The Only Footage of Ken “Snakehips” Johnson Dancing
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- This is a clip from the 1935 movie “Oh, Daddy!”, you can watch the full length movie for free on RUclips here, and this scene starts at 21:31. Here’s the link to the movie: • Oh, Daddy! [1935]
Thank you for posting Mr. Snakehips Johnson....must be remembered.
At least we have this small glimpse of genius. I am grateful for anything.
As am I.
Correct. A little is better than nothing. Also, considering how many pre-1950? movies we lost to fires, accidents, poor storage practices, and film degredation
Dancing is not genius. Stop being hyperbolic.
@@answerman9933 Have you tried not being pedantic?
@@answerman9933 I know, "genius" is only born from the likes of Einstein, Picasso even if he borrowed much of his "genius" from Africa,,.
Fred Astaire took dance lessons from this young man in London.
Really, thanks for the info! Glad to learn more about Ken.
You can so tell|! I was going to say he dances like Fred!
London
He may have taken some lessons from him, but it was John William Sublett known by his stage name John W. Bubbles who, in 1920, gave tap dance lessons to Fred Astaire, who considered Sublett the finest tap dancer of his generation.
@MrCrowebobby thanks for the info!
It doesn't even look like his feet are touching the floor.
I know! He is so light on his feet!
Yes was thinking the same.... and he should have been called Floating Feet or similar.
Weightless. He looks flippin' weightless. I am so grateful we have any footage at all, but what would I give for more...
Stunningly exceptional and his fluidity is sensational 💙💙💙
yes. The poise and the flow. He fills the room, no need for any of those actors. Real grace.
Have you ever thought of how MANY remarkable people have existed, but ....nobody even knew of them? Incredible voices, amazing ingenuity, the first person who figured out the wheel, or how to recreate and use fire, the person who painted the Lascaux caves. It's possible that the greatest military strategist who ever lived was a potato farmer. (Mark Twain.)
Believe me I’ve thought of that all too well. The main era of music I listen to and like is plump full of completely forgotten and very talented artists. It’s quite sad when I actually stop to think about it.
Don't be sad, be grateful for even the smallest experience !
@@lindasvartman3466 I suppose.
Many talented people loudly lauded ,have but one real talent and that is butt kissing ,today yesterday and maybe beyond ,how many are lost due to a careless remark ,wrong politics and sadly their roots. I feel some tears developing at the thought.
We can see here where Fred Astaire got his inspiration for his style. His first movie, Dancing Lady, was released less than two years before Oh, Daddy! here. Ken Johnson was well-known and admired in the hoofers' world for years, but did not have the deserved visibility. That was because of the same reasons the lady in the clip cannot stay in that restaurant for another minute. He was black, and his "Snakehip" dancing was indecent. He is amazing!
Well, actually, it was because she wasn’t supposed to be there to her husband’s knowledge, and her husband was unexpectedly in the crowd. Ken’s dancing was hot though, too bad he died so young. He may yet have made a decent career for himself, but now he’s widely forgotten. A real shame indeed.
Don't race-bait, it makes you part of the problem and impedes healing. Your narrative is untrue and ridiculous.
looked to me like she was leaving cuz of the two white guys starting an argument!!
@@JamesIrwins78s - OMG! He was only 26 years old when he died and by a German bomb during the war. That is so very young. Had he lived, he would have been amoung the Great Hoofers.
That man was great.He was one of the best tap dancers alive during his time.❤❤
I'm glad I could see this was real. I hope he never gets forgotten... Not a comfortable scene to view, though, seeing how disinterested the audience are.
Thank you for uploading this, a d Oh Daddy's!
Any musician who's played at a dining venue knows that audiences are NEVER interested!
It is part of a movie. They are just actors playing a part.
Those are called extras and they are to be background, not stealing the scene.
The blonde at 1:10 looks plenty interested.
They seem pretty interested. They're entirely focused on the dancer, except for the ones who are part of the story and have to do lines for the movie.
A time period when people sat at tables and watched talented dancers. And that was the highlight of the evening, and even the next days.
A different world
Now people would be looking at their phone.
@@hensonlaura Very true!!
Back when people had class and appreciated talent .
@@hensonlaura what if they look at dancers on their phone
That was cool James. I'm almost 60 and I probably wouldn't have ever seen this. I appreciate it brother.
No problem!
Wow, he is a beautiful man.
This is why I want a time machine. Bro had multiple entries to drop to the floor and execute some power moves, but breakin was just before his time.
the pain those black performers endured in those days. all smiles for a bunch of people who hate your guts.
Well at least he got to perform, a lot of them never had that privilege then.
