Thursday, December 10, 2015

AS NOT SEEN ON TV - SNAKEHIPS & THE MAGIC TRAMPS


I always enjoy when someone out of the left field of the real world is shown to have a televersion in Toobworld...

Jenkins:
I'll have you know 
that Snakehips Tucker and I danced together at the Cotton Club. 
And I performed naked onstage with the Magic Tramps at CBGB's.

'The Librarians'


The immortal Mr. Jenkins of the Library, formerly Sir Galahad, had quite the social life in the past.....

I didn't know who Snakehips or the Magic Tramps were, so... off to Wikipedia!

EARL "SNAKEHIPS" TUCKER


Earl "Snakehips" Tucker (1905–1937) was an American dancer and entertainer. Also known as the "Human Boa Constrictor", he acquired the nickname "snakehips" via the dance he popularized in Harlem in the 1920s called the "snakehips (dance)".

Tucker frequented Harlem music clubs and was a regular at the Savoy Ballroom. He built his reputation by exhibiting his odd style of dance, which involved a great deal of hip motion. Tucker would make it appear that he was as flexible as a snake, and eventually the dance became his calling card. He became popular enough to eventually perform at Connie's Inn and the Cotton Club. The snakehips dates back to southern plantations before emancipation.



Riding this wave of popularity, in 1930 he appeared in Benny Rubin's 16 minute short film "Crazy House", a comedic introduction to residents at the fictitious "Lame Brain Sanitarium". Tucker's 2 minute dance number, performed in a shiny white shirt and shiny, baggy gold pants, displays his amazing dance innovations, his style a precursor to modern street and stage dance. His name appears in the opening credits only as "Snake Hips". In 1935, Tucker appeared in a short film called "Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life". The film was inspired by a Duke Ellington composition, and included clips of Ellington composing, as well as Billie Holiday singing and Tucker doing the snakehips.


THE MAGIC TRAMPS



There was no entry for the Magic Tramps at Wikipedia, save for a mention in the biography of Eric Emerson:

Eric Emerson (June 23, 1945 – May 28, 1975) was an American musician, dancer, and actor. Emerson is best known for his roles in films by pop artist Andy Warhol, and as a member of the seminal glam punk group, the Magic Tramps.

But there is a site dedicated to the Magic Tramps where I picked up this nugget of info:


The Tramps were technically the first act to play CBGB (back when it opened as Hilly's on the Bowery.)


Immortals meet the most innnnnteresting people.....

BCnU!



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