# Cotton Club Boys (chorus line)

The Cotton Club Boys were African American chorus line entertainers who, from 1934, performed class act dance routines in musical revues produced by the Cotton Club until 1940, when the club closed, then as part of Cab Calloway's revue on tour through 1942.
They debuted in the 24th edition of the "Cotton Club Parade" in spring 1934, a period at the beginning of the swing era, the post-Harlem Renaissance, a year after Prohibition, and the trough of the Great Depression. The chorus line's name often included a prefix reflecting the number of entertainers, such as "The Six Cotton Club Boys", "The 12 Cotton Club Boys", etc.

## History

Some Cotton Club Boys alumni went on to become major influences in American arts and culture. Cholly Atkins, for example, contributed to Motown, musical theatre, and film. While the Cotton Club Boys were African-American, the Cotton Club maintained a whites-only policy for customers.

### The original Cotton Club, Harlem (1923–1936)

The Cotton Club first opened in 1923 in Harlem on the 2nd floor of a building at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue, close to Sugar Hill. The space had been formerly leased and operated by the boxer Jack Johnson as the Club Delux, an intimate supper club. Owney Madden, a bootlegger and gangster, took over the lease in 1923 after his release from Sing Sing. He was one among the syndicate owners that included beer baron Bill Duffy, boxer Tony Panica (John Francis Panica, known in the boxing world as Tommy Wilson), and Harry Block. Madden redecorated the space and changed the name to the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club sold liquor during Prohibition, which lasted until 1933. When the club opened, George "Big Frenchy" Demange was the manager. Walter Brooks, who brought Shuffle Along to Broadway in 1921, was the front, or nominal owner.
The Savoy Ballroom, which had a no-discrimination policy, was one block south at 596 Lenox Avenue. Smalls Paradise, which also had a no-discrimination policy, was seven blocks south and one avenue west at 2294 Seventh Avenue. The old Harlem Club at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue reopened in May 1937 as the Plantation Club.

### The new Cotton Club, Midtown (1936–1940)

Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and the Harlem riot of 1935, jazz venues began moving from Harlem to Midtown, around 52nd Street, and downtown. The new Cotton Club opened September 24, 1936, at Broadway and 48th Street, in the Great White Way section of the Theater District near Times Square. The Cotton Club was closed for the 1936 season while the owners planned the move. In the interim, some of the entertainers from the original club performed in productions billed as the "Cotton Club Revue" at the Harlem Alhambra.

### Closing of the Cotton Club (1940)

The last show at the Cotton Club ran Saturday night, May 15, 1940, just before Madden left New York. It was reported in 1940 that the Cotton Club had suffered from competition from the World's Fair. Another likely impetus for the closing were the demands of Local 802, the New York chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, for back pay, especially salaries owed to Andy Kirk's band. The location subsequently opened as a nightclub called the Latin Quarter.

### Influences on the Cotton Club Boys

* John Tiller (1854–1925): pioneer of precision dancing, influenced the Cotton Club Boys and Girls, who performed can-cans

## Selected productions: Cotton Club Boys with the Cotton Club Revue
### Cotton Club Boys with the Cotton Club Revue
#### 1934

    24th edition of Cotton Club Parade
       Opened March 23, 1934; opening night was largest show ever staged there; production ran for nine months, merging into fall edition
       Produced by Dan Healy (Daniel E. Healy; 1888–1969)
       Harold Arlen's last show with Cotton Club Parade
       Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra featuring Adelaide Hall
       Debut of Cotton Club Boys: Stretch Johnson, Charles "Chink Collins, William Smith, Walter Shepherd, Tommy Porter, Maxie Armstrong, Louis Brown, Jimmy Wright, Thomas "'Chink" Lee, Eddie Morton
       Songs introduced: "Ill Wind" and "Primitive Prima Donna", both written by Arlen (music) and Koehler (words) for Hall in this production
    25th edition of Cotton Club Parade
       Produced by Dan Healy
       Ran for 8 months
       Featuring: Adelaide Hall, Avon Long, and Lena Horne
       Dances by Elida Webb (Elida Webb Dawson; 1893–1975); staging by Dan Healy

