tap dance is exact and specific. He brought it up on its toes, dancing upright and swinging”, giving tap a “…hitherto-unknown lightness and presence.” His signature routine was the stair dance, in which Robinson would tap up and down a set of stairs in a rhythmically complex sequence of steps, a routine that he unsuccessfully attempted to patent. Robinson is also credited with having introduced a new word, copacetic, into popular culture, via his repeated use of it in vaudeville and radio appearances.A popular 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 during the 1930s, and for starring in the musical Stormy Weather (1943), loosely based on Robinson's own life, and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Robinson used his popularity to challenge and overcome numerous racial barriers, including becoming the following:one of the first minstrel and vaudeville performers to appear without the use of blackface makeupone of the earliest African American performers to go solo, overcoming vaudeville's two colored rulea headliner in the first African-American Broadway show, Blackbirds of 1928the first African American to appear in a Hollywood film in an interracial dance team (with Temple in The Little Colonel)the first African American to headline a mixed-race Broadway productionDuring his lifetime and afterwards, Robinson also came under heavy criticism for his participation in and tacit acceptance of racial stereotypes of the era, with critics calling him an Uncle Tom figure. Robinson resented such criticism, and his biographers suggested that critics were at best incomplete in making such a characterization, especially given his efforts to overcome the racial prejudice of his era. In his public life Robinson led efforts to:persuade the Dallas police department to hire its first African American policemenlobby President Roosevelt during World War II for more equitable treatment of African American soldiersstage the first integrated public event in Miami, a fundraiser which, with the permission of the mayor, was attended by both black and white city residentsDespite being the highest-paid black performer of the era, Robinson died penniless in 1949, and his funeral was paid for by longtime friend Ed Sullivan. Robinson is remembered for the support he gave to fellow performers, including Fred Astaire, Lena Horne, Jesse Owens, and the Nicholas brother

Date Of BirthMay 25, 1878
Died1949-11-25
Place Of BirthRichmond, Virginia, U.S.
ProfessionSoundtrack, Actor, Miscellaneous Crew
SpouseElaine Plaines
Star SignGemini
#Trademark
1Used wooden taps on his shoes
#Quote
1What success I achieved in the theater is due to the fact that I have always worked just as hard when there were ten people in the house as when there were thousands. Just as hard in Springfield, Illinois, as on Broadway.
#Fact
1Ebbets Field, April 15, 1947: In celebration of Jackie Robinson's first appearance breaking the color barrier in professional baseball, was tapdancing on top of the Brooklyn Dodgers dugout.
2Two scenes featuring Bill Robinson were cut from the final version of 'Café Metropole (1937)': a solo tap dance performance in black tie by the dancing legend and a Danse Apache duet with Geneva Sawyer. Both scenes are included in a DVD released by Fox as part of "Tyrone Power, Matinee Idol".
3He died penniless. Ed Sullivan quietly paid for his funeral because he thought he deserved a dignified burial.
4In 1982, a pair of his tap shoes were on display in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute.
5Portrayed by Gregory Hines in Bojangles (2001).
6Inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2002 (inaugural class).
7Widely credited with coining the adjective "copasetic," or at the very least popularizing the term.
8Was the best man at the first wedding of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige. .
9Though it borrowed his name, Jerry Jeff Walker's 1968 song "Mr. Bojangles" (covered by many other artists, including Sammy Davis Jr. in 1972) was about a fantasy character who had little in common with Robinson. Robinson did not drink, was never a down-and-outer and was always a fastidious dresser. His dancing style was always close to the ground, never "leap . . . and lightly touch down.".
10He was very dedicated to the people of Harlem and often donated his time and money to the people, in an era when it was much needed. The people of Harlem showed their appreciation, to someone they saw as a great gentleman, when they lined the streets in their thousands on the day of his funeral. Having lived a generous and fun-loving lifestyle he died almost penniless and his funeral was paid for by a collection of his celebrity colleagues (including Frank Sinatra).
11Once set a world's record in the backwards 75-yard dash (in 8.2 seconds).
12Married three times. Second wife, Fanny Clay, was his business manager. Third wife, Elaine Plaines, was a dancer.
13His father was a machine-shop worker and mother a choir singer/director. Both died while he was an infant.
14His manager from 1908 until his death was Marty Forkins who eventually had him working in nightclubs for up to $3500 per week.
15A one-time honorary mayor of Harlem and mascot of the New York Giants baseball team.
16Often credited white dancer James Barton as an influence in his dancing style.
17The 1932 all-black movie titled Harlem Is Heaven (1932) was supposedly based on Robinson's life.
18Fred Astaire paid homage to him in the movie Swing Time (1936) by dancing one of his routines in a song called "Bojangles of Harlem" in black-face.
19Grandson of a slave.
20One of the first blacks to act on Broadway, he also appeared in the first all-black motion picture called Harlem Is Heaven (1932) in which he played a mayor.
21Founding member of the Negro Actors Guild of America (NAGA).
22At one point in his career he made $6,500 a week in vaudeville billed as the "World's Greatest Tap Dancer" and headlined New York's Palace Theater, which was the top vaudeville house at the time.
23A native of Richmond, Virginia, Robinson once paid to have a traffic light installed at the corner of Adams and West Leigh Streets, so that the local children could cross the street safely on their way to school. In appreciation, the City of Richmond presented him with an engraved key to the City. Today, a statue of Robinson stands at the corner of Adams and West Leigh Streets.
24Appeared in 4 movies with Shirley Temple: The Little Colonel (1935), The Littlest Rebel (1935), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) , and Just Around the Corner (1938).
25During World War I, Robinson was the drum major of the 369th Infantry Regiment, the so-called "Harlem Hellfighters."
26He took his brother's name (William); his real name was Luther.
27The world's preeminent tap dancer of his day, he is remembered for his appearances as trouper with the moppet Shirley Temple in four of her 1930s films.

