Whatna colorful life Luther Robinson led!
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nFornone thing, he began tap dancing for money at an early age (some saynage 5), and he soon dropped out of school to pursue his career.nTragically, both of his parents died, so his grandmother became hisnguardian. He didn’t like his first name, Luther, so he convinced hisnbrother Bill to switch names.
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n(Later on, the new Luther decided thatnHE didn’t like the name Luther, either, so he changed his namenagains, to Percy.)
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nRobinsonnwas still young when he first joined a dancing troupe, and heneventually worked on a vaudeville team, in nightclubs, on Broadway,nand in movies. He is well known for tap dancing with Adelaide Hall innBroadway shows and with Shirley Temple in movies.
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Interestinglynenough, with all his tap-dancing success and despite his early startnas a performer, Robinson never danced for white audiences until henwas 50 years old. Of course, America was much more segregated backnthen than now. You will probably not be surprised to hear thatnRobinson faced racism. One story he liked to tell concerned sittingndown to eat in a restaurant. A white customer complained to thenrestaurant manager that he didn’t want a “colored person” eatingnin the same restaurant, and the manager suggested to Robinson thatnperhaps he should leave. Robinson just smiled and asked the managernif he had a ten-dollar bill. Puzzled, the manager gave him the money.nRobinson pulled out six $10 bills from his own wallet and mixed themnup. “Here, let’s see you pick out the colored one,” he said tonthe manager. The restaurant manager saw the point and took Robinson’snorder.
Interestinglynenough, with all his tap-dancing success and despite his early startnas a performer, Robinson never danced for white audiences until henwas 50 years old. Of course, America was much more segregated backnthen than now. You will probably not be surprised to hear thatnRobinson faced racism. One story he liked to tell concerned sittingndown to eat in a restaurant. A white customer complained to thenrestaurant manager that he didn’t want a “colored person” eatingnin the same restaurant, and the manager suggested to Robinson thatnperhaps he should leave. Robinson just smiled and asked the managernif he had a ten-dollar bill. Puzzled, the manager gave him the money.nRobinson pulled out six $10 bills from his own wallet and mixed themnup. “Here, let’s see you pick out the colored one,” he said tonthe manager. The restaurant manager saw the point and took Robinson’snorder.n
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n(Arenyou puzzled? This is the way the story is told—in six or sevenndifferent places all over the internet!—but I would’ve thought thatnRobinson would have said, “Here, let’s see you pick out the whitenone.” Or something like that.)
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nChecknout Mr. Bojangles’ famous stair dance!
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nPlannAhead…
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Checknout my Pinterest boards of Junenholidays, historicalnanniversaries in June,nand Junenbirthdays.
Checknout my Pinterest boards of Junenholidays, historicalnanniversaries in June,nand Junenbirthdays.
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nAlso,nfor the rest of May: Maynholidays, historicalnevents in May,nand Maynbirthdays.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nGeek Pride Day
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Towel Day
Towel Dayn
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nWriternRalph Waldo Emerson’s birthday