This Tuberculosis Thursday, we want to highlight Bill Bailey! Bailey was a tap dancer and vaudevillian and brother of actress-singer Pearl Bailey. He came to Will Rogers Memorial Hospital to recover from a "respiratory ailment," possibly TB. The doctors wanted Bailey to rest, but he often entertained fellow patients with his dance skills.
Bailey is credited with inventing the Moonwalk, although he called it a "Backslide." Check out this video of Bailey dancing at the Apollo Theatre in 1955. He danced with Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Miles Davis. Learn more about Bailey on our wiki. Stay tuned for more Black History Month stories from Saranac Lake!
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