betty white 1954 arthur duncan

A colleague. Her show was cancelled afterwards. Women of Power TECH, PODCASTS The show was canceled soon after. He soon moved on to The Lawrence Welk Show in 1964, where he was introduced every week until 1982 as the man whos keeping tap dancing alive.. Arthur Duncan became the first Black regular on a televised American variety show. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. Underwood said Duncan was her inspiration for tap dancing. The entertainer, in her early 30s at the time, was center stage, speaking to the young Black tap dancer seated on her right. B.E. There's no knowing if her putting her foot down on Duncan staying on had any role in the show being repeatedly rescheduled for different time slots before eventually being taken off the air that same year. The dancer, Arthur Duncan, was featured on "The Betty White Show" that aired in the 1950s. Tai Saint-Louis January 2, 2022 6442 Arthur Duncan and Betty White, reunited by Steve Harvey As the world mourns actress and comedienne Betty White, who passed away on Dec. 31, many are. He was a 13-year-old student when he joined the dance quartet at McKinley Junior High School and began studying under renowned choreographer Nick Castle. kw: 'mandc,celebrity,entertainment-industry,racism', R.I.P. . env: 'prod', And all through the South, there was this whole ruckus, White remembered in the doc. A 1963 Klan bombing killed her sister and blinded her. Live with it. , Betty White, one of the most endearing and enduring faces on television, dies at 99. In a time where segregation was at the forefront of American issues, Betty Whiterejected attempts to keep a Black dancer off her show. # ThankYouForBeingAFriend 11:37 AM - 31 Dec 2021 10,874 Retweets 54,906 Likes Betty White died on December 31, 2021, a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. After learning about Arthur Duncan, read about how Hattie McDaniel became the first Black Oscar winner. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com, In the 1950s, Betty White was criticized for having Black tap dancer Arthur Duncan on her variety talk show, The Betty White Show., Image Via Film screenshot/Wikimedia Commons. Arthur Duncan, pioneering Black tap dancer, dies at 97 Championed by Betty White at the start of his career, he became one of the first Black regulars on a TV variety show. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. And that included the young tap dancer Arthur Duncan, who would become the only Black man on the program. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. Not one to waste an opportunity, White immediately set about hiring Duncan to dance on The Betty White Show, which aired on NBC in Los Angeles. Arthur even became the first African-American regular on a variety show when he appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show for almost 20 years. Steve Harvey also had Betty White come on to the show to reunite them. After the Pacific tour, Duncan spent several years performing at countless venues across Europe. pos: 'right_rail_3', Betty White was weeks away from her 100th birthday and planned a big celebration. White explained the controversy in the documentary, "All through the South there was this whole ruckus, they were going to take the show off the air if we didn't get rid of Arthur because he was Black," said White. BLACK ENTERPRISE is the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans. Arthur said, "She . With Betty White's passing at the age of 99, this internet meme about White refusing to ban Arthur Duncan, an African American dancer, from the cast of her television variety show in 1954, is getting wide circulation. White's team of talent included Black performer Arthur Duncan, who was about 21 at the time and looking for his big break. targeting: { Nick Castle Jr. had become a director and asked Duncan to dance his 1989 film Tap, starring Sammy Davis Jr. Duncan obliged, but his accolades didnt end there. But this story is true. INFORMATION "Well, Betty wrote back and said, 'Needless to say, we used Arthur Duncan every opportunity we could.'" Duncan started touring with The Jimmie Rodgers Show and performing on Betty White's 1954 . Duncan appeared on the show at least three times. Less than three weeks before her 100th birthday, the actress . Duncan's . tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { Wikimedia CommonsBetty Whites show was canceled the same year she invited Duncan on as a guest three times. Still, as the only Black cast member, the show also posed a unique risk to Duncan, according to dance historian Constance Valis Hill: In an era in which blacks and whites did not even hold hands, let alone kiss each other on nationally broadcast television programs, Duncan was often seen standing in the background, trying very hard not to look like he was with any of the women on the program.. When Duncan told White, "I hope we have a chance to visit after this is over," she replied, "Oh, I hope so. targeting: { When Betty White was in her early 30s she landed her very own self-titled variety show. ]); Betty White Made 1954's The Betty White Show Very Progressive. Her respond to pressure to stop featuring him was that people had to "live with it." The show was Duncan's first big break in the business and helped launch his career. Arthur Duncan (born September 25, 1933) is an American tap dancer, known for his stint as a performer on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1964 to 