Robinson, Bill ‘Bojangles’ (1878–1949)

US tap dancer who was the first African-American to star in a Ziegfield Follies. He danced in the first film to have its own original musical score, Dixiana in 1930, and during the 1930s and 1940s he danced in black revues and musicals. He appeared in four films with Shirley Temple, and starred in Stormy Weather in 1943.

Known as ‘the King of Tapology’, he was one of the first performers to tap dance on his toes (as opposed to flat-footed), he led in using tap dance to create rhythmic sound, and is credited with originating the routine of tapping up and down stairs.

He was born in Richmond, Virginia. He began dancing professionally at the age of eight in Louisville, Kentucky, then moved to New York City in 1891 to dance in the popular musical The South Before the War. He performed in vaudeville and later was one of the few black dancers to star on the Keith circuit. He first performed on Broadway in 1928.