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Dancing With The Stairs

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Today is the birthday of a great American entertainer, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, in 1878. Both parents died when he was an infant and Robinson was raised by his grandmother. He started dancing as an 8 year old and made his name in vaudeville, and later, movies.

He was a man of many talents, with an inventive mind and lightning fast feet. It is said he could run backwards faster than many could run forwards, once covering 75 yards in 8.2 seconds. That alone would make him a You Tube star today.

He also was known for his ingenuity in developing a dance routine to be done on a flight of stairs – something Bojangles said he came up with on the spur of the moment as a creative way to go up some steps to receive an honor from the King of England. However he developed the act, it served him well. Here he is doing it in 1932.

And here’s Bill Robinson working the stair routine in a film with Shirley Temple three years later.

Although many think it was written about him, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson is not the inspiration for the Jerry Jeff Walker song “Mr. Bojangles”. In this fine recording, David Bromberg takes a moment in the middle to tell the story.

Even though it’s about an entirely different person, I couldn’t resist – the song is so good. I suppose it speaks to the popularity of the real Bojangles that a broken down bar dancer in New Orleans would adopt the name.

Bill Robinson is remembered for his cool, his skill, his generosity, and his “stair dance.” Not a bad legacy to leave.

If historians lift up one part of your “act” to define you, what will it be?

73 thoughts on “Dancing With The Stairs”

  1. Good morning, babooners! I’ll have a comment on the question Dale has left us this morning, but first a comment on Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple.

    I’ve heard that the day they filmed the stair dance was unusual. The cast and crew of “The Littlest Colonel” were in awe of the talent in both Robinson and Shirley. That was an era that understood the art of tap dancing. Rumors about the stair dance spread until the day they filmed it. Virtually the entire cast and crew turned out to witness what they all recognized was a moment of rare greatness being captured on film.

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    1. I also read in a biography of Shirley Temple that the fact that she and Bill Robinson held hands in the movie was scandalous at the time (because he was black and she was white) and in fact that some theatres in the south clipped out that part before they showed it! Sheesh.

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  3. Beth-Ann, most of my tap dancing these days happens when someone greets me at the grocery store, and I know I know them but don’t recall who in heck they are. I tap dance then, smiling broadly and talking like a friend while not committing myself to any particular bit of knowledge (such as they have a child). “Gee, it’s been a long time. I’d say it’s been . . . oh, . . . (furrow brow, look reflective and pray that they supply a number). I know this dance well and can do it on stairs.

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  4. Hmm – will have to ponder Dale’s question. Perhaps Daughter, who shares a birthday with Mr. Robinson, will provide my historical legacy and do something fabulous (and I can be remembered as “the mother of _____”). We are celebrating a 7th birthday today. There have been seven days of small books (in a series) left each morning leading up to today, with a pile of books left today. More non-book presents later. Hmm. Perhaps there is the clue to the answer…I have been accused of having, “a high need to celebrate.” Maybe that’s what part of my “act” people will remember. Cakes, oddball notions of how to celebrate a birthday, and goofy presents (and a willingness to celebrate just about anything).

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      1. Yes, I think it may be time to break out the Shirley Temple. Maybe it will inspire her to get back into tap dance lessons. (Or me – either way…though I gave away my tap shoes a couple years ago.)

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      1. If not, let me know… I am the queen of oddball cakes over here! A few sandcastles, a treasure chest once, barbie cakes (you know, where the barbie is embedded in the cake up to her waist), and my personal favorite… one of the pyramids of Giza… with Hershey’s treasures in the middle!

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      3. Love the pyramid idea, VS. I only dream of cakes, I have not made one in forever-back in daycare days, I did make a lovely erupting volcano cake-I’m sure the s&h wonders where that mother went.

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      4. I have a castle-shaped Bundt pan that has made a few appearances; ellow cake mix makes a nice “sand castle,” chocolate cake dusted with powdered sugar gives it the look of a castle tucked up in the snowline of the mountains. Also like to experiment with flavors and tweaking recipes (see last week’s lemonade cake with lingonberries). Cupcakes have been known to happen and be built into various shapes. One year a valentine shaped cake was made from one round and one square shape, plastered together with frosting.

        Last year’s kid birthday cake was a purchased affair with several of the fairies from the recent “Tinkerbell” movies all sitting around a waterfall. Pretty neat, but man it was a lot of cake. This year, maybe I can convince Daughter that “dirt cake” would be fun (chocolate cake, pudding, crumbled oreos…gummi worms sticking out of it…).

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      6. A — we did the dirt cake once… but we did it as a “build your own” dirt cup. I had a big bowl of crumbled up cake, some crumbled up cookies, some brown sugar, chocolate frosting and the assorted gummie worms. Then I let the kids (9 of them…what was I thinking?) build their own in big plastic cups. It was incredibly messy but hysterical!