@@JamesIrwins78s i think you're referring to "opportunity." even today the performance you see is not necessarily a privilege. many performers of all races are coerced or deceived into agreeing to arrangements or contracts that are abusive. but for black performers at that time, it was worse because there was no real way to voice an objection. there are horror stories of performers who were forced to perform because of the expectation of the audience-- even though the performer was ill or had a pressing family matter. some were even physically abused to force them to perform. we hear of the cotton club, but white people going to see black performers in harlem were thinking in terms of a carnival show.
@@newbengraham4775 I so celebrate being born in 1959 as a Black man, not perfect times are but man they were brutal for my forefathers.
@@newbengraham4775
Thank you for these necessary -to-know details of information.😢
My late father loved this.
That man danced so effortlessly for so long as if he could never get tired.
Thanks for posting! It's things like this that can make RUclips be outstanding. What a thrill to discover a new artist (new to me) and at least be able to get a glimpse of their talent. ❤☮🌎
It is soooo frustrating when the camera pans away from this magnificent dancer!!! 🕺
It’s a movie, that’s why they do that!
@@cashew515 I know. I’m just expressing my opinion.
Part of the reason was so the movie could be shown in the south. They would cut out the "specialty numbers" with Black performers so they could show it in the south.
@@PecanSandees23 Thanks, didn’t realize,not from your dreadful country!
@@PecanSandees23 Ohh I never thought of that ☹️ , but I now I can imagine.
He was the 🐐 GOAT
a fantastic dancer.
Yeah, this was the profession he was best at, rather than bandleader which was not his thing up until he had to take the place of bandleader when the previous bandleader left.
@@JamesIrwins78s he made a good bandleader
What a wonderful and spectacular dancer. Too bad the camera doesn't just focus on the entainer. It took away from this man's talent. And this is the only clipping of him dancing.
Don't forget he was just a part of the scenery as f ar as this movie goes. Just as all those other people sitting at the variouos tables in that club were.
Absolutely wonderful.
I wish I had words to express my frustration. Soooooo many talented, top of their game actors/dancers, were left out/ignored, because POC. It saddens me to know just how much greatness, has been lost
That was bigotry, not pc.
He wasn't "left out or ignored" because he was "POC"...he didn't get a chance to be famous because he died when the club he was dancing in got hit in an air raid.
@@PatrickHughes-r4i He said POC, not PC, so you agree with him.
@@PatrickHughes-r4i He didn't mean political correctness "pc" but POC for "person of color". That's a good example of why people should not rely on abbreviations of phrases to convey meaning.
@@roringusanda2837 ooohh..aww..terrible terrible
Genius in a natural born dancer!
Before youtube you had to put on a tuxedo and go to a place like this to drunk watch music, dancing and comedy
He is AMAZING! ❤❤❤
You can certainly see how he got the 'snakehips' moniker!
He’s got moves like Jagger.
A grandiose joy to see!! ❤❤❤
I’m not sure people with long legs are better dancer by default but they look more elegant
Hit every beat & note. Incredible
His C WALK would be unmatched
My parents and uncle were kids when his movie was made in 1935.
I was a skinny kid growing up and dad’s nickname for me was snakehips
Not only Ken's band swung; he did, both ways. For a few months before his death he lived with Gerald Hamilton, who was twice his age and a notorious conman, the original of the title character in Isherwood's 'Mr Norris Changes Trains'. Johnson and Hamilton had a cottage at Bray, later renowned for its colony of showbiz celebrities.
Thanks for the information!
“Let’s pan back again to the supporting actors doing almost no supporting. Adds nothing but at least they make us comfortable because they are untalented and look like us!”
You have to remember the times, sad times to say the least.
dumb as hell. everyone danced back then
Did anyone else hear about this via Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers Of London series?
Not how I found it but I’m sure there’s someone else on here.
Me 😂
And I think it’s great that this artist seems to get a lot of recognition here thanks to Moon over Soho. Pioneers like Snakehips should always be remembered!
Great chronics of the second world war from reader´s digest volume I page 228 when 2 50kg bombs hit café paris in mid of his band perfomance, killing him and another one of his muscial crew.
yes!
Me too!
Uh oh. The exit move, the final move, looks a bit like the Moonwalk. Bill bailey did this in another RUclips clip. Maybe that backslide is a standard exit for tap dancers back then.
The whole "only footage" thing kinda fell apart after RUclips immediately recommended me another video of him dancing.
Link it, I have yet for someone to prove to me otherwise. And this is like the 30th attempt.
@@JamesIrwins78s Huh, you know what? My bad. I was recommended Earl "Snake Hips" Tucker. Who woulda thought there'd be two "Snake Hips"?
