Research Catalog

Title

Ralph Brown papers, [ca. 1930-1980] (bulk [ca. 1980s]).

Author

Brown, Ralph, 1914-1990.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

.6 lin. ft. (1 archival box, 1/2 archival box)

Summary

The Ralph Brown Papers focus on the career of this tap dancer, with an emphasis on performances in the 1980s. Among the documents are his public relations material as well as programs for the show "1000 Years of Jazz" when it toured nationally and internationally, and the special gala at Washington, D.C.'s Ford Theatre. Brown's performances in the Broadway and Paris productions of "Black and Blue" are represented by programs, reviews, contact lists and associated material. A file discusses other tours he made to France, 1983-1989. Programs (1930s-1988) for a variety of venues in which he appeared primarily in New York and France, contracts, and news clippings can also be found in this collection.

Subjects

• African Americans in popular culture
• Tap dancers > United States
• Tap dancing
• African Americans in the performing arts
• African American entertainers
• African American dancers
• Brown, Ralph, 1914-1990
• Dancers > United States

Note

• Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.

Source (note)

• Vernece Crawford

Biography (note)

• An African American tap dancer, Ralph Brown danced with the Mills Brothers Show and was a regular at the Hoofer's Club in Harlem, and the Cotton Club with Cab Calloway's Orchestra in the 1930s. He also performed with other well-known orchestras such as Duke Ellington's and Jimmie Lunceford's, and toured with Count Basie, followed by the USA tour which presented Eubie Blake's "Shuffle Along" revue. In the 1940s he danced at New York's Paramount Theater sharing the bill with the Ink Spots, Ella Fitzgerald, Buck and Bubbles, and the Cootie Williams Orchestra, and was a regular at Harlem's Apollo Theater.
• Brown began teaching tap dancing during the 1950s and 1960s when there were fewer live performances of this art form. In 1979, with the resurgence of interest in tap dancing, he joined the music and dance revue "1000 Years of Jazz" together with the Original Hoofers. The show opened in Montreal and toured South America, and in 1980-1984 it continued in Europe and the United States. In 1982 the show played the "Festival at Ford's," which was held at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. where the entertainers performed for President Reagan and guests. Brown returned to Paris in 1985 with the musical "Black and Blue," and danced in the Broadway production of this revue from 1989 until his death in New York 1990.

Call Number

Sc MG 727

OCLC

642044411

Author

Brown, Ralph, 1914-1990.

Title

Ralph Brown papers, [ca. 1930-1980] (bulk [ca. 1980s]).

Biography

An African American tap dancer, Ralph Brown danced with the Mills Brothers Show and was a regular at the Hoofer's Club in Harlem, and the Cotton Club with Cab Calloway's Orchestra in the 1930s. He also performed with other well-known orchestras such as Duke Ellington's and Jimmie Lunceford's, and toured with Count Basie, followed by the USA tour which presented Eubie Blake's "Shuffle Along" revue. In the 1940s he danced at New York's Paramount Theater sharing the bill with the Ink Spots, Ella Fitzgerald, Buck and Bubbles, and the Cootie Williams Orchestra, and was a regular at Harlem's Apollo Theater.

Brown began teaching tap dancing during the 1950s and 1960s when there were fewer live performances of this art form. In 1979, with the resurgence of interest in tap dancing, he joined the music and dance revue "1000 Years of Jazz" together with the Original Hoofers. The show opened in Montreal and toured South America, and in 1980-1984 it continued in Europe and the United States. In 1982 the show played the "Festival at Ford's," which was held at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. where the entertainers performed for President Reagan and guests. Brown returned to Paris in 1985 with the musical "Black and Blue," and danced in the Broadway production of this revue from 1989 until his death in New York 1990.

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Finding Aid

Research Call Number

Sc MG 727