Biography
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Born
16 October 1903
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Born In
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States
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Died
31 January 1955 (aged 51)
Buck Washington (Ford Lee Washington, October 16, 1903 – January 31, 1955) was an American vaudeville stride piano player.
In 1913 at the age of ten, Buck Washington joined John W. Sublett, later known as "Bubbles" who was one year older and an astonishing career began. Buck & Bubbles teamed up in Indianapolis, with Bubbles singing and dancing, and Buck accompanying on piano. After winning several amateur contests, they played professional engagements in Louisville, Kentucky (often in blackface), Detroit, Michigan, and New York City. Audiences were thrilled with Buck and Bubbles's singing, dancing, and comedy routine, with Buck's variations in tempo that forced Bubbles to quickly adapt.
By 1922, they performed at New York's Palace Theatre, the nation's top vaudeville venue. They broke color barriers by headlining the white vaudeville circuit across the U. S., and were featured in several Broadway revues in the 1920s and 1930s. Stage success resulted in roles in such movies as Varsity Show (1937) and A Song is Born (1948). Buck and Bubbles performed together until shortly before Buck Washington died in 1955.
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