One of the most talented performers ever. Sing, dance, clown and better at any of it than anyone else ever. The business brain and choreographer was Fayard. Together they were the greatest dancers and entertainers of all time. No-one else comes close.
These two brothers are undanced still today . Fred Astaire recognized their talent in “Stormy Weather “, he said it would never be repeated . They are eternally unmatched ❤️
I was very happy to see the tap master Harold Nicholas singing a Brazilian song in Brazilian-Portuguese immortalized in the voice of our Carmem Miranda. With a thick accent more fully understandable. It seems to me that at this time his brother Fayard was serving in the military and for a short period he was solo. R.I.P both ...
That's correct. They had a successful run in 1939 at the Casino de Urca in Brazil and learned several songs in Portuguese while there. It was due to this that they were cast in Down Argentine Way. Harold worked as a solo artist from 1943 to 1944 while Fayard was in the army. I hope you'll keep an eye out for my book on the Nicholas Brothers coming out from Kentucky Press in 2024/25.
@@paulabroussard1824 Dear Paula Broussard I will be waiting to enjoy your book the Nicholas Brothers here in Brazil. I wish you much success on your literary journey. And sorry for my bad English. Greetings.
WOW! What a joy to see him at a young age. He was a handsome talented singer and tap dancer. This was my first time seeing this footage. I hope I can find some more footage of him and his brother at this young age. CLASSIC FOOTAGE!!! 2019 😊😜😄😘😍😄
I always do this when I'm selling a piano. It works evry time. Love the Nicholas Brothers. That move off the wall Harold did in Kalermazoo was inhuman.
Just one more example of an unsung entertainer because of the shortsighted viewpoint of the entertainment business. These guys( the Nicolas Brothers) were always exciting and talented. Any movie benefitted by having them in it. I’ve loved them since I was a kid!
He and his brother make it look effortless. You can see the other guy in the scene watching with amazment. He wasnt acting he was just gobsmacked. The nicholas brothers are not only in their own league they are are on theor own planet
I just realized recently that he played Sarge in the movie The 5 Heartbeats, and that's only because I saw him in the movie Taps during the challenge with all the legendary tap dancers, and he did the jump and split move. When he did it a light went off in my head and I actually yelled "OH SHIT! HE'S ONE OF THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS!" 🤣
This is exactly how it dawned on me! And when I watched that scene in Taps, I said, "Damn, he killing everybody..wait a min..the flashy style, the athleticism..that's a Nicholas Bro!" All these years and I just made the connection!.
The incredible use of surrounding objects (especially the ladder) turns this brilliant dancing into an early form of parkour. I hope he and his brother enjoyed the same zest for life off-stage that they demonstrated when the music started. In a more racially open era, they'd have shone in the same big spotlight as Astaire and Kelly.
It’s really difficult to think of a superlative that would do justice to Harold and also Fayard.... it’s as if they could do things that normal humans couldn’t. Just outstanding. I believe they were self taught?..which other dancer/s would even be in the same ballpark?
@@Lightningslick He did a wonderful version of 'I Double Dare You' as a young teenager, but I've only heard it once. Have never been able to find it again.
Nicholas Brothers seriam os melhores sapateadores do mundo? Emoção ver e ouvir um deles interpretar (e muito bem) uma música brasileira famosa na interpretação de Carmen Miranda.
Even Fred Astaire said that the Nicholas brothers are the best tap dancers that he have ever seen and he even commented they’re better than him and that day was his inspiration in learning how to tap dance, that is a a historical fact. There’s no one today 2023 back in tap dance as a genius and smoothness is the Nicholas brothers even Gregory Hines said they are the best and he was fantastic. Even Gene Kelly say that they are phenomenal.
Black tap dancer John William Sublett (stage name John W. Bubbles) taught Astaire to tap dance in 1920. Harold Nicholas was born in 1921, so I don't think he inspired Fred Astaire to learn to tap dance, though he certainly admired the brothers. He told the Nicholas Brothers that the "Jumpin' Jive" dance sequence they did in "Stormy Weather" was "the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen".
Thank you so much for posting this rare clip of one of the greatest dancers ever. Harold is without his brother Fayard here, but this is the best in entertainment. The film was "Reckless Age," and Harold Nicholas was apparently uncredited. I saw this at a tribute to the Nicholas Brothers around 2001 and remembered the ladder jump very well.
