Frankie Manning

Sunrise
May 26, 1914

Sunset
April 27, 2009

Ambassador of Lindy Hop dances his last dance...

April 27, 2009
 

He was a beautiful man with a warm, glowing smile and a youthful passion that belied his 94 years.  He pioneered the Lindy Hop in the 1930s, won a Tony a half-century later and inspired Swing dancers around the world for 8 decades.  But on April 27th, 2007, he left this dance floor for a better one and he leaves millions of Swing fans the special gift of dance.  His life and dancing will be remembered with fondness and affection by everyone who ever met him.
 
From May 21st to 25th, more than 2,000 Swing dancers from 30 countries will come to New York to participate in "FrankieFest 95," which was originally planned to mark his 95th birthday on May 26th.  Organizers say it will go on and will now become a Memorial Celebration.  Almost every Swing dancer in the world uses moves invented, shaped or polished by Frankie Manning. 
 
A tall, courtly man with endless energy and enthusiasm, Manning lived long enough to see his style of dancing fade away in the 50s and then spring back to life in the 80s.  He was a cornerstone of that revival, both as a teacher and a dancer himself.

He was actively dancing until late last year, when he fell on an overseas trip and suffered lingering complications.  He had told friends he still planned to dance at FrankieFest this year - not a minor thing at his birthday celebrations, since he insisted on dancing with at least one woman for each year of his life.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Manning moved to Harlem with his family when he was 3.  He grew up around Jazz and later Swing music, and in the 1930s became one of the star dancers at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom.

In the elite "Cat's Corner" there, he and partner Frieda Washington won a contest one year by creating the first "air step," also known as an "aerial," where Manning seemed to send Washington flying through the air.

Proficient as he was at solo dancing, Manning had an even greater knack for choreographing groups.  So when Herbert White put together a troupe that became known as Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, Manning became its unofficial choreographer.

He appeared in several films including Radio City Revels with Ann Miller (1937) and Hellzapoppin’ with Olsen & Johnson and Martha Raye (1941).  He toured the world with his WHite's Lindy Hoppers group along with Jazz greats Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Cab Calloway among others.  The group also appeared in a number of films during those years, including "Radio City Revels," "Keep Punching" and "Hellzapoppin'" (1941), where Manning choreographed the group's most enduring tour de force.

While dancing in London in 1937, Frankie gave a command performance for King George VI.  In 1941, "Musclehead" Manning was featured in a Life magazine article that highlighted his acrobatic brand of lindy.

He served in the Army during World War II, then in 1947 formed his own dance troupe, the Congaroos.  They performed until the mid-1950s, when Rock 'n' Roll squeezed Swing out of the picture.
 
He went to work at the Post Office, where he remained until he retired in 1985.  At that point, at age 71, he went back to full-time dancing.  Pockets of Swing revivals were popping up around the U.S., Europe and the Far East, and Manning happily became a godfather, crossing the country and touring the world to teach and encourage dancers.

In 1989 he won a Tony Award for the Best Choreographer in the hit Broadway Musical, "Black and Blue".  In 1992 he choreographed and danced in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X".  With fellow Lindy Hopper Norma Miller, he choreographed and danced in Stompin’ at the Savoy, an NBC made-for-television movie directed by Debbie Allen.

As an international leader of the current Swing dance revival, he has been interviewed for hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, scores of documentaries and news programs, and a dozen books.  In recent years, he was profiled in GQ and People. He was a highlighted dancer in the PBS special, Swingin’ with Duke, featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, and was interviewed extensively on-camera for Ken Burns’s acclaimed PBS documentary, Jazz.

In 2007 he collaborated with Cynthia R. Millman on his autobiography, "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop," published by Temple University Press.
 
He can also be seen in a new film documentary, Julie Cohen's "Frankie Manning: Still Swinging," which will premiere on television on May 21.  He is survived by his long-time companion, Judy Pritchett, two sons, Chazz and and Frank Jr., a daughter, Marion, a half-brother, Vincent, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

 
"I’m not interested in fame and glory; it’s just that I would like others to know what a happy dance this is."
- Frankie Manning