Although NBC eventually canceled Whites show, Duncan had become a star. page_type: 'article', Arthur Duncan, pioneering Black tap dancer, dies at 97 Championed by Betty White at the start of his career, he became one of the first Black regulars on a TV variety show. It was also the year segregation in public schools was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. When Steve Harvey asked Arthur what it was like to see his old friend, he joked, Im ready to go now. But before God could take him, Arthur wanted to catch up with Betty first. Whats more intriguing is that this wasnt Bettys sole act of defiance within the show; she interviewed a Black child on the special when it was considered controversial to do so. Entrepreneurs Summit tude.cmd.push(function() { However, it was during an appearance on Steve Harveys show Little Big Shots: Forever Young in 2017 that Duncan felt truly blessed when Betty White surprised him onstage. According to HITC, White's talk show was canceled in the mid-1950s because of his continued appearances on the show. 1956) . Arthur even became the first African-American regular on a variety show when he appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show for almost 20 years. After learning about Arthur Duncan, read about how Hattie McDaniel became the first Black Oscar winner. Arthur said, I was on the show, and they had some letters out of Mississippi and elsewhere that some of the stations would not carry the show if I was permitted to stay on there. pic.twitter.com/toipvY9cyQ. His reply to her that they would be performing at local hospitals and orphanages was as wholesome as the beloved actress and entertainer, who died this week at 99. He typically performed one solo routine per episode, scored by the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, but also frequently danced with peers Bobby Burgess and Jack Imel. 1 of 2. Betty White was weeks away from her 100th birthday and planned a big celebration. White gave it to him, he recounted in the 2018 documentary Betty White: First Lady of Television.. Television was still a new medium, but White was already a veteran performer of stage and radio, had acted on a sitcom and had co-hosted a Los Angeles daytime talk show. Betty White, whose more than 80-year career included Emmy-winning roles on sitcoms "The Golden Girls" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," died on Dec. 31. The beloved actress was preparing to celebrate her 100th birthday with a big televised special that will still air despite her passing only a few weeks before the age . Its because of people like her we were able to push the needle forward in terms of racial and gender equality. There's no knowing if her putting her foot down on Duncan staying on had any role in the show being repeatedly rescheduled for different time slots before eventually being taken off the air that same year. targeting: { He said it was White who gave him his break. According to the 2018 PBS documentary, Betty White: First Lady of Television, (available on Netflix) Duncan credited White for his first big break. tag: 'mandc,celebrity,entertainment-industry,racism', You never call, responded White. pic.twitter.com/tVL7NUw2TT. When Bea Arthur left The Golden . ]); In response, Betty White famously said Im sorry. div_id: 'div-gpt-ad-rightrail-2', ]); Later on, he became the first African-American regular on a variety program. In 1954 Betty White had a talk show and faced criticism for including a black tap dancer, Arthur Duncan, on her show.Betty responded with Im sorry. Betty White: reglnyok: Bea Arthur: reglnyok: Phylicia Rashad: The Cosby Show Rue McClanahan: reglnyok: Shelley Long: Cheers: . Betty White broke barriers, defied expectations, served her country, and pushed us all to laugh. She just prioritized building earnest relationships with people, and if progress came as a result, no problem. Left: Arthur Duncan/Betty White Show/NBC Right: American actor Betty White wearing a veiled hat, circa 1955. Given that White and Duncan both corroborated this story in the documentary, we rate this claim as True.. env: 'prod', Wikimedia Commons Arthur Duncan became the first Black regular on a televised American variety show. A Look at All of Betty White's Homes. You never ask me out," per People. url: 'betty,whites,controversial,hire,of,tap,dancer,arthur,duncan,made,history,in,more,ways,than,one', It's Betty White's 99th birthday on Sunday, and former co-stars Arthur Duncan and Wendie Malick are singing her praises. But even in California, Duncans regular presence on the show drew criticism. Born in Pasadena, California, Duncan entered show business at age 13, when he was a member of a dance quartet that performed at McKinley Junior High School in Pasadena, California. Wikimedia CommonsArthur Duncan became the first Black regular on a televised American variety show. Duncan appeared in three episodes of The Betty White Show according to IMDb and it was these episodes, in particular, that drew criticism. And by his 21st birthday, hed caught the eye of TV pioneer Betty White. Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Live with it. Then, she gave Duncan even more airtime when he appeared on the show twice more. He went on to have a decades-long career as one of the first famous Black tap dancers in the US. Watch clips and full episodes of Little Big Shots for free on Yahoo View. White's team of talent included Black performer Arthur Duncan, who was about 21 at the time and looking for his big break. The show was Duncan's first big break in the business and helped launch his career. . He soon moved on to The Lawrence Welk Show in 1964, where he was introduced every week until 1982 as the man whos keeping tap dancing alive.. "Well, Betty wrote back and said: 'needless to say, we used Arthur Duncan every opportunity we could,'" he said. Three years later, one of the Los Angeles-area shows co-hosts, Eddie Albert was given his own eponymous spin-off. Duncan performed alongside stars like actress Jayne Mansfield, singer Jerry Colonna, comedian Hedda Hopper, and the Les Brown orchestra in places like Pearl Harbor, Korea, Okinawa, and Guam. She made sure to strengthen causes that needed backing, those that required people to break the mold and upset the masses. The dancer, Arthur Duncan, was featured onThe Betty White Showthataired in the 1950s. Betty White In Person (1987). Sandy Duncan: Funny Face 1973 Mary Tyler Moore: Mary Tyler Moore: Bea Arthur: Maude Jean Stapleton: . Email: agilbert@usatoday.com. The show was the first big break for Duncan, then in his early 20s, he said in the 2018 documentary "Betty White, First Lady of Television.". The legendary dancer discussed how Betty White gave him his first job on. Born on Sept. 25, 1933, in Pasadena, California, Arthur Duncan gravitated to the life of a performer from a very young age. In 2010, the Forest Service made Betty White an honorary forest ranger. But White didnt capitulate, telling her critics, Im sorry, but he stays. She even had a regular childrens segment. Arthur Duncan, whose exuberant tap dancing carried him from the streets of Pasadena to Betty White's variety shows in the 1950s as one of the first Black regulars performing on television,. The show was canceled soon after. Live with it. , Betty White, one of the most endearing and enduring faces on television, dies at 99. GOOD aligns unparalleled expertise in social science, social media, and social change. Not one to waste an opportunity, White immediately set about hiring Duncan to dance on The Betty White Show, which aired on NBC in Los Angeles. If Betty White was able to extend so much love and admiration to everyone shed come across over the years, anyone can do the same. Im ready to go now, he morbidly joked as White approached. Betty White was born in 1922 and sliced bread was introduced in 1928. Little Big Shots: Forever Young airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC. In February 1955, the show became the shortest run program to ever receive an Emmy nomination for Best Daytime Program. Her response: "I'm sorry. 'The Betty White Show' saw her perform songs and entertain viewers with skits and interviews with guests. When The Betty White Show was rolled out on TV channels across the US, many stations and viewers in southern US states threatened to boycott the show unless Arthur Duncan was removed owing to the segregation laws and attitudes towards race that were prevalent at the time. Supervising Producer, Yahoo Entertainment, Arthur Duncan, an 83-year-old tap dancer, was on the premiere of, It was a big opportunity for Arthur, who turned it into a career in show business that has lasted more than 60 years. Its unclear whether her decision to keep Duncan affected the shows fate, but it was repeatedly rescheduled for different time slots before quietly being taken off the air that same year. When encouraged to take Arthur Duncan off the air, White, then in her 30s, said: "I'm sorry, but, you know, he stays," per the Post. Tap dancer Arthur Duncan was first introduced to national audiences by Betty White in 1954 before making history as the first Black performer on The Lawrence Welk Show. "In 1954, #BettyWhite was criticized after having Arthur Duncan, a Black tap dancer, on her show," The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center tweeted after her death. The entertainment world is mourning beloved actress Betty White, "our national treasure." The "Golden Girls" and "Mary Tyler Moore" star died Dec. 31. Arthur admits that Betty helped get him the kind of exposure that really launched his career. I credit Betty White for really getting me started in show business, he said. Betty didnt let her age hamper her ability to empathize with others, even if they were of a completely different background than her. See when we celebrated Betty Whites 95th birthday with our 5 fave TV appearances: Steve Harveys Hilarious Version of Ray Charless Georgia on My Mind, 8-Year-Old Girl Tries to Take Steve Harveys Hosting Job, George Lopez Schools Steve