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      7. I shall now make a non-committment with a lot of ifs attached:

        IF my mom still has the “open book” cake pans and IF I can get her to send them to me and IF I can actually make it to BBC for a change (PROVIDED I have time to bake)

        I would be happy to make us a cake for the BBC discussion of Thursday Next (which, considering, VS, I have had the latest volume of and still haven’t gotten very far into it because by the time the day is enough behind me that I can open the book, you guessed it, I am falling asleep).

        Don’t all poise you forks at once!

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      9. my Mom would make a “checkerboard cake” for our birthdays – white, pink and chocolate in three layers so that there was a checkerboard pattern. i have the original pans and rings to make the pattern. very cool have never made it. not ever. 🙂

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      10. Ooh…. I’ve always wanted to make one of those. I almost bought a set of those rings at a garage sale once but one of the rings was really banged up badly. Of course, I’ve always wished that I had bought them anyway and hammered out the problem.

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    6. Love dirt cake. We usually bake it like cupcakes in individual clay flower pots, but have also done it in one big one. Then we add silk flowers and the chocolate pebbles that you can get at candy stores, to the crushed oreos and it looks very much like a potted plant. Group a bunch in the middle of the table as a center piece and when it’s time for dessert, hand them out. A real crowd pleaser to a new crowd. The gummi worms are a dead give-away if you’re trying to make it a surprise, but a fun addition.

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  5. Up and tap your toes Baboons.

    Wonderful video clips Dale, thanks. Historians would have some heavy lifting to do to find the one part of my “act” to define me. As I have already admitted, patience isn’t my strong suit, and not being particularly gifted in any area, I’ve never become expert at anything. When I was eleven, after three years of piano lessons, my piano teacher advised my mother that she could be spending her money more wisely. Dance lessons yielded similar results although no dance teacher ever fired me. To this day I’m an enthusiastic free-style dancer, but I never go near a piano. By free style I mean that I make it up as I go along. I’m a great improviser, you have to be when you have failed to learn the conventional way of doing things. This trait carries over into almost everything I do. When cooking I view most recipes as inspirational jump off points and rarely follow them to the letter, perhaps that’s why I’m not much of a baker. I’m afraid that I’m the proverbial “Jack of all trades, master of none. “

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    1. Well MoWS, our stories are very much alike except that I never took piano and I was fired from dance lessons. My self-definition is caulk. I can’t do anything superbly, but I can fill in adequately and occasionally creatively, until the real thing comes along. The talent has served me well, but holds no promise of historical significance. I have wonderful children, astonishingly fantastic grandchildren, and a small village of family and friends that keeps me grounded. Life is good, but unremarkable; and I’m fine with that.

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      1. Love that “caulk” metaphor, OC. That suggests we could do a question one time in which we would define our function in the family “I’m the glue” or “I’m the sheep dog herding cats” in terms of some functional object. I used to be proud of being the flywheel in my family.

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  6. My mom had me in tap lessons, too. I was so tall that for aesthetic reasons I was put in the class with girls a year older, which was a poor choice since I couldn’t keep up with them. It was not a fun experience and I quit after two years. My son had some motor and coordination problems as a result of prematurity, and we started him in ballet and tap when he was in Grade one. He danced until he graduated from High School. He had a wonderful, nurturing teacher and while he was never as accomplished as the other dancers he was proud of what he could do and enjoyed the workout he got at class.

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    3. This is the way dance ought to be – about enjoying yourself and the dance, not about who is the best dancer or most accomplished. Bravo to your son and his teacher.

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  7. Good morning to all:

    Thanks for the videos, Dale. I do have an act of sorts that I can mention. When I worked as a consultant to the Hollandale vegetable growers I was often seen walking in fields swinging an insect net. A local character, named Bernie, thought it was funny to shout “hey bug man”, very loudly whenever he saw me. Of course, the farmers that gathered in the Hollandale Cafe were quick to pick up on Bernie’s name for me. Then another farmer, Fritz, made sure that the people at the Clarks Grove cafe also knew about my nick name.

    OT The Orange Mighty Trio was on Radio K yesterday playing three orginal arrangements of Dylan songs. Here is a link to their preformance: http:www.radiok.org/instudio/i/theorangemightytrio/ As some of you know, I have a special interest in the Orange Mighty Trio because my son-in-law, Zack Kline, is a member of this group.

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  8. Rainy morning (again) all!

    I have lots of accomplishments, but none of them are huge and worthy of a future historian’s ink. Except for maybe the raising of a great kid. I’m most proud of that.

