Bill Robinson

Actor

Born: May 25, 1878
Died: November 25, 1949 (age 71)
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA

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.…

Filmography (22)

Dancetime Tap Dance History (2011)
The Harlem Renaissance (2004)
Self (archive footage)
Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997)
Self (Archival Footage)
That's Dancing! (1985)
Stormy Weather (1943)
Bill Williamson
By an Old Southern River
By an Old Southern River (1942)
Self
Let's Scuffle
Let's Scuffle (1942)
HImself
Up the River (1938)
Memphis Jones
Road Demon
Road Demon (1938)
Zephyr
Just Around the Corner (1938)
Samuel G. Henshaw
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
Aloysius
One Mile from Heaven (1937)
Officer Joe Dudley
The Littlest Rebel (1935)
Uncle Billy
In Old Kentucky (1935)
Greyboy
The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)
Specialty
Hooray for Love (1935)
himself
The Little Colonel (1935)
Walker
King for a Day
King for a Day (1934)
Bill Green
The Big Benefit (1933)
Self
Harlem Is Heaven (1932)
Bill
Dixiana (1930)
Specialty Dancer
The Delicatessen Kid
The Delicatessen Kid (1929)
Bill Robinson