No! He did NOT do what I just saw him do!( Back flip off the top of a ten foot ladder onto the solid hard floor with perfect form like Olympic gymnastics 😲😳😦😮😧😲 Unbelievable! Otherworldly!💫✨
"Stormy Weather" Dance makes me go numb to watch... Its just too perfect for humans to actually do or something. One guy is great too, sure. but the 2 "Brothers" stuff is even more vivid
According to a tribute, Fayard was drafted for a short period into the army and assigned to an all black unit doing laundry. Harold and Fayard toured with Bob Hope during the Vietnam War. There are a couple of clips. Just search Nicholas Brothers and Bob Hope.
Who was the woman, watching intently whilst Harold was singing "I love you" and dancing etc? Not something I'd expect from a Hollywood Film of the mid-1940's. The Nicholas brothers were normally included in films that were carefully crafted so that their scenes were "stand alone" and could be removed (edited out) to be played in front of some of the white cinema audiences in the southern States of the USA. Very rare that they would appear with white people in this way, especially with what looks like a white woman. I always thought that both Harold and Fayard as individuals were better dancers than Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. As a duo the Nicholas Brothers were peerless.
The spectator is Gloria Jean, who was often teamed with Donald O'Connor in 1940s musicals. Like Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge and Hazel Scott, the Nicholases were light-complected. By the unwritten rules of the time (and when WW2 was loosening things up) Hollywood found it easier to integrate them into scenes with whites, though it was not until 1948 that the Brothers danced with one: Gene Kelly in 'The Pirate'.
Too bad the Nicholas brothers was born during the Jim Crow era had to have been alive in young today. As we see in this video, the shy will be the limit.
There is a story that Fayard's ex wife told about Harold having something very racist done to him by a white star. The man was going to rub his head "for luck". Harold told him you may be white,but I'm talented. Don't ever treat me less than than a man. The white star said they would make Sammy Davis, Jr a star and make sure the Nicholas Brothers didn't work. Harold told him, fine. I can work in the world, there's always the world. I don't know for sure, but this may be why Sammy Davis, Jr became a star at that time and the Nicholas Brothers, who were far more talented, were not promoted.
Wow every time I see a new video of these legendary brothers they blow me away every time.
One of the most talented performers ever. Sing, dance, clown and better at any of it than anyone else ever. The business brain and choreographer was Fayard. Together they were the greatest dancers and entertainers of all time. No-one else comes close.
The greatest tap dancer ever, him and his brother. I was so glad to run across this .
These two brothers are undanced still today . Fred Astaire recognized their talent in “Stormy Weather “, he said it would never be repeated .
They are eternally unmatched ❤️
Thank you for allowing a look into the Past. Real Artist they were. I cannot think of anyone that would compare in this time.
What A Star and Stupendous Talented Human Being........
I was very happy to see the tap master Harold Nicholas singing a Brazilian song in Brazilian-Portuguese immortalized in the voice of our Carmem Miranda. With a thick accent more fully understandable. It seems to me that at this time his brother Fayard was serving in the military and for a short period he was solo. R.I.P both ...
That's correct. They had a successful run in 1939 at the Casino de Urca in Brazil and learned several songs in Portuguese while there. It was due to this that they were cast in Down Argentine Way. Harold worked as a solo artist from 1943 to 1944 while Fayard was in the army. I hope you'll keep an eye out for my book on the Nicholas Brothers coming out from Kentucky Press in 2024/25.
@@paulabroussard1824 Dear Paula Broussard I will be waiting to enjoy your book the Nicholas Brothers here in Brazil. I wish you much success on your literary journey. And sorry for my bad English. Greetings.
Amazing...singing in portuguese. Incredible talent.
One of the greatest dancers to ever live.
Not a single person today can do what Harold and Fayard did. They are legends.
INDEED ICON
Great
So true.
Sorry but in this particular video they're just trying and failing miserably to imitate Carmem Miranda, SHE IS THE REAL LEGEND HERE
Big facts
Hands down the best in the world. These brothers had so much class. And it looks like Harold could stand on his own.
Excellent!
Sammy Davis Jr Fred Astaire Gene Kelly and anyone else can FALL BACK these Nicholas bros especially Harold (the younger) were PHENOMENAL
WOW! What a joy to see him at a young age. He was a handsome talented singer and tap dancer. This was my first time seeing this footage. I hope I can find some more footage of him and his brother at this young age. CLASSIC FOOTAGE!!!
