Fayard Antonio Nicholas (October 20, 1914 â€" January 24, 2006) was an
American choreographer, dancer and actor. He and his younger brother
Harold Nicholas made up the Nicholas Brothers tap dance duo, who
starred in the MGM musicals An All-Colored Vaudeville Show (1935),
Stormy Weather (1943), The Pirate (1948), and Hard Four (2007). The
Nicholas brothers also starred in the 20th Century-Fox musicals Down
Argentine Way (1940), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), and Orchestra Wives
(1942).Nicholas was born in Alabama, but grew up primarily in
Philadelphia. He learned to dance while watching vaudeville shows with
his brother while their musician parents played in the orchestra. His
father, Ulysses D. Nicholas, was a drummer and his mother, Viola
Harden Nicholas, was a pianist.In 1932, when he was 18 and his brother
was only 11, they became the featured act at Cotton Club in New York
City. The brothers earned fame with a unique style of rhythm tap that
blended "masterful jazz steps with daredevil athletic moves and an
elegance of motion worthy of ballet". They appeared in the Ziegfeld
Follies on Broadway and in London they worked with jazz choreographer
Buddy Bradley. The performances led them to a career in film. Nicholas
appeared in over 60 films, including the 1943 musical Stormy Weather
with their signature staircase dance.His career was interrupted from
1943 to 1944 when he served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Nicholas achieved the rank of Technician fifth grade while in WWII.
American choreographer, dancer and actor. He and his younger brother
Harold Nicholas made up the Nicholas Brothers tap dance duo, who
starred in the MGM musicals An All-Colored Vaudeville Show (1935),
Stormy Weather (1943), The Pirate (1948), and Hard Four (2007). The
Nicholas brothers also starred in the 20th Century-Fox musicals Down
Argentine Way (1940), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), and Orchestra Wives
(1942).Nicholas was born in Alabama, but grew up primarily in
Philadelphia. He learned to dance while watching vaudeville shows with
his brother while their musician parents played in the orchestra. His
father, Ulysses D. Nicholas, was a drummer and his mother, Viola
Harden Nicholas, was a pianist.In 1932, when he was 18 and his brother
was only 11, they became the featured act at Cotton Club in New York
City. The brothers earned fame with a unique style of rhythm tap that
blended "masterful jazz steps with daredevil athletic moves and an
elegance of motion worthy of ballet". They appeared in the Ziegfeld
Follies on Broadway and in London they worked with jazz choreographer
Buddy Bradley. The performances led them to a career in film. Nicholas
appeared in over 60 films, including the 1943 musical Stormy Weather
with their signature staircase dance.His career was interrupted from
1943 to 1944 when he served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Nicholas achieved the rank of Technician fifth grade while in WWII.
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