#### 1935

    26th edition of Cotton Club Parade
       Opened Thursday, July 25, 1935
       Co-stars included Nina Mae McKinney
       Claude Hopkins and His Orchestra with singer Orlando Roberson (vocalist)
       Producers: Ted Koehler, Leonard Harper, Elida Webb
       Music scoring and arranging: Will Vodery, Claude Hopkins, Alex Hill, Ted Koehler
       Cotton Club Girls: Dolly McCormack, Lucille Wilson (married Louis Armstong in 1942), Anna Jones, Joyce Beasley, Mae Williamson, Hy Curtiss, Tony Ellis, Ione Sneed, Anna Bell Wilson, Nan Joyce, Marie Robinson, Myrtle Quinland, Arlene Payas
       Cotton Club Boys: Chink Lee, Freddie Heron, Ernest Frazier, Eddie Morton, Al Alstock, Louis Brown, Jules Adger
    At the Apollo
       November 29, 1935 – December 6, 1935
       Featuring: Claude Hopkins and His Band with Orlando Roberson (vocalist) and the New Fall Edition of the Cotton Club Revue:
       Butterbeans and Susie, Babe Matthews, Cook and Brown – tap dance duo of Charles Cook and Ernest Brown – Miller and Mantan, Jesse Cryor (de) (1906–2006), Cora LaRedd (died 1968), Bob Wallace, Lena Horne, Dolly McCormack, the Cotton Club Boys, the Cotton Club Girls

#### 1936

    At the Apollo
       Opened June 26, 1936 (for 1 week)
       Chick Webb and His Band with Bardu Ali (vocalist and MC)
          Taft Jordan, trumpeter, was in the band
       Staging by Addison Carey (likely a pseudonym; 1899–1952)
       Cotton Club Boys
       Stars included Charles Linton, Teddy McRae, Charlie Ray, Kitty Aublanche;
       Pete, Peaches and Duke – precision dancers
          Gary Lambert "Pete" Nugent (1909–1973)
          Irving "Peaches" Beamon (born 1911)
          Duke Miller (1910–1937)
       Pigmeat-Mason-Baskette
          Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham
          John Mason
          Jimmy Baskette
       Vivian Harris (1902–2000)
    1st edition (aka 27th edition) of Cotton Club Parade
       Opened mid-September 1936
       At the new Cotton Club at Broadway and 48th Street
       Produced by Dan Healy
       Book, lyrics, and music by Benny Davis and J. Fred Coots
       Directed by Clarence Robinson
       Featuring Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
       Production and dances by Clarence Robinson
    At the Comedy Theater, 110 West 41st Street, Manhattan
       Black Rhythm, a "sepia swing musical comedy" in two acts
       Book, music, and lyrics by Donald Heywood (Donald Gerard Heywood; 1896–1967)
       Directed by Earl Dancer and Lionel Heywood
       Produced by Earl Dancer and J.H. Levy
       December 19, 1936 – December 24, 1936
       Principal stars included Jeni Le Gon and dancer Avon Long
       Opening performance was panned by The New York Times theater critic, Bosley Crowther
       Production included the Cotton Club Boys

#### 1937

    2nd edition of Cotton Club Parade
       Duke Ellington and His Orchestra featuring Ethel Waters and the Nicholas Brothers
    At the Nixon Grand Theatre, Philadelphia
       April 1937
       Jimmy Lunceford and His Orchestra, Phantom Steppers, Sandy Burns, Dusty Fletcher, George Wiltshire, the Six Cotton Club Boys
    3rd edition of Cotton Club Parade (at midtown Cotton Club)
       Staged by Leonard Reed
       Duke Ellington (house band), Ethel Waters, Nicholas Brothers, George Dewey Washington (1898–1954), Bill Bailey, Renee and Estelle, Kaloah, Tip, Tap, and Toe (Samuel Green, Ted Frazier, Ray Winfield), Dynamite Hooker
       The Chocolateers (acrobatic dance team); possibly the original members: Al Bert "Gip" Gipson, Paul Black, known for his Chinese splits (straddling the floor as he walked), and Eddie West (with James Buster Brown replacing West for a short period of time)