2019 😊😜😄😘😍😄
Watch this playlist: czcams.com/video/J5voNfa7v90/video.html
Dancing to Stormy Weather. The greatest dance ever capttured on film.
I always do this when I'm selling a piano. It works evry time. Love the Nicholas Brothers. That move off the wall Harold did in Kalermazoo was inhuman.
Everyone including me forgets what great singers they were too
When folks were talented for real
Yes, Harold had a long singing career in Europe when he recorded many records and appeared on television there.
Accipicchia!! Che talento, che senso del ritmo, che leggerezza! Non conoscevo questo artista lo trovo FANTASTICO
Just one more example of an unsung entertainer because of the shortsighted viewpoint of the entertainment business.
These guys( the Nicolas Brothers) were always exciting and talented. Any movie benefitted by having them in it. I’ve loved them since I was a kid!
Unbelievable! Go Harold!
jeez, his performance singing a brazilian song is amazing!
He and his brother make it look effortless. You can see the other guy in the scene watching with amazment. He wasnt acting he was just gobsmacked. The nicholas brothers are not only in their own league they are are on theor own planet
Absolutely insane. I am awestruck.
I can't believe how effortlessly he makes those leaps onto the benches, without any run up.
I just realized recently that he played Sarge in the movie The 5 Heartbeats, and that's only because I saw him in the movie Taps during the challenge with all the legendary tap dancers, and he did the jump and split move. When he did it a light went off in my head and I actually yelled "OH SHIT! HE'S ONE OF THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS!" 🤣
This is exactly how it dawned on me! And when I watched that scene in Taps, I said, "Damn, he killing everybody..wait a min..the flashy style, the athleticism..that's a Nicholas Bro!" All these years and I just made the connection!.
awesome. So amazing.
The incredible use of surrounding objects (especially the ladder) turns this brilliant dancing into an early form of parkour. I hope he and his brother enjoyed the same zest for life off-stage that they demonstrated when the music started. In a more racially open era, they'd have shone in the same big spotlight as Astaire and Kelly.
smh.. just never gets old
It’s really difficult to think of a superlative that would do justice to Harold and also Fayard.... it’s as if they could do things that normal humans couldn’t. Just outstanding. I believe they were self taught?..which other dancer/s would even be in the same ballpark?
Amazing dancing and acrobatic moves, they were sensational.
The all times greatest tap dancer also really knew how to sing
He sang Harold Arlen's and Johnny Mercer's original "Come Rain or Come Shine" in "St. Louis Woman".
@@Lightningslick He did a wonderful version of 'I Double Dare You' as a young teenager, but I've only heard it once. Have never been able to find it again.
What talent and athleticism
Nicholas Brothers seriam os melhores sapateadores do mundo? Emoção ver e ouvir um deles interpretar (e muito bem) uma música brasileira famosa na interpretação de Carmen Miranda.
I love old movies thanks for posting this clip!!!
They are the best!😎✌
SUPER GÉNIAL .....😚😘😙😍
Man! These guys were unparelled performers: legends indeed.
This is amazing
That ladder stunt at the end..... WOWWWW
Absolutely amazing
Even without his Brother Harold Nicholas got moves
love this man from the five heart beats he really great
Amazing 😍😍😍
Even Fred Astaire said that the Nicholas brothers are the best tap dancers that he have ever seen and he even commented they’re better than him and that day was his inspiration in learning how to tap dance, that is a a historical fact. There’s no one today 2023 back in tap dance as a genius and smoothness is the Nicholas brothers even Gregory Hines said they are the best and he was fantastic. Even Gene Kelly say that they are phenomenal.
Black tap dancer John William Sublett (stage name John W. Bubbles) taught Astaire to tap dance in 1920. Harold Nicholas was born in 1921, so I don't think he inspired Fred Astaire to learn to tap dance, though he certainly admired the brothers. He told the Nicholas Brothers that the "Jumpin' Jive" dance sequence they did in "Stormy Weather" was "the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen".
He’s fantastic!
Braaaviszimo waaaaw😮😮💯
I just cross reference the Nicolas Brothers, from the film the Five Heartbearts... Waching him dance, it was nearly the same 60yrs later.
R.I.P...
