The Life & Times
Bill Robinson, Tap Dancing Superstar, Dead at 71
by Ran Domwriter
published Nov. 25, 1949
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, one of the world's preeminent tap dancers and Hollywood icons, passed away from heart failure on November 25th, 1949.
His funeral in Harlem was arranged by his friend Ed Sullivan, and was attended by 32,000 people. Tap dancers and admirers around the world mourned the loss of this great dancer and remarkable human being, who was as generous as he was gifted.
In life he often performed an astounding stair dance, in which he imagined himself ascending to a king's throne to receive just dues as a knight. Perhaps in death he ascended to someplace grander. As the old Gershwin tune goes, perhaps he tap danced right up some copasetic stairway to paradise. Rest in peace, and thank you, Mr. Bojangles.
Bill Robinson's famous stair dance, 1932.
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