#### 1938

    4th edition of Cotton Club Parade
    5th edition of Cotton Club Parade
    At the Apollo
       August 26–31, 1938
       WMCA broadcast
       Luis Russell Orchestra featuring Red Allen (without Louis) and Sonny Woods, Hazel Diaz (1908–1997), the Cotton Club Boys

#### 1939

    At the Apollo
       January 7–8 (at midnight)
       Featured Jimmy Lunceford and His Band
       Stars included Lora Pierre (tap dancer), Flash and Dash, The Three Chocolateers, Jackie Mabley, Dusty Fletcher, The Cotton Club Boys and the Harperettes
    At the Broadhurst Theatre
       The Hot Mikado (non-WPA version)
       March 23, 1939, to June 3, 1939 (85 performances)
       Directed by Bill Robinson and Cab Calloway
       Score by Ted Koehler and Rube Bloom
       Koehler supervised the production
       Featured Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, alternating with Socarres's Band
       Included Sister Tharpe, Tanya, Katherine Perry, the Beachcombers, Glenn and Jenkins – comedy team of William "Willie" Henry Glenn and Walter Jenkins (Walter Jenkins Manigault; 1884–1953) – Ruby Hill, Myra Johnson, Son and Sonny – tap dancers Roland James and Sonny Montgomery – Will Vodery's choir, the Six Cotton Club Boys, and a full complement of fifty Harlem dancing girls
    At the World's Fair, Hall of Music
       Located at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park
       The Hot Mikado
       (video clip via YouTube)
       Opened June 20, 1939 (ran 14 months)
       Included the Cotton Club Boys
    6th edition of Cotton Club Parade
       Opened November 1, 1939

#### 1940

    1940: The Hot Mikado
       The Six Cotton Club Boys, 14-month run with Bill Robinson, traveling with Cab Calloway and His Band
    At the Apollo
       May 23–30, 1940
    On tour
    At the State Theater, Main Street and Morgan Street, Hartford
       May 25 and 26, 1940
       Included The Six Cotton Club Boys
    At the Apollo
       Opened June 21, 1940
       Anise and Aland and Pete Nugent along with Cotton Club Boys and Apollo Dancing Girls
       Show included The Six Cotton Club Boys: Jules Adger, Louis Brown, Freddie Heron, Chink Lee (manager), Charles Atkinson, Eddie Morton
    In Montreal
    In Wrentham
    In Norfolk
    In Raleigh
    In Knoxville
    At the Paramount Theatre
    On tour, Brendt circuit
    At the Strand Theatre, 501 South Salina Street, Syracuse, New York
       September 13, 1940
    In Flatbush, Brooklyn
       Opened around September 30, 1940 (for a week engagement)
    At the Apollo
       Cab Calloway's New Revue
       Opened Friday, November 22, 1940
       Stars included Avis Andrews, Anice and Aland, Cook and Brown, Sixteen Apollo Rockettes, and
       The Six Cotton Club Boys

