Fayard Nicholas

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

44

Gender

Male

Birthday

1914-10-20

Day of death

2006-01-24 (91 years old)

Place of Birth

Mobile, Alabama, USA

Fayard Nicholas

Biography

Fayard Antonio Nicholas was an American choreographer, dancer and actor. He and his younger brother Harold Nicholas made up the Nicholas Brothers tap dance duo, who starred in the MGM musicals An All-Colored Vaudeville Show, Stormy Weather, The Pirate, and Hard Four. The Nicholas brothers also starred in the 20th Century-Fox musicals Down Argentine Way, Sun Valley Serenade, and Orchestra Wives. In 1932, when he was 18 and his brother was only 11, they became the featured act at Cotton Club in New York City. The brothers earned fame with a unique style of rhythm tap that blended "masterful jazz steps with daredevil athletic moves and an elegance of motion worthy of ballet". They appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway and in London they worked with jazz choreographer Buddy Bradley. The performances led them to a career in film. Nicholas appeared in over 60 films, including the 1943 musical Stormy Weather with their signature staircase dance. His career was interrupted from 1943 to 1944 when he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Nicholas achieved the rank of Technician fifth grade while in WWII. After his dance career ended, Nicholas and his wife, Katherine Hopkins Nicholas, embarked on a lecture tour discussing dance. In 2003, Nicholas served as "Festival Legend" at the third "Soul to Sole Tap Festival" in Austin, Texas. Nicholas was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 2001.

Known For

  • The Kennedy Center Honors

    The Kennedy Center Honors

  • The Hollywood Palace

    The Hollywood Palace

  • Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There

    Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There

  • Down Argentine Way

    Down Argentine Way

  • Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back

    Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back

  • Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood

    Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood

  • My Son Is Guilty

    My Son Is Guilty

  • Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

    Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

  • The Liberation of L.B. Jones

    The Liberation of L.B. Jones

  • Nicholas Brothers: Stormy Weather

    Nicholas Brothers: Stormy Weather

  • Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

    Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

  • Abbott and Costello Christmas Show

    Abbott and Costello Christmas Show

  • The Great American Broadcast

    The Great American Broadcast

  • Night at the Golden Eagle

    Night at the Golden Eagle

  • Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC

    Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC

  • The Big Broadcast of 1936

    The Big Broadcast of 1936

  • The Black Network

    The Black Network

  • Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

    Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

  • Kid Millions

    Kid Millions

  • Tin Pan Alley

    Tin Pan Alley

  • Sun Valley Serenade

    Sun Valley Serenade

  • El misterio del carro express

    El misterio del carro express

  • Hard Four

    Hard Four

  • Take It or Leave It

    Take It or Leave It

  • Calling All Stars

    Calling All Stars

  • Don't Gamble with Love

    Don't Gamble with Love

  • An All-Colored Vaudeville Show

    An All-Colored Vaudeville Show

  • That's Dancing!

    That's Dancing!

  • Bob Hope: Entertaining the Troops

    Bob Hope: Entertaining the Troops

  • Pie, Pie Blackbird

    Pie, Pie Blackbird

  • The Jacksons

    The Jacksons

  • The Pirate

    The Pirate

  • The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing and We Dance

    The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing and We Dance

  • That's Entertainment!

    That's Entertainment!

  • Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty

    Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty

  • Orchestra Wives

    Orchestra Wives

  • Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies

    Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies

  • The Pirate: A Musical Treasure Chest

    The Pirate: A Musical Treasure Chest

  • Barber Shop Blues

    Barber Shop Blues

  • El mensaje de la muerte

    El mensaje de la muerte

  • It's Black Entertainment

    It's Black Entertainment

  • Stormy Weather

    Stormy Weather

  • Coronado

    Coronado

  • Hello Kathrin

    Hello Kathrin