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Maud Russell, also known by her married name Maud Russell Rutherford, (1897 - March 8, 2001) was an African-American dancer, singer, and musical theatre actress. She is remembered for being the dancer who introduced the world to the Charleston dance in the 1922 Broadway musical Liza.[1]
Career
[edit]Russell was born in in Texas in 1897.[2] Her father, William McCann, was white, and her mother, Margaret Lee, was black. At that time interracial relationships were illegal and her parents never married and did not live together.[2] In 1920 she starred in musical revue The Man from Bam in Chicago.[3]
Russell moved to New York City where she was active during the Harlem Renaissance.[4] In 1922 she was a dancer in Maceo Pinkard all-black revue Liza.[5]
At The Plantation Club, a nightclub and cabaret Harlem, Russell starred in the new musical revue Plantation Revue (1922) produced by Lew Leslie and using music by J. Russel Robinson. After revision to this show, she went with the production to London in 1923 where it was performed at the London Pavilion under the new name From Dixie to Dover in 1923.[6] This show then travelled to France before transferring to the Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre in 1924 under the new title Dixie to Broadway.[7] Russell was still in the cast and performed the duet "Mr. and Mrs." with Shelton Brooks among other songs in this show.[8]
She headlined Harlem's Lafayette Theatre in 1928 with her act Maud Russell and her Ten Ebony Steppers.[4]
In 1929 she was leading female part in the revue Springbirds with Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (DEHFO) which included her performing the songs "Shake and Melt" and "Shaking the Bones" among others.[9] In September 1930 she performed with the DEHFO as The Other Woman[10] in the Cotton Club musical revue Blackberries (Crop) of 1931; a work later re-named Brown Sugar which had music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Ted Koehler.[11] For this production she was billed as having "the best pair of legs in Harlem" and was featured singer and dancer in the numbers "Harlem's Hot as Hades", "My Man Must Dance", and "Misbehavin' Hips".[10]
In January 1937 she was a featured singer at the Apollo Theater; sharing top billing with Ella Fitzgerald, Emmett "Babe" Wallace, and Pigmeat Markham.[12]
She ceased performing in the 1950s and thereafter resided in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
References
[edit]Reflist
[edit]- ↑ Boyd, Herb (March 24, 2022). "Maude Russell, chorus line dancer and creator of the Charleston". New York Amsterdam News.
- 1 2 Wadler, Joyce (March 29, 2001). "Maude Rutherford, 104, Dies; High-Kicking Songster of 20's". The New York Times.
- ↑ Peterson & Gore 1997, p. 40.
- 1 2 Watson 1995, p. 64.
- ↑ "Maude Rutherford; Sang, Danced in Black Theater". Los Angeles Times. April 1, 2001.
- ↑ Glass 2007, p. 181.
- ↑ Peterson 1993, pp. 272–273.
- ↑ Sampson 2014, pp. 931–932.
- ↑ Stratemann 1992, p. 687.
- 1 2 Stratemann 1992, p. 692.
- ↑ Stratemann 1992, p. 45.
- ↑ Fritts & Vail 2003, p. 13.
Bibliography
[edit]- Fritts, Ron; Vail, Ken (2003). Ella Fitzgerald: The Chick Webb Years and Beyond 1935-1948. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780810848818.
- Glass, Barbara S. (2007). African American Dance: An Illustrated History. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786428168.
- Peterson Jr., Bernard L. (1993). A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, Or Involving African Americans. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313064548.
- Peterson, Bernard L.; Gore, Lena McPhatter (1997). The African American Theatre Directory, 1816-1960: A Comprehensive Guide to Early Black Theatre Organizations, Companies, Theatres, and Performing Groups. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780313033322.
- Sampson, Henry T. (2014). Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810883512.
- Stratemann, Klaus (1992). Duke Ellington, Day by Day and Film by Film. JazzMedia. ISBN 9788788043341.
- Watson, Steven (1995). The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930. Pantheon Books. ISBN 9780679423706.
- Baker, Jean-Claude; Chase, Chris (1993). Josephine: The Hungry Heart. Random House. ISBN 9780679409151.