Bill Robinson

Personal Info

Birthday

May 25, 1878

Day of Death

1949-11-25

(71 years old)

Place of Birth

Richmond, Virginia, USA

Also Known As

Luther Robinson

Bojangles

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson

Bill Robinson

Biography

According to one jazz dance source, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson was the chief instigator for getting tap dance "up on its toes." Early forms of tap, including the familiar "buck and wing", contained a flat-footed style, while Robinson performed on the balls of his feet with a shuffle-tap style that allowed him more improvisation.

It obviously got him noticed and it certainly made him a legend. Born Luther Robinson in Richmond, Virginia, on May 25, 1878, he was orphaned in infancy and reared by a grandmother. He took his brother Bill's name for his own once he went professional.

Known For

Dixiana

Stormy Weather

The Big Broadcast of 1936

The Little Colonel

Just Around the Corner

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

King for a Day

Up the River

Filmography

2004
The Harlem Renaissance
as Self (archive footage)
1997
Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults
as Self (Archival Footage)
1943
Stormy Weather
as Bill Williamson
1942
By an Old Southern River
as Self
Let's Scuffle
as HImself
1938
Up the River
as Memphis Jones
Road Demon
as Zephyr
Just Around the Corner
as Samuel G. Henshaw
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
as Aloysius
1937
One Mile from Heaven
as Officer Joe Dudley
1935
The Littlest Rebel
as Uncle Billy
In Old Kentucky
as Greyboy
The Big Broadcast of 1936
as Specialty
Hooray for Love
as himself
The Little Colonel
as Walker
1934
King for a Day
as Bill Green
1933
The Big Benefit
as Self
1932
Harlem Is Heaven
as Bill
1930
Dixiana
as Specialty Dancer