#### 1941

    At the State-Lake Theater, Chicago
       January 1941
    At the Paramount Theater, 509 Grand Avenue, Des Moines
       January 1941
    At Shea's in Buffalo
       February 1941
       Featuring Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
       Included The Six Cotton Club Boys
    At the RKO Temple Theatre, 35 Clinton Avenue S., Rochester, New York
       From February 7–13, 1941
    At the Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh
       February 19, 1941
    At the State Theater, Main Street and Morgan Street, Hartford, Connecticut
       March 14, 15, 16, 1941
    At the State Theater, 212 Locust Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
       March 18, 1941
    At the Earle Theatre, 11th and Market, Philadelphia
    Cab Calloway's Quizzicale
       National broadcasts of live performances
       July 6 – October 5, 1941
       Mutual Broadcasting System
          At Camp Wheeler, Macon, Georgia
          At Fort Dix, near Trenton, New Jersey
    At the State-Lake Theater, Chicago
       4th appearance in 24 months
    At the Rialto, Louisville, Kentucky
       Opened October 25, 1941
    At the Palace Theatre, Canton, Ohio
    At the State Theatre, Uniontown, Pennsylvania
    At the State Theater, Hartford
    At the Adams Theatre, 28 Branford Place, Newark
    At the Strand Theatre, Brooklyn

#### 1942

    Cab Calloway's Quizzicale
       National broadcasts of live performances
       Blue Network ran weekly on Tuesday evenings for 6 months
          February 25, 1942; OCLC 18067521
          From Detroit, March 4, 1942 OCLC 18067504
          From The Panther Room, Hotel Sherman, Chicago, April 21, 1942
    At the Casa Mañana nightclub, 8781 Washington Boulevard in Culver City
       Opened July 23, 1942
       Largest 4-day opening in the club's history; opening night drew 9,084 patrons

#### 1942–44 musicians' strike

    Commenced August 1, 1942: no musician could perform on a radio broadcast or make a recording
    At the Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis
       November 1942
    At the Paradise Theatre, Detroit
       December 4–10, 1942
       Stars included Cholly and Dotty (Dotty Saulters; 1922–1962) (dancers), Benny Payne (de) (1907–1986) (vocalist), Cotton Club Boys

## Selected members

Ten original members
* Howard Johnson (aka "Stretch Johnson", Howard Eugene Johnson; 1915–2000); his sister Winnie Johnson (1918–1980) was a member of the Cotton Club Girls, from 1937–1938 was married to Hollywood actor Stepin Fetchit
* Charles "Chink" Collins
* Billy Smith (William Smith) went into the restaurant business; during World War II, served in the first fully integrated outfit in the U.S. Army as an entertainer in Irving Berlin's production This Is The Army
* Walter Shepherd
* Tommy Porter (Thomas Porter)
* Maxie Armstrong (Maxwell Armstrong, Jr.; 1914–2001) sang with the 366th Infantry Band during World War II
* Louis Brown went on to become a liquor salesman
* Jimmy Wright
* Thomas "Chink" Lee (manager) went on to become a tavern manager
* Eddie Morton (Edward James Morton, Jr.; 1910–1998) in 1951 married singer Ida Mae James, then in 1960 married Nan Steinburg
Subsequent members
* Cholly Atkins (Charles Sylvan Atkinson; 1913–2003) began dancing with the Cotton Club Boys as a substitute from someone who was ill; Honi Coles, who lived in the same building as Atkins, made the recommendation; production was Bill Robinson's The Hot Mikado, the biggest hit of Cotton Club Revue; Atkins soon became a choreographer with Cotton Club Boys
* Jules Adjer (Julian Francis Adger, Jr.; 1913–1991) among other things, was a dancer in the 1943 film, Cabin in the Sky
* Freddie Heron (Frederick Clinton Heron; 1910–1977) born in the Panama Canal Zone; went on to become chief bartender at Shalimar by Randolph at 3638 Broadway (at 150th Street) and 2065 7th Avenue (at 123rd Street), owned by Luther "Red" Randolph (Luther Jerry Randolph; 1912–2005), club flourished from 1939 to 1966; in 1954 went out on his own, taking on food concession at the Silver Rail in Harlem (current location of Magic Johnson Theatres)
* Warren Coleman (1900–1968) brother of Ralph Coleman
* Roy Chink Baker went on to own the Mona Lisa Tavern on Lexington Avenue
* Al Martin
* Ernest Frazier
* Al Alstock (Paxton Alfonson Allstock; 1914–1937) died on October 18, 1937; had married Mary Leah Harris on February 12, 1937
* Roy Carter
* Sherman Coates