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RARE OLDIES VIDEO FROM THE FILM “ STORMY WEATHER “ WITH MR BILL ROBINSON ! Bill Bojangles Robinson (May 25, 1878 November 25, 1949) was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Robinson was born in Richmond, Virginia to Maxwell, a machine-shop worker, and Maria Robinson, a choir singer. He was raised by his grandmother after both parents died when he was an infant—his father from chronic heart disease, and his mother from natural causes. Details of Robinson's early life are known only through legend, much of it perpetuated by Bill Robinson himself. He claims he was christened “Luther“—a name he did not like. He suggested to his younger brother Bill that they should exchange names. When Bill objected, Luther applied his fists, and the exchange was made. At the age of six, Robinson began dancing for a living, appearing as a “hoofer“ or song-and-dance man in local beer gardens. He soon dropped out of school to pursue dancing as a career. In 1886, he joined Mayme
