Review by Choice Review
Born in 1878, Robinson began his career as a "pick" (i.e., pickaninny) in a minstrel show. He fought to work without artificial blackface, which was then the standard, and eventually won the right to perform as a solo artist, which was unheard of for a black performer. Bojangles became one of the great stars of vaudeville with his sophisticated routines, but he had to play in film Shirley Temple's Uncle Tom family retainer. The Bojangles story is more than that of a fine artist, it is the story of a black man fighting for recognition in a white society. Haskins and Mitgang have provided a written record that falls woefully short. The book tells the Bojangles story in its broadest outlines, but rambles and wanders, often without apparent direction. Facts dealing with subjects such as blacks and motion pictures are too often incorrect. There is a curious and disturbing biographical technique used in which the authors create explanations for some things, apparently out of their own imagination. Although the authors make it clear Bojangles was a very complicated man living in two incompatable societies, they do not provide very much perspective or understanding for the reader. Haskins has written many books for adults and younger readers on black subjects, including several popularized biographies of entertainers and artists; Mitgang is a black theater historian. Long before Fred Astaire tapped his way across movie screens into American history, Bojangles raised tap dancing to a fine art against unbelievable odds. Readers certainly should have a book that gives him and his art the attention they deserve. -C. M. Weisenberg, University of California, Los Angeles
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
For 40 years Bill Robinson reigned as the world's most famous tap dancer. His lighter-than-air descent down a staircase became virtually a trademark (he was denied the patent for it); his fame was immortalized in a song and in a Vanity Fair photomontage; and Fred Astaire paid homage in his ``Bojangles of Harlem'' dance sequence. Amazingly, this is the first biography of Robinson, who suffered several heart attacks prior to death in 1949. His life story, as recounted by Haskins and Mitgang with complete cooperation from the dancer's family and friends, stands as a moving study in bravery and a melancholy portrait of thwarted possibilities. Robinson, who fought determinedly against the color barrier throughout his career, was a longtime gambler and died with an estate valued at only $25,000. To include 16 black-and-white photographs, notes, and index. PLR. 793.3'2 (B) Robinson, Bill / Dancers-U.S.-Biography / Tap dancing [OCLC] 87-34992
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
An elegantly dressed man who could neither read nor write until he was in his 40s, honorary mayor of Harlem and one of the best-known black entertainers of his time, Bill Robinson (1878-1949) grew up an orphan in Richmond, Va., where he earned a living by shining shoes and shelling peas. Based on Robinson's papers and on interviews with his wives and friends, this dutiful biography tries to explain the character and personality of the popular but enigmatic tap dancer but is more successful at chronicling his career. Here are glimpses of his struggles to overcome the color barrier on his way to stardom in white vaudeville, musicals (especially The Hot Mikado), films and radio, his addiction to gambling and compulsive need to live on borrowed money, his generosity (he performed at more than 3000 benefits) and his love for his native city. Haskins is the author of Queen of the Blues; Mitgang is a black-theater historian. Photos not seen by PW. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
To most people, Bill Robinson was Shirley Temple's tap-dancing partner in films of the 1930s. Yet he also was one of the country's foremost and best-loved vaudeville headliners. The authors tell of Robinson's life from his early days as an orphan in Richmond, dancing on street corners, through his illustrious career. They deal squarely with Robinson's gambling and three marriages, and succeed splendidly in detailing the hardships faced by a black performer in a white entertainment world, but at times the writing is choppy and too adulatory. Photographs not seen. Recommended. Eric W. Johnson, Univ. of Bridgeport Lib., Ct. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Bill ""Bojangles"" Robinson, who died nearly 40 years ago, was often called the world's greatest tap dancer. His fading image has recently been revived in the video release of his best-known films, those made with seven-year-old dancing partner Shirley Temple: The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (His other outings, in Stormy Weather and In Old Kentucky, are lesser films.) As a young orphan, Robinson began dancing on Southern street corners and in front of theaters, becoming a compulsive gambler early on. He spent several decades in vaudeville, and was the first black solo act allowed on stage. In later years, he helped black entertainers form a union, was always generous with his time and money, danced for servicemen in WW II, and was named unofficial ""Mayor of Harlem"" during the rule of Fiorello LaGuardia. Meanwhile, Bojangles (the Bob Dylan song is not about Robinson) was not just dapper, he was fanatical about his clothes, clean dressing rooms, and even tried to patent his famed step dance. Beloved figure though he was, he had flaws that went hand in glove with gambling (but did not drink or smoke), was forever borrowing (sometimes failing to pay back), had a sharp temper, and was a martinet with fellow workers. He did not marry until into his 40s, and at 62 was divorced by his wife for his infatuation with a very young dancer, whom he then married. Robinson's dressing rooms and home always displayed many photos of Shirley Temple (though Haskins and Mitgang are disappointingly scanty about his work with Shirley). His death, at age 72, was followed by the greatest funeral ever held in Harlem. Haskins, who has limned many black entertainers' lives, and Mitgang see Robinson plain and make clear his sparkle, but--perhaps necessarily--lard their book with large chunks of vaudeville and black theater history. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
