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Showing posts with the label comedy

Leonard Harper (April 9, 1899, Birmingham, Alabama – February 4, 1943, Harlem, New York)

Leonard Harper was a producer, stager, and  choreographer  in New York City during the  Harlem Renaissance  in the 1920's and 1930's. Harper's works spanned the worlds of  Vaudeville ,  Cabaret ,  Burlesque  and Broadway musical comedy. As a dancer, choreographer and studio owner, he coached many of the country's leading performers, including  Ruby Keller .  Fred Astaire  and  Adele Astaire , came by the studio twice, and the  Marx Brothers  went for lessons. He produced floor shows and theatrical revues both uptown in Harlem and downtown on Broadway's Great White Way. In his  Times Square  dance studio he trained the  Busby Berkeley  dancers, and Fred's sister  Adele Astaire . He co-directed and staged the ensemble segments of  The Exile  and the short film  Darktown Revue  with  Oscar Micheaux . Harper staged for Broadway  Hot Chocolates ...

Rudy Ray Moore (March 17, 1927 – October 19, 2008)

Rudolph Frank Moore , known as  Rudy Ray Moore , was an American comedian, musician, singer, film actor, and film producer.  He was perhaps best known as  Dolemite  (the name derived from the mineral  dolomite ), the uniquely articulate  pimp  from the 1975 film  Dolemite , and its sequels,  The Human Tornado  and  The Return of Dolemite .  The persona was developed during his earlier comedy records,  for which Moore has been called "the Godfather of Rap". Moore was born and raised in  Fort Smith, Arkansas , and eventually moved to  Cleveland, Ohio , and then  Milwaukee, Wisconsin . In Milwaukee, he preached in churches as well as worked as a  nightclub  dancer. He returned to Cleveland, working in clubs as a singer, dancer, and comedian, often appearing in character as  Prince DuMarr . He joined the  US Army  and served in an entertainment unit in Germany, where he w...