death_date death_place birth_place birth_date spouse article_title name occupation
20 may 2003 the bronx , new york , united states fort smith , arkansas united states 24 january 1917 solange his death -rrb- 2 children a. simms 1959 & ndash ; 2003 -lrb- howard sims
 howard sims tap dancer
howard sims

howard sims -lrb- january 24 , 1917 -- may 20 , 2003 -rrb- , also known as `` sandman '' , was a tap dancer in vaudeville .
he acquired his name from the sand he sprinkled on the floor to amplify the sound of his steps when he danced .
in his senior years , sims appeared at the famous apollo theater , comedically ushering failed acts offstage with a shepherd 's crook , or `` hook '' .
he appeared in a 1990 episode of `` the cosby show '' as rudy 's tap dancing teacher , facing off against cliff -lrb- bill cosby -rrb- in a good natured tap challenge .
sandman was featured in the 1989 dance film `` tap '' , along with sammy davis jr , gregory hines and savion glover .
sims was skilled in a style of dancing that he performed in a sand box .
his mini-stage was a square made of 2 × 4s with a galvanized tin floor , which -lrb- at least in later years -rrb- he had rigged to a microphone .
sims used to travel the united states challenging all tap dancers he came across to dance-offs .
