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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 |
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