05-16-08
#23
Mount Vernon's Raymond Brown performed
with some of the greatest names in show business
Today, Raymond Brown, a former dancer, is 78 years old
and lives peacefully by himself at Unity Gardens, a
senior residence located on South Second Avenue in Mount
Vernon.
Born and raised in Harlem, NY, Brown was extremely
handsome, personable and a sharp dresser. He was born an
albino, with blond hair and blue eyes and had legions of
friends during his younger years.
As a kid, he attended P.S. 89 in Harlem, where he
enjoyed singing and dancing in the school's music
program. And as he got older, he yearned to one day
dance on the stage of the famed Apollo Theater.
"I knew then that I would never be a singer," he
recalled, "but it dawned on me that I wanted to be a
dancer. The teachers said I should go on with it because
I really had a talent, but I was too young to know how
to go about it," he told Bill Bookman from the Journal
News during an interview in 2005.
While delivering newspapers in Harlem, he learned about
a woman named Miss Rogers, who worked in the booking
department of the Apollo Theater. Soon he started
delivering the newspaper to her every week at the famed
theater. One day he developed enough nerve to tell her
about his only ambition in life at the time. Impressed
with his assertiveness, Rogers gave Brown a pass so him
and his sister could attend the next Saturday stage
performances at the Apollo. He continued to visit the
Apollo, week after week, impressed with the long list of
notable performers. He soon enrolled at the school for
young talent founded by Katherine Dunham, a famous
dancer back then.
Eventually, Rogers introduced Brown to the likes of
Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey, Count Basie, Earl Garner,
Stan Getz, Billy Holiday, Sara Vaughn, Sammy Davis, Jr.,
Dina Washington, Nancy Wilson, and others.
Out of all the famous performers he met, the one that
gave him the break he needed was Johnny Hudgins, the
black blackface performer of the twenties and thirties.
Back then, Hudgins had a popular traveling music and
dance company, and he asked Brown to join him.
Very quickly, Brown found himself performing routinely
at the Apollo, all over the United states, and all
across Europe with the top performers of that era.
Today, his one bedroom apartment is like a museum. He
has mounds of memorabilia stacked in virtually every
square inch of space. He also has a tremendous selection
of LPs, many of which he has sold to collectors
throughout the years.
Adorning all his walls are framed photographs of famous
performers he worked with, and pictures of him in far
places all across the world.
"I am just thankful that I can get around without too
much difficulty and my memory is all there. I never
though I would reach the age of 78, so I am just
thankful to God," he told The Inquirer. "These
days, I get by on my fond memories of the great things I
managed to do in the past. When I look at the many
pictures I have hanging on my walls, they take me back
in time and they keep me going."
When asked to compare today's performers with
performers from his time, he said, "I don't knock
today's performers. They are simply doing what I was
doing during my time. During my time it was about
showmanship; show business. Today it is all together
different. They are much younger and there is really no
comparison.
Brown has slowed down a bit at 78, but he still enjoys
going to Broadway and is active in many senior
activities within Mount Vernon.