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  9. Rise and Weep Baboons:

    I am OT today. We will be having our dog put down later in the day. She had a miserable weekend of pain and partial paralysis, not to mention the confusion of doggie dementia. So I will be pretty absent on the Trail.

    My son is coming out this evening to say good-bye to her, so the whole family will be here for her departure. She was his childhood dog. He taught her all of her best tricks. I’ll be an emotional mess all day. I’m crying already. I’ve never been capable of a graceful good-bye.

    But she gets a big bowl of ice cream just for her today.

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    2. Thinking of you today, Jacque. Hang in there and keep telling yourself, you’re doing the most loving thing you can do for your pet.

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    4. Oh Jacque. It is a kindness, if a hard one. Weep openly, grieve, and celebrate the companionship of what I’m sure has been a Very Good Dog.

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    5. Is this your terrier? I hope she really enjoys that ice cream. You are doing the right thing, and she knows it.

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    7. So very sorry, Jacque. You gave her a good home and a sweet life and a little part of her goodness will always be with you.

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    8. Oh, Jacque! My heart goes out to you, your dog and your family. There just isn’t an easy, graceful way to do this. As you probably know, I’m weeks or months from having the same experience. Good luck.

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    9. Good-byes like this are never easy, but I am glad you will be able to say them. Cyber hugs to you and your son.

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    11. Condolences to you and your family, Jacque.
      Pets give us so much, and this is a final gift – to recognize the brevity of life and to remind us to make the most of all our moments together.

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    1. I wonder how many baboons remember the younger Garrison Keillor back when he wasn’t rich and when he seemed mighty suspicious of US business enterprise. His faux ads had a spooky edge back then (1970s, 1980s) that later got dropped. One aspect of the service offered by Raoul the Warm Car Driver was that parents who lack the guts to drive their kids to summer camp could contract with Raoul. One day they’d come home and the kids would be gone . . . off in camp. No tortured parting. No tears!

      I say that because I have no heart for putting down a dog. I sometimes wish I could arrange for this and then, on some random day, I’d come back from the grocery store and my old blind dog would be gone. But . . . hell, there would be tears aplenty, even then.

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      1. i always thought pets were a good idea because they teach us so much about life and how to live it and be true to their soul. they teach us how to deal with the fact that life is such a gift. loved ones are loved ones but pets are in a league of their own. peace jacque

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  11. Probably as the “dancer who always asks for Joc Batranesc” at international Friday evenings at Tapestry… Or “The Fixer”, who frequently tried to solve our families’ problems, although I’m working (with Husband’s encouragement) on letting more of that go. Perhaps “The Neatener”. Better stop there.

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  12. Morning–

    Thanks for the videos. How fun!
    I have always wanted to tap dance but I hurt my leg many years ago and have limited use of one foot. I wonder what One footed tap dancing would sound like? Like One hand clapping?? Tap (scuff) Tap (scuff)…. Hmph.

    Defining myself? Well, I’m Joe and June’s son, that’s a popular one already. ‘The one on the farm’- that’s another.
    (My Mom recently had an 85th Birthday party. I’m standing next to my older brother when a guest comes in, talks to me, then asks my brother “Are you part of the family? Never heard of you; all I hear about is Ben and the Farm” Ouch! Burn!! But my brother took it graciously. )

    And I’m pretty well known in the local theater world but that’s a ‘big fish/ small pond’ sort of thing…
    Our son is a senior this year; graduating in a couple weeks and in certain circles we’re known as his parents. And that is pretty cool. He’s a good kid.
    In another couple months when he goes off to Chicago for college I’ll be asking for coping advice. For US, not him.

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    1. Congratulations to one and all on the graduation! Where in Chicago? I have fond memories of living in the Rogers Park neighborhood near Loyola.

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      1. He’s headed to North Park University and majoring in Music– leaning toward Worship Team leadership. Yeah… how cool is that??

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    2. I guess the best advice I have for coping with a son leaving home, is to stay in touch as much as possible without over doing it. Ben, I don’t think you really need this advice and will find plenty of ways to do this. The time spent staying in touch with your son might serve to at least partly fill the empty space left when he goes away to school in Chicago.

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      1. Thanks Jim. I appreciate your advice.

        Does anyone here Skype? We’re only slightly faster than dial-up (Thank you so much ‘Wild Blue’ ). Is Skype an option for us? We’ve done audio chats online (not with Skype but with iChat or something or other) but haven’t been able to do video chats with that…

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  13. When I became an outdoor writer, there were expectations for what most articles would look like. First, they would be instructional, and that usually meant that the author felt some need to prove his competence (ie to brag). The article might start with a narrative in which other sportsmen were humilated by their failures, but then Our Hero stepped in and achieved instant success.

