Bradley, Buddy
(1908–1972)
- Constance Valis Hill
Extract
Bradley, Buddy (1908–1972), African-American choreographer and jazz tap dancer, was born Clarence Bradley, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His parents’ names and occupations are unknown. His father died when he was quite young and his religious mother brought him up strictly. After seeing the tap dancers Jack Wiggins and Clarence “Dancing” Dotson at a local theater, Bradley learned to do the time step on one foot by the time he was eight. He taught himself the Charleston, strut, drag, shuffle, and a vast assortment of African-American vernacular dances from the deep South....
