Nicholas Brothers were one of the most popular dance teams in the history of American show business. Fayard Nicholas (1914-2006) and his brother Harold Nicholas (1921-2000) gained acclaim in nightclubs, in motion pictures, on the stage, and on television. They developed a spectacular acrobatic dancing style, which featured daredevil leaps, splits, and slides. The brothers dazzled audiences with their brilliant footwork and exuberant sense of rhythm. Their dancing blended jazz dance, tap dancing, ballet, and traditional African American dances.
Fayard Antonio Nicholas was born on Oct. 28, 1914, in Mobile, Alabama. Harold Lloyd Nicholas was born on March 17, 1921, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The brothers spent the later years of their childhood in Philadelphia, where their parents led a band in a local theater. They made their professional debut in Philadelphia in 1931. They began an engagement at the famous Cotton Club in New York City in 1932 when Fayard was 18 and Harold was 11. The brothers had no formal dance training but polished their act while performing at the Cotton Club to the music of the Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway bands. The team performed in the club for two years.
The Nicholas Brothers made their motion-picture debut in 1932 in a short film with pianist Eubie Blake and made their feature film debut in 1934 in the musical Kid Millions. The brothers then appeared on Broadway in the musicals the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 and Babes in Arms (1937). Their daring dance routines were also featured in several Hollywood musicals of the early 1940’s, notably Down Argentine Way (1940), The Great American Broadcast (1941), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), Orchestra Wives (1942), and Stormy Weather (1943). They also danced in stage shows during the 1930’s and 1940’s and starred in the Broadway musical St. Louis Woman (1946).
During the 1950’s and early 1960’s, the brothers split up and performed solo acts. Harold danced in Europe, and Fayard in the United States. They reunited for three television specials in 1964 and remained as a team for several years. Harold also starred in touring versions of the Broadway musicals Sophisticated Ladies (1982), The Tap Dance Kid (1985 and 1986), and My One and Only (1989). Harold Nicholas died on July 3, 2000. Fayard Nicholas died on Jan. 24, 2006.