1982, which, along with his earlier inclusion (despite Southern objections) on the 1954 Betty White Show, made him the first African-American regular on variety television programs.Born in Pasadena, California, Duncan entered show business at age 13, when he was a member of a dance quartet that performed at McKinley Junior High School in Pasadena, California.He later entered Pasadena City College to study pharmacy, but left to pursue a career in show business, touring with The Jimmie Rodgers Show and The Betty White Show. pic.twitter.com/toipvY9cyQ. She was part of the board at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association and regularly campaigned to raise more funds for the association. tag: 'mandc,celebrity,entertainment-industry,racism', The Betty White Showwas a spinoff of KTLA variety show Hollywood on Television, which White joined in 1949. Arthur Duncan, an 83-year-old tap dancer, was on the premiere of Steve Harvey 's Little Big Shots: Forever Young. 1956) . In the early 1950s, White faced criticism for featuring Arthur Duncan, a Black tap dancer and singer, on a few episodes of her variety talk show The Betty White Show.. This was on The Lawrence Welk Show. You never call. But this was 1954 and racial inequality was still rife. You never call. White died on Friday, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday, news that prompted a look back on a career that included advocacy on many fronts. The comedian passed away on December 31, 2021, just weeks away from what would have been her 100th birthday. Arthur admits that Betty helped get him the kind of exposure that really launched his career. This was in 1954. See when we celebrated Betty Whites 95th birthday with our 5 fave TV appearances: Steve Harveys Hilarious Version of Ray Charless Georgia on My Mind, 8-Year-Old Girl Tries to Take Steve Harveys Hosting Job, George Lopez Schools Steve Harvey During Celebrity Family Feud. Goodbye to Betty White, popular cultures beloved (and saucy) great-grandma. I was on the show, and they had some letters out of Mississippi and elsewhere that some of the stations would not carry the show if I was permitted to stay on there, the then-83-year-old said. He went on to have a decades-long career as one of the first famous Black tap dancers in the US. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. NBCArthur Duncan (left) and Betty White (seated) at their reunion on Steve Harveys Little Big Shots: Forever Young in 2017. There was even a regular childrens segment. This is a tremendous loss," tap-dancing legend Arthur Duncan tells Rolling Stone. Even at the risk of cancelation, White insisted that Arthur Duncan stay on and thus helped launch a successful career for him. In 1957, Duncan joined Bob Hope's troupe touring U.S. military bases, making him the first African American to be part of that 100-member group. Arthur Duncan, whose exuberant tap dancing carried him from the streets of Pasadena to Betty White's variety shows in the 1950s as one of the first Black regulars performing on television,. I rehearsed with a choral group thats going to do Christmas carols this Christmas., Oh, wonderful, White said. Arthur Chester Duncan (September 25, 1925 - January 4, 2023) was an American tap dancer, also called an "Entertainer's Entertainer," known for his stint as a performer on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1964 to 1982. Be like Betty White. page_type: 'article', When The Betty White Show was rolled out on TV channels across the US, many stations and viewers in southern US states threatened to boycott the show unless Arthur Duncan was removed owing to the segregation laws and attitudes towards race that were prevalent at the time. Contact baseDivId: 'pb-slot-right-1', As in, before the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Little Rock Nine and the Greensboro, N.C., lunch-counter sit-ins. Betty White broke barriers, defied expectations, served her country, and pushed us all to laugh. "I'm sorry, but, you know, he stays," White said,according to a PBS biography. Sandy Duncan: Funny Face 1973 Mary Tyler Moore: Mary Tyler Moore: Bea Arthur: Maude Jean Stapleton: . However, Duncan spent years presuming that his dream of becoming an artist was too far-fetched. Betty White was born in 1922 and sliced bread was introduced in 1928. Betty White was one of a kind, and no incident highlights that better than her refusing to give in to demands for a Black dancer to be removed from her show in the 50s. Randy Shropshire/Getty ImagesFrom left to right: Arthur Duncan, director Dean Hargrove, actor Norman LLoyd, and cinematographer Stephen Poster at a screening of Tap World in Los Angeles, California, in 2015. Are you going to go house to house?. Im ready to go now, he morbidly joked as White approached. Getty Images. There was the time she ignored criticism about having Arthur Duncan, . Betty imbued charm, wit, and sincerity at each and every turn, always ready to poke fun at herself and those around her, eager to uncover both the humanity in comedy and the comedy in humanity. } Rest well, Betty. ]); Live. Duncan went on to become the first Black regular on a variety show when he was hired on 'The Lawrence Welk Show' and he continued on that show for another 20 years. ). "Her response: 'I'm sorry. Arthur Duncans early career was helped immensely by breakthrough performances on The Jimmie Rodgers Show and, of course, The Betty White Show.

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