Bill "Mr. Bojangles" Robinson

Realize this is mainly a MMA forum, but rereading "Unforgiveable Blackness" about Jack Johnson reminded me what an amazing individual Bill Robinson was, in a time of amazing racism and segregation in our country this was the most famous black entertainer for decades. It gets lost in the shuffle but he helped the country (white america) come to the grips with the idea of a black man interacting with whites. The film "The Little COlonel" was the ground breaking film and Temple stated she basically loved Robinson and he was one of the great influences in her life

The first black man to be seen on screen with a white person was Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple, Robinson had been famous in Harlem for many years but the Shirley Temple movies are what really brought him acclaim from all walks of life. The song Mr Bojangles is without a doubt about him (although some claim it is not) here are some of the amazing moments of the mans career.


Bill Robinsons last appearance, he died 2 weeks later, hard to imagine a black person in america at the time speaking so highly of the nation.



His funeral was attended by over 500 thousand people his pall bearers included Joe Louis, Joe DiMagio, Duke Ellington, Bob Hope, and Erving Berlin.



If you watch 1 clip from this thread, watch this one it is purely amazing, Bill Robinson's famed stair dance



Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple do the stair dance

Temple has never been reticent about her feelings for her beloved "Uncle Billy," who patiently taught her the difficult stair routines that had made him famous. "None of the dancers I worked with were patronizing to me, or treated me as a child," she recalls in Tap! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories. "But Bill Robinson was the one who treated me most as an equal. Bill Robinson and I became very close personal friends throughout our lives, and I have always had great love for him. He is still important in my heart."

and oh ya

if you ever use the word "copacetic"

thank Bill Robinson

he coined the phrase

The man was brilliant and always had that contagious smile.

He died penniless if I'm not mistaken.

made over 4 million in his career but at his death was estimated worth 25 grand, he gave away and gambled his money away

just to take into account what kind of shit this talented man had to go through to make a living, lets examine the Shirley Temple movie where he had to play a southern loyalist to a black faced Shirley Temple

have to see it to believe it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-uCpJ8Bh9M

and agree on both counts winston the man was brilliant and 80 years later you watch him perform and cant help but smile

theres an old story that Robinson was in a restaraunt in New York and someone objected to him being there, the owner came and told Robinson it might be better if he didnt eat there

Robinson asked if the owner had a 10 dollar bill, the owner did, Robinson asked to see it, Robinson then pulled out 6 10 dollar bills from his pocket and mixed them all together and asked the owner to "pick the colored 10 dollar bill" from the 7 10 dollar bills. The owner got the point and allowed him to eat