@@buddabudda Thank you, sorry if I came off a bit harsh. Just kind of sick of seeing the same comment over and over again.
Wow! I wished the camera had stayed on him the whole time
Looks like Michael Jackson stole some of his moves.
Great dancing
Good ole days
Damn that guy is good.... !!!
I like how the guys who replaced the bigoted woman were so much happier to be closer to the action.
Stupesssss, cutting away from the dance to see what,?? Stupesssss!
Tap Dancing a lost art.
Not the only footage. I've seen one other.
Please re-find it and link it here!
A brilliant dancer!
What did that actors say?
God bless him
There was another “SnakeHips” - the dancer in the Duke Ellington Film, "Symphony In Black", the “Harlem Rhythm” finale - who IS Earl “SnakeHips” Tucker. And, he demonstrates the moves which earned him the name “SnakeHips”.
ruclips.net/video/LPD-8-l68L4/видео.html
I only knew about Bill " Bojamgles " Robinson and later the Hines Btother, Sammy Davis Jr. and a few others
LOL!! Jimmy, she must go and get that Alabama snake that she's been longing for". You already know Jimmy.
They sure ain’t call him Snakehips for nothing.
I feel sick when black comedians make fun of dancing because these artists were wonderful and they taught who are never parodied.
Unfortunate that we are unable to view his BEST moves.
Sammy Davis stole his shoes
He has arms like slender man 🫥
Uh oh that lady recognized her midnight rendezvous from the night before and she can’t let him see her! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Her behavior was strange to say the least.🤭
for context, It was her husband and to her husband’s knowledge she was at home.
The original daddy long legs........
Such a shame, people like him were better than Gene Kelly or Fred or any of them.
Wow
I wish I could have seen the part we couldn’t see!😊
I have to wonder if there were any outtakes for this film that show that.
Why are they showing the crowd
This is incredibly waaaycist
0:33 Is he the OG air guitarist?
I hate to ask what "snakechips" are or how he got that as a nickname, but holy cow, that guy can dance!
Actually he got that nickname from his appearance in this film!
That’s terrific dancing. The filmmakers must not have been very impressed, though, since they cut away to other shots, with only occasional brief glimpses of the dancing.
That and the fact he was African.
@@JamesIrwins78sQuite possibly, yes. For whatever reason, they don’t seem to have realized what a treasure they had.
And wasn't he sadly killed by a direct hit by german bombers during WW2 on the venue where he was appearing? Wasn't it The Kit Kat Club?
Believe so.
@@JamesIrwins78s No, it was the 'Café de Paris' in Coventry Street, London. Yes, it was during the Blitz.
Thanks. Yes you are right. It was The Cafe de Paris.
Tap dancing, in person, is the most annoying thing i've ever been around, excluding my mother in law.
Too bad when he is dancing his heart out, the camera shows patrons coming and going. This director had no clue. Very frustrating!
Indeed!
It's only a scene in a movie.
I’m assuming this was before the Nicholas brothers ?
Actually this was right around the same time. But I don’t believe the Nicholas Brothers went to Europe were Ken was.
I was wondering that too. Thank you for the information.
Says it's the only footage. Sees other footage in my feed, and even color clips.
Has more been found? When I uploaded this nothing else showed up anywhere I looked.
@@JamesIrwins78s I have seen several in my feed after watching this. They really don't seem that uncommon. They are not from movies. One actually show him doing the move that earned him the nickname "snake hips".
@@LittleBitofHopeToo2518 Could you link them here at all?
@@JamesIrwins78s There is a short one but it has the same as you. I can't link but the names of the channels are katisobel and Johnathan Holmes.
@@JamesIrwins78s Oh, and the University of Edinburgh has done some research since he may have attended there and they reference the BBC, but I couldn't find out if it was just audio of his band, or more video, but you might contact them to see.
Ken culturally appropriated tap dancing from the Irish .
Thats us Roma Gypsies culture. x
Well I didn’t see much of him dancing,,,I saw part of the movie,and other actors😡😡😡😡
Just a thought...every person being entertained by the man..hated that man...because of the color his skin. Heartbreaking
I wouldn’t say every one of them, not everyone thought the same then just as they don’t now, but especially in this case since it was over in England.
Too bad they felt the need to show all those useless people, instead of him dancing. That dancing looked fantastic.
Ah, you have to remember that this is just an excerpt from a movie in which Mr Johnson was not in the main plot.
Spectacular dancing. Too bad the movie didn't value it as much as i did. I would have been happier just watching him.
