Paul Draper (dancer) (original) (raw)

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Paul Draper Jr. (October 25, 1909 – September 20, 1996) was a noted American tap dancer and choreographer. Born into an artistic, socially prominent New York family, the nephew of Ruth Draper was an innovator in the arts. His passion and unique style led him to international stardom. One signature piece was Sonata for Tap Dancer, danced without musical accompaniment. Draper was a natural dancer. He took six tap dancing lessons at Tommy Nip's Broadway dance school in 1930 before performing solo in London in 1932. He enrolled in the School of American Ballet and realized the possibilities of combining tap and classical ballet, forming his unique style. By 1937, he was performing at such venues as the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel and the Rainbow Room. Carnegie Hall followed, then Broadway and a film version of William Saroyan's Time of Your Life (1948). In 1940, he teamed up with Larry Adler, a virtuoso harmonicist. The two became a world-famous act, performing together until 1949. They appeared as regulars at City Center in New York. The act disbanded when they were blacklisted as Communist sympathizers. In response to these false charges, Adler moved to the United Kingdom. Draper moved to Geneva, Switzerland for three years. When he returned to the US, Draper performed on Broadway and in other venues from about 1954. Draper taught in the theater department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1967 to 1978 as the Andrew Mellon Chair in the School of Drama. His live performances decreased during this period of teaching, but he did occasionally show up at American Dance Festival. (en)

dbo:activeYearsEndYear

1990-01-01 (xsd:gYear)

dbo:activeYearsStartYear

1932-01-01 (xsd:gYear)

dbo:birthDate

1909-10-25 (xsd:date)

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Paul Nathaniel Saltonstall Draper (en)

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dbo:birthYear

1909-01-01 (xsd:gYear)

dbo:deathDate

1996-09-20 (xsd:date)

dbo:deathPlace

dbr:Woodstock,_New_York

dbo:deathYear

1996-01-01 (xsd:gYear)

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dbo:relative

dbo:spouse

dbr:Heidi_Vosseler

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wiki-commons:Special:FilePath/Portrait_of_Paul_Draper,_Jr._LCCN2004662835.jpg?width=300

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16308268 (xsd:integer)

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12572 (xsd:nonNegativeInteger)

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dbp:birthDate

1909-10-25 (xsd:date)

dbp:birthName

Paul Nathaniel Saltonstall Draper (en)

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Photo by Carl Van Vechten (en)
Paul Draper (en)

dbp:children

Pamela, Susan, Kate (en)

dbp:deathDate

1996-09-20 (xsd:date)

dbp:deathPlace

dbr:Woodstock,_New_York

dbp:event

All In One at various New York theaters (en)
Crystal Nocturne at Radio City Hall (en)
I Got Rhythm at various New York theaters (en)
Tap Dancer Supreme at the KRNT Radio Theater (en)
Thumbs Up at St. James Theater on Broadway (en)
appeared on Episode 0049 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (en)
appeared in the film Colleen (en)
appeared in the film The Time of Your Life (en)
appeared in a short film with Lee Dixon called Six Hits and a Miss (en)
reunion performance with Larry Adler at Carnegie Hall (en)

dbp:name

Paul Draper (en)

dbp:nationality

American (en)

dbp:notableWorks

Sonata for Tap Dancer (en)

dbp:occupation

dbp:parents

Muriel and Paul Draper (en)

dbp:relatives

Raimund Sanders Draper brother (en)
Ruth Draper aunt (en)

dbp:spouse

dbr:Heidi_Vosseler

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dbp:yearsActive

1932 (xsd:integer)

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gold:hypernym

dbr:American

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http://viaf.org/viaf/67713270

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Paul Draper Jr. (October 25, 1909 – September 20, 1996) was a noted American tap dancer and choreographer. Born into an artistic, socially prominent New York family, the nephew of Ruth Draper was an innovator in the arts. His passion and unique style led him to international stardom. One signature piece was Sonata for Tap Dancer, danced without musical accompaniment. (en)

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