Actor

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Stormy Weather1943Bill Williamson
Road Demon1938Zephyr
Up the River1938Memphis Jones
Just Around the Corner1938Corporal Jones
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm1938Aloysius
One Mile from Heaven1937Officer Joe Dudley
Captain January1936Uncle Billy (uncredited)
The Littlest Rebel1935Uncle Billy
In Old Kentucky1935Wash Jackson
The Big Broadcast of 19361935Specialty
Hooray for Love1935Bill Robinson
The Little Colonel1935Walker
King for a Day1934ShortBill Green
Harlem Is Heaven1932Bill
Dixiana1930Specialty Dancer

Soundtrack

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical2008Video documentary performer: "Mr. and Mrs. Sippi" - uncredited
That's Dancing!1985Documentary performer: "Organ Grinder's Swing", "The Old Folks at Home", "Smiles"
Stormy Weather1943"There's No Two Ways About Love" 1943, uncredited / lyrics: "Rang Tang Tang" - uncredited / performer: "Rang Tang Tang", "At a Georgia Camp Meeting" 1897, "De Camptown Races" 1849, "Linda Brown" 1937, "African Dance" 1939, "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" 1928, "My, My, Ain't That Somethin'" 1933 - uncredited
Let's Scuffle1942Short performer: "Let's Scuffle"
Just Around the Corner1938performer: "This Is a Happy Little Ditty" 1938, "Brass Buttons and Epaulettes" 1938, "I Love to Walk in the Rain" 1938 - uncredited
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm1938performer: "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers"
The Littlest Rebel1935music: "She and I" 1936 - uncredited / performer: "Polly Wolly Doodle" 1880, "Turkey In The Straw" - uncredited
The Big Broadcast of 19361935performer: "Miss Brown To You"
Hooray for Love1935performer: "I'm Livin' in a Great Big Way" 1935 - uncredited
The Little Colonel1935performer: "My Old Kentucky Home" 1853 - uncredited
King for a Day1934Short performer: "Old Folks at Home", "Old Black Joe", "Bill Robinson's Stomp", "Love's Old Sweet Song Just a Song at Twilight", "Smiles", "Harlem Honeymoon" - uncredited
Dixiana1930performer: "Mr. and Mrs. Sippi" 1930 - uncredited

Miscellaneous

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Dimples1936dances directed by

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Della1969TV SeriesHimself
Texaco Star Theatre1948-1949TV SeriesHimself - Dancer / Himself
The R.C.A. Thanksgiving Show1948TV MovieHimself
The Ed Sullivan Show1948TV SeriesHimself
By an Old Southern River1942Himself
Let's Scuffle1942ShortHimself
Medicus Film of New York World's Fair1940DocumentaryHimself
Cotton Club Revue1938Documentary
The Big Benefit1933ShortHimself (as Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson)
Hello, Bill1929Himself
The Delicatessen Kid1929ShortHimself

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression2009Video documentaryHimself
Follow the Fleet: The Origins of Those Dancing Feet2005Video short
Broadway: The American Musical2004TV Mini-Series documentary
Omnibus2001TV Series documentaryHimself
Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing2000TV Movie documentaryHimself
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood1998TV Movie documentaryHimself (as Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson)
Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults1997TV Movie documentaryHimself
Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame1993TV Special documentaryHimself
M*A*S*H1975TV SeriesUncle Billy
Fred Astaire Salutes the Fox Musicals1974TV MovieHimself
Black History: Lost Stolen, or Strayed1968TV Movie documentaryHimself / Walker (uncredited)
The Ed Sullivan Show1958TV SeriesHimself

Known for movies

Source
IMDB Wikipedia

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