Research Catalog
Thaddeus Drayton collection
- Title
- Thaddeus Drayton collection, 1926-1960.
- Author
- Drayton, Thaddeus.
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| Status | Container | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person. | Folder 1 | Mixed material | Use in library | Sc MG 389 Folder 1 | Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives |
Details
- Additional Authors
- Description
- 1 folder
- Summary
- The Thaddeus Drayton collection documents portions of his career as a member of the tap dance team of Drayton and Greenlee (Rufus). Included are letters from W.C. Handy concerning a tribute honoring him and with song lyrics on the reverse (1950-1951), letters from composer/conductor Eva Jessye (1960), and letters from Germany and Russia in 1926. Programs from the Veteran's Camp in Mt. McGregor where Drayton performed in 1950, and from the Negro Actors Guild, mention his name. Of special interest is manuscript music from the Teddy Drayton and Lucille act. There are also song lyrics printed in Italian.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Musical scores.
- Note
- Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
- Source (note)
- Drayton, Ethel
- Biography (note)
- Thaddeus Drayton (1893-1964) together with Rufus Greenlee (1893-1963), pioneered the "class act" tap style, which combined grace and elegance with precision soft-shoe tap dancing. Known as "Drayton and Greenlee," they wore top hats and tails, adding monocles and canes to their costume. They were among the few African Americans to play at the Palace Theater in New York on the vaudeville circuit during World War I. Their act broke up in 1930; Drayton then formed a dance act with Lucille Smith in the 1940s known as "Teddy Drayton and Lucille."
- Call Number
- Sc MG 389
- OCLC
- 144682722
- Author
- Drayton, Thaddeus.
- Title
- Thaddeus Drayton collection, 1926-1960.
- Biography
- Thaddeus Drayton (1893-1964) together with Rufus Greenlee (1893-1963), pioneered the "class act" tap style, which combined grace and elegance with precision soft-shoe tap dancing. Known as "Drayton and Greenlee," they wore top hats and tails, adding monocles and canes to their costume. They were among the few African Americans to play at the Palace Theater in New York on the vaudeville circuit during World War I. Their act broke up in 1930; Drayton then formed a dance act with Lucille Smith in the 1940s known as "Teddy Drayton and Lucille."
- Connect to:
- Added Author
- Handy, W. C. (William Christopher), 1873-1958.Jessye, Eva, 1895-1992.
- Research Call Number
- Sc MG 389