Fayard Nicholas

Fayard Nicholas

  • Birthday: 1914-10-20
  • Deathday: 2006-01-24
  • Place of birth: Mobile, Alabama, USA
  • Also know as: The Nicholas Brothers

Biography

Fayard Antonio Nicholas 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, Stormy Weather, The Pirate, and Hard Four. The Nicholas brothers also starred in the 20th Century-Fox musicals Down Argentine Way, Sun Valley Serenade, and Orchestra Wives. 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. After his dance career ended, Nicholas and his wife, Katherine Hopkins Nicholas, embarked on a lecture tour discussing dance. In 2003, Nicholas served as "Festival Legend" at the third "Soul to Sole Tap Festival" in Austin, Texas. Nicholas was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 2001.

Filmography

Nicholas Brothers: Stormy Weather

2022

As Self (archival footage)

Pie, Pie Blackbird

1932

As Child with Nina / Dancer (as The Nicholas Brothers)

Barber Shop Blues

1933

As Dancer - One of the Nicholas Brothers

The Black Network

1936

As Dancer (uncredited)

Stormy Weather

1943

As Dancer

Night at the Golden Eagle

2002

As Mr. Maynard

The Pirate

1948

As Performer

Tin Pan Alley

1940

As Dancer

Calling All Stars

1937

As Himself

Orchestra Wives

1942

As Dancer (as Nicholas Brothers)

The Great American Broadcast

1941

As Railroad Station Dancer

The Liberation of L.B. Jones

1970

As Benny Smith

My Son is Guilty

1939

As Specialty Act

Hard Four

2007

As Ulysses

Coronado

1935

As Dance Specialty (uncredited)

Sun Valley Serenade

1941

As Specialty Dancer (uncredited)

Kid Millions

1934

As Dancer on Ship

Down Argentine Way

1940

As One of the Nicholas Brothers

Don't Gamble with Love

1936

As Specialty Dancer

Take It or Leave It

1944

As Himself

That's Dancing!

1985

As From 'Down Argentine Way' (archive footage)

That's Entertainment!

1974

As (archive footage)

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

1975

As Self (archive footage)

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