I tend to agree with you. It was my first time seeing the man dance, and I certainly would have appreciated it if he had more screen time.
what a fuqqin cry baby
HAHAHA This man was jamming ! Really "HOOFING" his @SS off with some the BEST tap WIZARDRY and magic in the world and camaras WAISTED TIME on four jack-wagons changing seats ?!? 😎
They liked him enough to have him perform.
Correct?
@@JohnParker-e3eyou were half way there and then you cracked up. Shame.
Thank you. Every time an artist is revealed to the world it is enriched.
Agreed!
Imagine being a genius and performing for people who wouldn’t let you sit at their table smh
If that's all you can focus on, then you're sick in the head.
You do realize there were also clubs where white people weren’t allowed. As a matter of fact there as still clubs and organizations operating today where whites are not permitted, but no white only ones 🤔
@@DerWutendeMetzger I focus on his genius being admired by people who wouldn’t let him walk through the front door. But yea, let’s just skip over the blatant racism and watch him dance right? Give me a break 🙄 I’m not here to make you comfortable. You can try your unification by avoidance all you want but I’ve been black for far too long for that.
Nowadays they even take part in the raping, torturing and various abuse of black women to impress their masters and I am including black women as well in it. How do I know? Because it's happening to me in France.
@@anncarter82 you do realize artists don't enter through the front, right? You don't see the big picture. They were brought here cause the powers that be want to create the New World Order... And they're the least marketable of all, so they did everything they could to promote them and make you feel sorry, so you'd mix with them. Also, the powers that be realized they themselves would never migrate in the amounts they wished to, so this fit into their plan. Meanwhile the whites are blamed when it was the Turkic-Jews who were the most prominent slave traders and owners.
Hes a delight! He looks as if he's floating and just touching down to make the tap noise. What a shame we dont have more from such a skillful dancer.
Right?! It's as if he's gliding and dancing on jello. Wondrous.
Right before the end as he exits, the birth of the ‘moonwalk’
The Moonwalk is older than that ,saw a very old film of a French Vaudevillian doing the Moonwalk and the background was being scrolled behind him ,to give the impression he was walking along. As for Snakehips ,absolute mastery ,I would have liked to see more of his dancing in the flick.
Fred Astair could do a masterful moonwalk; Jackson picked it up from him
That wasn’t a moon walk…..great dancer but don’t gas it up
@@DGill48Fred Astaire didn't do anything CLOSE to a moonwalk. I swear the things some people say to give White people credit for things Black people did first is absolutely ridiculous. BILL BAILEY did the first recorded ACTUAL moonwalk.🙄
@@mefirst2576 I think they were just joking.
Man that is some goodass old timey dancing. And don’t forget that swing band holding down a TIGHT groove. Capitol I say, quite
Most definitely "Capitol"
Never heard of him. Thanks for posting!
Beautiful clear, strong beats. Love his style. Not too much superfluous heel work.
At least we have a bit of footage. I’m thankful for that.
Indeed.
WOW! Look at what this gentleman does, and I can barely walk straight.
Wow! He danced effortlessly to what I perceive as complicated and fast. Thank you!
He is so good!
Would have enjoyed the dancer more than the boring, Paranoid actors!
Did I see a little Moon Dance there at the end?
The Nicholas Brothers were brilliant too.
Zaouli Dancers from the West Coast of Africa perform impossible dancing feats - it may be that Mr. Ken Johnson has been blessed with those skills.
Was he from West Africa? NO.
@@somniumisdreaming Perhaps his mom/dad/or other un-chained arrivers who would have taught,,,.
Aspects of being human can be passed on through genetics and through human association.
He was really talented. Wish we could have seen more of him and less of people wandering around.
He was just scenery as far as the plot of the film was concerned. I have to assume it was because he was popular at the time, having been recruited for a residency as the house band at the 'Old Florida club' in Mayfair.
I would SO liked to have seen all of his performance and left out all the actors! We're lucky to have been able to see this though! Thankyou for posting! ❤ XXX
Dancing? The camera mainly focused on the audience and their dialog. What a waste of talent.
Well considering that this is the only footage with any of his dancing in it is pretty amazing, it’s a shame that their isn’t any other videos of him.
His talent wasn't wasted. He was appreciated at the time and this is a mere clip out of a movie of the period. Him performing has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot.
I just learned about Snakehips from The Splendid and the Vile
Me too
I learned about him via Moon Over Soho, second book in the Rivers of London series.
I found his music via Peaky Blinders.
It thrills me to watch a true master !!!
Not sure why hes called snake hips tho cos its all in his legs and feet!! What a tap dancer!!
His dancing was quite similar to the 1929 dance called the “Snake Hips”