<P> Bill `` Bojangles '' Robinson ( May 25 , 1878 -- November 25 , 1949 ) was an American tap dancer and actor , the best known and most highly paid African - American entertainer in the first half of the twentieth century . His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology . He started in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville , Broadway , the recording industry , Hollywood , radio , and television . According to dance critic Marshall Stearns , `` Robinson 's contribution to tap dance is exact and specific . He brought it up on its toes , dancing upright and swinging '' , giving tap a `` ... hitherto - unknown lightness and presence . '' His signature routine was the stair dance , in which Robinson would tap up and down a set of stairs in a rhythmically complex sequence of steps , a routine that he unsuccessfully attempted to patent . Robinson is also credited with having introduced a new word , copacetic , into popular culture , via his repeated use of it in vaudeville and radio appearances . </P>
<P> Bill `` Bojangles '' Robinson ( May 25 , 1878 -- November 25 , 1949 ) was an American tap dancer and actor , the best known and most highly paid African - American entertainer in the first half of the twentieth century . His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology . He started in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville , Broadway , the recording industry , Hollywood , radio , and television . According to dance critic Marshall Stearns , `` Robinson 's contribution to tap dance is exact and specific . He brought it up on its toes , dancing upright and swinging '' , giving tap a `` ... hitherto - unknown lightness and presence . '' His signature routine was the stair dance , in which Robinson would tap up and down a set of stairs in a rhythmically complex sequence of steps , a routine that he unsuccessfully attempted to patent . Robinson is also credited with having introduced a new word , copacetic , into popular culture , via his repeated use of it in vaudeville and radio appearances . </P>
what is the real name of mr bojangles
what is the real name of mr bojangles
Bill `` Bojangles '' Robinson
Bill `` Bojangles '' Robinson