    Well, that just wasn’t me. I began writing articles in which I fell down, missed shots, lost fish, got lost and found creative new ways to make an ass of myself. The positive response from readers encouraged me to push the envelope on this anti-heroical article style. I’ll admit there were times when my pride was hurt and I resented the way I was describing myself as the clown prince of outdoors sportsmen.

    My candor reached a new height (or depth, if you prefer) when I described getting into a nasty competition with a fellow fly fisherman whom I had just concluded was a bigger liar than even I was. He and I ended up in an unspoken competition, each hating the other’s guts, fishing side by side to see who could get a nice fish first. That ended for me when I had a terrible attack of diarrhea, which if you are wearing chest waders is a serious emergency. I ran out of the river and into the woods. When I published that story I was nervous, for to my knowledge no other writer had described himself at such a moment.

    Two years later several of us were hunting pheasants on Sioux land in South Dakota when I had the very same emergency, although without the waders. When I wrote about that hunt, that incident had to be concluded.

    By that time I knew I would never be famous enough as a writer to merit any kind of plaque or commemorative statue. But it made me smile to think that if a statue were ever created to celebrate my unique contributions to outdoor writing, I know just what the pose would be!

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    1. That would be a wonderful statue indeed, and a genuine tourist attraction. Sadly, there’s no state money to pay for statues anymore, but perhaps the makers of Kaopectate could underwrite it.

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  14. Love the David Bromberg singing Mr. Bojangles. David’s voice sounds like Bruce Dern – love him too.

    I’ll be content if what goes down in the books about me says I was a good mom who had great kids. My son just got hired with a firm in Manhattan that deals with anti-trusts and intellectual property – Google is one of their clients. Oldest daughter is a wonderful English teacher who takes on added committee work and speech coaching. Younger daughter is taking longer to pull it together, but we have every confidence she will. Right now she’s considering having her tattoos removed. (Sherrilee – were you serious about that enterprise??)

    So sorry about your dog, Jacque. Hugs.

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    1. Ooh – didn’t mean to sound so braggy. It’s true I’m proud of their accomplishments, but what I like most about my kids is how they treat others and how they vote in elections. They’re also pretty good at buying me things. 😉

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  15. i love this question. sorry to be so late geting at it. one of those days. i read it at 6 on my way out the door but did’t get to the question line til now. love the question.
    reminds me of a favorite saying: you are not who you think you are. you are not who other people think you are, you are who you think other people think you are. it makes me think every time it enters my brain. what is the one a charlamaign and his horse? varaton on a theme.
    my dogs and my kids know me best. it is basics with them. love, direction, feedback, opinions and demonstrations on how to live life. i try real hard not to say one thing and do another. i dislike hypocrits and avoid it very successfully until the time when someone points out otherwise and i have to rethingk my position. that is the thing i admired most about bill clinton. bright man but would go into a discussion with an opinion and come out with a different because he was big enough to admit he hadn’t walked in everyones shoes and things change when you try. my kids will learn how to lose gracefully and how to get back up and go again, they will learn not to value someone elses opinion more than your own two truths at the same time are possible. they will learn to go until you cant and to try to enjoy the journey because often thats all there is. if you miss out on tht you will die with your eye on the goal which is constantly shifting and changing enough to forbid boredom complacency or self congradulations for too long a period of time. art music beauty frends conversation the exchange of ideas , learning , emotion and drive will allow you to thrive everywhere you go. just pay atention and ride your own wave. poems are good too

    life is a page turner you may have noticed
    chapters will com and will go
    the gifts in the journey its over too soon
    play hard and enjoy the show

    this isn’t rehearsal or do over city
    it possible to try try again though
    learn from the path chosen try to choose it on purpose
    it all that you have treat it so

    when it is all over and youlook back upon it
    the things said will hopeful be clear
    footsteps well chosen with partners well loved
    and the life lived has been very dear

    good luck on your journey im working on mine
    i learn and i learn and i learn
    lessons so varied and welcome and loved
    and thats all that i ask in return

    i am pretty simple

    was the first line i typed and i somehow got shuffled down here. i like it down here. its truer after reading the above than before writing it. it really simple isn’t it?

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    1. Nice, tim. I love this: you are not who you think you are. you are not who other people think you are, you are who you think other people think you are.

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    1. i had to laugh. one mention of cake and this group goes into foodie mode never to return to the topic of the day. i will mention the vegetarian gourmet group i will be putting together with rotating locals a pot luck premise. cake offs on a bimonthly basis would be fun too but i like garlic and spice and potato and onion more than sugar. comatose stupors have lost their appeal recently

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      1. I’m not big on sugar and sweets either, but I once made some garlic brownies. An acquired taste I’m afraid, but very interesting.

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