John W. Bubbles photographs, approximately 1924-1985
Scope and Contents
Contains photographs related to the professional and personal life of Bubbles. Includes photographs of Bubbles himself performing and alone with his family, including publicity photographs and headshots. Also contains autographed photographs of many people he worked with, including Fats Waller, Dinah Washington, and Fred Astaire. Also includes photographs of many of Bubbles' friends and family, including his wife Aysha de Festa and others. Materials date from approximately 1924 to 1985.
Dates
- approximately 1924-1985
Creator
- Bubbles, John W. (creator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from the John W. Bubbles papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Biographical History
John W. Bubbles (1902-1986) was an American vaudeville performer, dancer, singer and entertainer.
John W. Bubbles was born John William Sublett in Louisville, Kentucky on February 19, 1902. His family moved to Indianapolis as a youth, where he met and formed a partnership with Ford L. "Buck" Washington. In 1919, they began performing as "Buck and Bubbles" with Buck playing piano and singing while Bubbles tapped. They appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 and were the first black artists to appear in the Radio City Music Hall. On November 2, 1936, they performed live in the inaugural program of the world's first scheduled 'high definition' television service at Alexandra Palace, London, and may thus be said to be the first black artists in television history. In 1920 he gave lessons in tap dancing to Fred Astaire.
Bubbles is known as the father of "rhythm tap", a form of tap dance, which brought in percussive heel drops and innovated with the traditional eight-bar phrase to allow for more rhythmic freedom. He thus merged the art of tap dancing with the new improvisatory style of jazz, reinventing the tap art form. Bubbles was chosen by George Gershwin for the role of Sportin' Life in his opera Porgy and Bess in 1935. Sublett performed the role occasionally for the next two decades. In the 1963 studio recording of Porgy and Bess featuring Leontyne Price and William Warfield, he performed Sportin' Life's two main arias from the opera, "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York."
During the Vietnam War John Bubbles toured the war zone with the USO. He also appeared in a few Hollywood films including "Varsity Show" in 1937, "Cabin in the Sky" in 1943 and "A Song Is Born" in 1948. In later life, he also made television appearances. Bubbles received the 1980 Life Achievement Award from the American Guild of Variety Artists. He died on May 18, 1986 in New York City.
Extent
38 folders
1 oversize box
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Contains one subseries: 1. John W. Bubbles photograph albums, approximately 1924-1985.
- Carton: 6, Folder: 21 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 7, Folder: 1 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 8, Folder: 1-10 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 10, Folder: 19-21 (Mixed Materials)
- oversize: 18 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 11, Folder: 2-4 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 12, Folder: 2-9, 12-14 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 13, Folder: 1 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 1, Folder: 1-5 (Mixed Materials)
- oversize: 17 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 2, Folder: 21 (Mixed Materials)
- Carton: 4, Folder: 2, 12 (Mixed Materials)
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States