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Alberta cowboy John Ware, Vancouver icons Joe Fortes and Harry Jerome, jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, and many more. Watch for this special feature.
The Afro News, Western Canada

Jeni LeGon\
Historymakers
Tapping the color bar


Vancouver, BC, Canada

Musical Luncheon To Celebrate Cultural Icon

Tap Dance Legend Jeni LeGon Marks 90th Birthday

From Fats Waller to Snoop Dogg ~ A Life In Showbiz !

Event: Jeni LeGon Tribute Luncheon

Date: Sunday, October 29, 2006   Time: 1 - 5 pm

Venue: Fairmont Waterfront Hotel / Waterfront Ballroom (900 Canada Place)

Admission: $65.00    Tickets & Information: 604.605.0124

The Tribute Luncheon

The life and career of Hollywood's onetime 'Chocolate Princess" and one of Vancouver's cultural icons, Dr. Jeni LeGon, will be celebrated Sunday October 29, 2006 by the National Congress of Black Women Foundation in a $65-per-plate luncheon at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, celebrating her recent 90th birthday.

Jeni LeGon may be the only Vancouverite to be inducted into the Smithsonian (where her tap shoes are on display) and is certainly the only resident artist to have performed with Cab Callaway, Fats Waller, Fred Astair and Snoop Dogg.

Paying tribute to a woman who has influenced at least three generations of entertainers will be the Urban Tap dance ensemble, jazz singer Eve Smith, gospel singer-songwriter Eric Dozier and the Nicholas Sisters, granddaughters of the legendary Nicholas Brothers tap team.

The afternoon will be co-emceed by actor/dancer and former LeGon student Chancz Perry and Catherine Lough, proprietor of the event's co-sponsor, BizBooks

Tickets to the tribute luncheon are $65 (table for ten $600) and are available through the National Congress of Black Women Foundation at 604.604.605.0124.

A Little History

The first African-American woman to sign a contract with a major studio (MGM for Hooray for Love), Dr. LeGon's career has spanned eight decades. Beginning with her debut as a 'chorine' with the Count Basie Orchestra at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago, her credits include her 1935 film debut with Bill 'Bo jangles' Robinson in Hooray for Love, a leading role in Cab Calloway's 1947 movie Hi-De-Ho, playing the Apollo Theatre with Fats Waller, writing the song The Sping for Lena Horne in that star's first movie role Panama Hattie, and appearing in numerous episodes of the Amos 'n Andy show.

A much abbreviated list of the screen legends Jeni LeGon has worked with over the years would include Judy Garland, Count Basie, Dorothy Dandridge and Fred Astair. Her most recent screen appearance was in 2001 with Snoop Dogg in the horror film Bones, playing the role of Window Granny.

Touring brought Dr. LeGon to Vancouver in the late 1970s, where she decided to make her home and continue teaching at her own and other local studios.  In 1999 The National Film Board celebrated her life with the documentary, Living In A Great Big Way, which was screened at that year's Vancouver Film Festival. She received her Doctor of Performing Arts in American Dance degree from Oklahoma City University in 2002. Her red tap shoes from Ali Baba Goes To Town, her costume and steel drum from her Jazz Caribe show and papers and newspaper clippings from her career are now part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. LeGon has received numerous awards and accolades over the years, including induction into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame (1987) and the Tap Dance Hall of Fame (1993).

The National Congress of Black Women Foundation (NCBWF)

The NCBWF promotes and facilitates activities and model programs which foster advancement, recognition, education and health of black women and their families through funding, programs and research.

The foundation sponsors educational, social, cultural and health related programs and projects, including UMOJA, a volunteer community based partnership with organizations and individuals working to reduce the spread of HIV infection and enhancing the quality of life of black people living with HIV/AIDS in the lower mainland.

 

Media Contact

Kevin Dale McKeown

PublicityPlus Event Marketing

604.688.2478

kevin@publicityyplus.ca

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