Thank you so much for posting this rare clip of one of the greatest dancers ever. Harold is without his brother Fayard here, but this is the best in entertainment. The film was "Reckless Age," and Harold Nicholas was apparently uncredited. I saw this at a tribute to the Nicholas Brothers around 2001 and remembered the ladder jump very well.
I noticed that when there was a single brother in the movies, they always got Harold. What was wrong with Fayard?
Harold also did a single act in Carolina Blues, a part of which is on CZcams. Fayard was serving his country in the Army from 1943 to 1944.
Ah! Excellent reason. Thank you.
prchristman was he little Seymour in that Bill Cosby movie?
No ... this is some time to bring up Bill Cosby!
No! He did NOT do what I just saw him do!( Back flip off the top of a ten foot ladder onto the solid hard floor with perfect form like Olympic gymnastics 😲😳😦😮😧😲 Unbelievable! Otherworldly!💫✨
Icon
I tried doing some of these moves, but I got me a little hitch in my git along, so....
dayum, what a finish!
I'm in AWE❤
Light applause for a guy doing a back flip and splits like, "hey, no big deal." Just get back to work now. LOL
Dats INSANE! Can sing, tapDance, athletic, acrobatic. Dats INSANE!
sings in Portuguese better than me, I'm a native
WOW!!!
...gravity defying. Wow.
cool as hell
"Stormy Weather" Dance makes me go numb to watch... Its just too perfect for humans to actually do or something. One guy is great too, sure. but the 2 "Brothers" stuff is even more vivid
Back flip off the 10 foot ladder..umm...can we do a risk assessment? No need.
There ought to be statues of them somewhere
any chance to upload the whole movie ?
Nicholas brothers...God's of the floor!
Let me just add this scene was done in one take.
Actually, not this number. It was done over a six hour period. But magnificent, nevertheless.
Backflip off the top of a ladder? What? What??
Quisiera bailar como ellos
Edá é é ninja!
What movie is this from?
can anyone tell me what movie this clip is from?
"Reckless Age"
Wow!!
carmen miranda, brasil
Whay is the story behind his brother's absence?
At this time, Fayard had been drafted (Harold was too short), and was serving in special services, performing for other armed services members
@@Whattheeyehears Are there any extant videos of Fayard performing at that time?
According to a tribute, Fayard was drafted for a short period into the army and assigned to an all black unit doing laundry.
Harold and Fayard toured with Bob Hope during the Vietnam War. There are a couple of clips. Just search Nicholas Brothers and Bob Hope.
He makes Fred Astaire look arthritic.
I have this rare movie,Harold Nicholas is great but badly filmed,ciaooo
portugues music brazilian
Who was the woman, watching intently whilst Harold was singing "I love you" and dancing etc? Not something I'd expect from a Hollywood Film of the mid-1940's. The Nicholas brothers were normally included in films that were carefully crafted so that their scenes were "stand alone" and could be removed (edited out) to be played in front of some of the white cinema audiences in the southern States of the USA. Very rare that they would appear with white people in this way, especially with what looks like a white woman. I always thought that both Harold and Fayard as individuals were better dancers than Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. As a duo the Nicholas Brothers were peerless.
The woman is Gloria Jean.
The spectator is Gloria Jean, who was often teamed with Donald O'Connor in 1940s musicals.
Like Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge and Hazel Scott, the Nicholases were light-complected. By the unwritten rules of the time (and when WW2 was loosening things up) Hollywood found it easier to integrate them into scenes with whites, though it was not until 1948 that the Brothers danced with one: Gene Kelly in 'The Pirate'.
I think this was made in France. Or if he made this in America, I don't think it ever aired in the 1940s.
Olha só!!! Ma ma ma mamãe eu quero!!!
Wow! ! A bit where Haarold doesn't dance, but sings a song: Da Shoo Pet Ah, that I remember Jerry Lewis singing to different tune. Hm.
Fredda who
Too bad the Nicholas brothers was born during the Jim Crow era had to have been alive in young today. As we see in this video, the shy will be the limit.
There is a story that Fayard's ex wife told about Harold having something very racist done to him by a white star. The man was going to rub his head "for luck". Harold told him you may be white,but I'm talented. Don't ever treat me less than than a man. The white star said they would make Sammy Davis, Jr a star and make sure the Nicholas Brothers didn't work. Harold told him, fine. I can work in the world, there's always the world. I don't know for sure, but this may be why Sammy Davis, Jr became a star at that time and the Nicholas Brothers, who were far more talented, were not promoted.