Harvey During Celebrity Family Feud. tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { I know our Bo is looking forward to seeing her up in heaven. she bluntly told those that brought the matter to her, reported PEOPLE. You never call. Well, Betty wrote back and said, Needless to say, we used Arthur Duncan every opportunity we could. , Facing the threat of boycotts across the South, White famously said, Im sorry but he stays Live with it!. At 21, the California native had been performing in a dance quartet for years and was looking for his big break. }); !function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document); White went on to game shows, the talk-show circuit and eventually mega-stardom as Rose Nylund on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls.. After MLKs home was bombed, he refused to back down: This movement will not stop, The brave, forgotten Kansas lunch counter sit-in that helped change America, Sam Howell is the Commanders first-string QB for now, Nationals relievers see benefit in tinkering with new pitches, Kyle Kuzma, Wizards start fast and dont look back in win over Raptors. She extended his airtime instead, and responded to racists with "I'm sorry. . The daily talk/variety show on NBC allowed White to hire a female director (opens in new tab) as well as Arthur Duncan, . Betty White spent over seven decades in front and behind the camera. Live. When letters started coming from Mississippi and elsewhere demanding Arthurs removal, Betty simply wrote back saying, Needless to say, we used Arthur Duncan every opportunity we could. It wasnt a matter of finding a compromise or trying to understand the other sides perspective; she wanted to trust her gut and do the right thing, protest be damned. I was on the show, and they had some letters out of Mississippi and elsewhere that some of the stations would not carry the show if I was permitted to stay on there, Duncan told Steve Harvey in 2018 ahead of a surprise TV reunion with White. Betty White served as both host and producer. env: 'prod', In 2020, the American Tap Dance Foundation inducted Duncan into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame. But his first performance was more than enough for Southern racists to threaten NBC with a boycott if he continued to be part of the lineup. Arthur Duncan performed wherever he could. Rest well, Betty. Duncan's . Arthur even became the first African-American regular on a variety show when he appeared on, , or leave your comments below. The Betty White Showwas a spinoff of KTLA variety show Hollywood on Television, which White joined in 1949. How Gabriel Prosser Planned What Would Have Been The Largest Slave Rebellion In American History, Meet The Ken And Barbie Killers: Paul Bernardo And Karla Homolka, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. 1937) Casey Hayden, 85, civil rights activist (b. Michael Green, 69, molecular and cell biologist (b. Now she wants restitution. Duncan went on to become the first Black regular on a variety show when he was hired on 'The Lawrence Welk Show' and he continued on that show for another 20 years. With substantial clout, she developed her own variety show in 1954 and wasted no time giving talented performers a shot. White, a boundary-breaking television star by 1952, then became the first woman to produce a sitcom, Life with Elizabeth, which she also starred in. Twitter shares wild and wonderful stories about Betty White, who died Dec. 31, 2021. . Background [ edit] . In 1954, Ms. White was pressured to replace Mr. Duncan, a dancer who went on to receive . Arthur had seen everything he needed to see in life after reuniting with Betty. And that included the young tap dancer Arthur Duncan, who would become the only Black man on the program. The cancellation of her variety and talk show came after a huge backlash surrounding the appearance of Arthur Duncan. tude.cmd.push(function() { Veteran actress Betty White, best known for her role in The Golden Girls and whose career spanned eight decades, has died aged 99. Live with it." She then gave Duncan even more airtime. Live with it." She then gave Duncan even more airtime. Her show was canceled soon after. Deal with it and gave Duncan more airtime. ). Betty White, to put it simply, is a national treasure in the US. "The Betty White Show" was short-lived, repeatedly rescheduled and eventually taken off air, per the Post. I rehearsed with a choral group thats going to do Christmas carols this Christmas., Oh, wonderful, White said. And it was never a question at all.. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vast body of work in entertainment and for being one of the first women to work both in front of and behind the camera. }); EVENTS Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. She just cared about giving people the respect they deserve. Arthur Duncan was a tap dancer and singer known for his regular appearances on "The Betty White Show" and "The Lawrence Welk Show." Died: January 4, 2023 ( Who else died on January 4?