The Cotton Club Boys were African Americanchorus line entertainers who, from 1934, performed class act dance routines in musical revues produced by the Cotton Club until 1940, when the club closed, then as part of Cab Calloway's revue on tour through 1942. They debuted in the 24th edition of the "Cotton Club Parade" in spring 1934, a period at the beginning of the swing era, the post-Harlem Renaissance, a year after Prohibition, and the trough of the Great Depression. The chorus line's name often included a prefix reflecting the number of entertainers, such as "The Six Cotton Club Boys", "The 12 Cotton Club Boys", etc.
The Cotton Club first opened in 1923 in Harlem on the 2nd floor of a building at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue, close to Sugar Hill. The space had been formerly leased and operated by the boxer Jack Johnson as the Club Delux, an intimate supper club. Owney Madden, a bootlegger and gangster, took over the lease in 1923 after his release from Sing Sing. He was one among the syndicate owners that included beer baron Bill Duffy, boxer Tony Panica , and Harry Block. Madden redecorated the space and changed the name to the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club sold liquor during Prohibition, which lasted until 1933. When the club opened, George "Big Frenchy" Demange was the manager. Walter Brooks, who brought Shuffle Along'' to Broadway in 1921, was the, or nominal owner. The Savoy Ballroom, which had a no-discrimination policy, was one block south at 596 Lenox Avenue. Smalls Paradise, which also had a no-discrimination policy, was seven blocks south and one avenue west at 2294 Seventh Avenue. The old Harlem Club at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue reopened in May 1937 as the Plantation Club.
Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and the Harlem riot of 1935, jazz venues began moving from Harlem to Midtown, around 52nd Street, and downtown. The new Cotton Club opened September 24, 1936, at Broadway and 48th Street, in the Great White Way section of the Theater District near Times Square. The Cotton Club was closed for the 1936 season while the owners planned the move. In the interim, some of the entertainers from the original club performed in productions billed as the "Cotton Club Revue" at the Harlem Alhambra.
Closing of the Cotton Club (1940)
The last show at the Cotton Club ran Saturday night, May 15, 1940, just before Madden left New York. It was reported in 1940 that the Cotton Club had suffered from competition from the World's Fair. Another likely impetus for the closing were the demands of Local 802, the New York chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, for back pay, especially salaries owed to Andy Kirk's band. The location subsequently opened as a nightclub called the Latin Quarter.
Influences on the Cotton Club Boys
John Tiller : pioneer of precision dancing, influenced the Cotton Club Boys and Girls, who performed can-cans
Selected productions: Cotton Club Boys with the Cotton Club Revue
Howard Johnson; his sister Winnie Johnson was a member of the Cotton Club Girls, from 1937 - 1938 was married to Hollywood actor Stepin Fetchit
Charles "Chink" Collins
Billy Smith went into the restaurant business; during World War II, served in the first fully integrated outfit in the U.S. Army as an entertainer in Irving Berlin's production This Is The Army
Walter Shepherd
Tommy Porter
Maxie Armstrong sang with the 366th Infantry Band during World War II
Thomas "Chink" Lee went on to become a tavern manager
Eddie Morton in 1951 married singer Ida Mae James, then in 1960 married Nan Steinburg
Subsequent members
Cholly Atkins began dancing with the Cotton Club Boys as a substitute from someone who was ill; Honi Coles, who lived in the same building as Atkins, made the recommendation; production was Bill Robinson's The Hot Mikado, the biggest hit of Cotton Club Revue; Atkins soon became a choreographer with Cotton Club Boys
Jules Adjer among other things, was a dancer in the 1943 film, Cabin in the Sky''
Freddie Heron born in the Panama Canal Zone; went on to become chief bartender at Shalimar by Randolph at 3638 Broadway and 2065 7th Avenue, owned by Luther "Red" Randolph, club flourished from 1939 to 1966; in 1954 went out on his own, taking on food concession at the Silver Rail in Harlem
