Fayard Nicholas
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.
Acting
Movie
The Pirate
as Performer
1948
Movie
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
Movie
Stormy Weather
as Dancer
1943
Movie
Sun Valley Serenade
as Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
1941
Movie
Down Argentine Way
as One of the Nicholas Brothers
1940
Movie
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
as Benny Smith
1970
Movie
That's Dancing!
as From 'Down Argentine Way' (archive footage)
1985
Movie
Night at the Golden Eagle
as Mr. Maynard
2002
Movie
Orchestra Wives
as Dancer (as Nicholas Brothers)
1942
Movie
The Big Broadcast of 1936
as Dot
1935
Movie
Tin Pan Alley
as Dancer
1940
Movie
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
1975
Movie
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
as Self
2002
Movie
The Great American Broadcast
as Railroad Station Dancer
1941
TV
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self
1978
Movie
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
as Self
2003
Movie
Kid Millions
as Dancer on Ship
1934
Movie
Hard Four
as Ulysses
2007
Movie
El misterio del carro express
as Bailarín
1953
TV
The Hollywood Palace
as Self - Tap Dancer
1964
TV
The Jacksons
as El mismo
1976
Movie
The Black Network
as Dancer (uncredited)
1936
Movie
My Son Is Guilty
as Specialty Act
1939
Movie
El mensaje de la muerte
as Bailarín
1953