BHS Day 13: Nicholas Brothers

Hi! I know I said just last night on Instagram that things should be back to normal today, then they weren't. lol In short, I had birthdays, a court case and a party to deal with last week, so my attentions were a bit scattered. Today's reason is none of those things. This time it's because I'm sick. lol If you go back through the archives of this site from January to March, for some reason I always--and I mean always--come down with something in February. I always end up in bed about a week or two after my birthday and when it didn't happen within the following week, which is the time period that I usually get hit, I naively assumed I was out of the woods. Exactly two weeks after my birthday, I'm in bed. lol I've been dealing with a dry sinus infection for awhile now but it wasn't affecting me too much. I'm not sure what happened yesterday, but that dry sinus infection flipped on me and after my niece's party last night, I accepted that I'd spoken too soon. My neck also decided to lock up on me, so I spent my late night and early morning in excruciating pain, because my life is wonderful. Anyway, now that I'm aware that the Great Mucus Curse is indeed living on in both my soul and sinus cavities, I'll try to get these posts done while I'm coherent. I promise to try harder to get the rest of these out on time. With that out of the way, let's get to today's entrants. 

Name: Fayard (1914-2006) and Harold (1921-2000) aka The Nicholas Brothers

Profession: Tap dancers

Why is the Spotlight on them today? For their success in dancing and film and their contributions to both industries

Notables and accomplishments:
--Are regarded today as the greatest tap dancers of all time
--Former performers at the Cotton Club, a popular hotspot during the Harlem Renaissance, where they got to perform with Cab Calloway and his orchestra
--Were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame --During their time at the Cotton Club, were the only performers allowed to mingle with the White audience --Received the American Black Lifetime Achievement Award for their accomplishments --Received honorary degrees from and were visiting dance teachers at Harvard University  --Taught the likes of Debbie Allen and Michael Jackson --Performed for the King of England and nine American presidents throughout their career --Were the subjects of a French film retrospective at the Cinematheque de la Danse --Were part of the first class inducted into the Apollo Theater's Hall of Fame --Were the recipients of a Kennedy Center Honors award
--Were the subjects of a tribute at Carnegie Hall
--Debuted on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936

Research resources and further reading links: Wikipedia | America Comes Alive | NY Times | Official Website | USA Today
Quotes of the Day: "I don't think that audiences ever looked at them as African-American. I think they just looked at them as great talents, and as a result, that's why they became so loved." --Tony Nicholas, on the Nicholas Brothers "If a film were ever to be made about the Nicholas Brothers, the dance numbers would have to be computer-generated because no dancer would be able to duplicate them." --Gregory Hines, on the Nicholas Brothers