Tom Patricola (January 22, 1891 â€" January 1, 1950) was an American
actor, comic and dancer who starred in vaudeville and motion pictures.
Born in New Orleans, Patricola established his fame as a hoofer,
becoming a leading interpreter of the Black Bottom dance.Besides
excelling at eccentric dances, Patricola also sang and played the
ukulele. Marketing himself as a novelty act, Patricola was described
as a "mop gone crazy" as he danced while simultaneously singing and
playing the ukulele. He was also a noted clog dancer.His fame as a
song and dance man was assured by five seasons as a headliner with
George White's Scandals, a Broadway musical revue, from 1923â€"26 and
1928. He was noted for dancing the Black Bottom with Ann Pennington in
the 1926 version of Scandals. While employed by George White,
Patricola was coached by the African American choreographer Buddy
Bradley.With the advent of the talkies, Fox Film Corp. signed
Patricola on as a contract player. He made his movie debut in the
comic musical Words and Music (1929), which was the first credited
screen appearance of John Wayne (billed as "Duke Morrison"), but
unlike The Duke, he never became a star, let alone a cinematic legend.
From 1929â€"31, he appeared in feature-length musicals and several
Spanish-language versions of English-language pictures. After
mid-1931, he began appearing in comic shorts made by the Educational
Film Corp. of America that were released by Fox.
actor, comic and dancer who starred in vaudeville and motion pictures.
Born in New Orleans, Patricola established his fame as a hoofer,
becoming a leading interpreter of the Black Bottom dance.Besides
excelling at eccentric dances, Patricola also sang and played the
ukulele. Marketing himself as a novelty act, Patricola was described
as a "mop gone crazy" as he danced while simultaneously singing and
playing the ukulele. He was also a noted clog dancer.His fame as a
song and dance man was assured by five seasons as a headliner with
George White's Scandals, a Broadway musical revue, from 1923â€"26 and
1928. He was noted for dancing the Black Bottom with Ann Pennington in
the 1926 version of Scandals. While employed by George White,
Patricola was coached by the African American choreographer Buddy
Bradley.With the advent of the talkies, Fox Film Corp. signed
Patricola on as a contract player. He made his movie debut in the
comic musical Words and Music (1929), which was the first credited
screen appearance of John Wayne (billed as "Duke Morrison"), but
unlike The Duke, he never became a star, let alone a cinematic legend.
From 1929â€"31, he appeared in feature-length musicals and several
Spanish-language versions of English-language pictures. After
mid-1931, he began appearing in comic shorts made by the Educational
Film Corp. of America that were released by Fox.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.