Buster Brown Story To Buster with love By Kurt Albert and Klaus Bleis “Got a stack of magazines about this high I can’t read them and you know why I gotta go tap dancing tonight.” Buster Brown died at Columbus he left for the tap community. St. Peter’s was filled with old and new Presbyterian Hospital in New York City on Buster really loved dancing, especially friends who loved this man. May 7th 2002, ten days before his 89th tap dancing. And through him, the whole birthday. As Heather told us, he went natu- Swing Era came back to life. His swing rally and had a smile on his face. That smile came from deep inside and he really lived it. Baltimore stands for his loving and happy personality He would go out dancing and partying that we all connect with Buster. At the ser- whenever he could, even when he got old. James Richard “Buster” Brown was vice at St. Peters Church where many great That was his life. And he could sing any born on May 17th 1913 in the Brown tap and jazz artists had their service, Jimmy tune that you could think of, and many family’s house on 414 Hamburg Street in Slyde said: “Buster didn’t leave, he left more. Everybody remembers him scatting Baltimore, Maryland. He was the sixth of something for us”. And Gregory Hines got the arrangements of “Fascinating Rhythm” eight children. to the heart of it: When he got into the tap and “Just You” during his tap classes, and The last of his sisters, Ruth Jackson, a business and closer to the circles of tap always ending the classes with “Ballin’ the sweet lady of 86 years and with Buster’s masters, everybody would eventually say Jack”. And he was definitely a “Ladies kindness and positive charisma, told us a some not so nice things about other Man”. One time in Freiburg, asked on stage little about their family life. collegues. But there was one guy who why he got into showbusiness, he looked Ruth: Well, my mother said that when would never do that. That was Buster as we around to the chorus line behind him he was born he was such a little fat boy. And all knew him. A friendly, positive, suppor- saying, “I think it was the girls”. And they then my aunt said: “He’s just like a little ting man who always had a good word for loved him, too. But not only them, every- Buster.” James Richard Brown. But we called the others. And as Gregory said that’s what body did. The auditorium at the service at him Buster. And he kept that name. The mother Mary Brown was born in Brown Sisters (laughs). Alice, Essie and Alberta). They had a six years 1879 as Mary Ella Otho in Calwed County, That was life years ago. We just loved old that could really dance. His name was Maryland. Around 1900 she married dancing. My sisters used to go out Friday Pops Whitman. And that got me interested. I Buster’s father William Brown who worked night to go to dance. They never had any pro- used to see his show, go home, and tear up my as an oyster shucker in Baltimore. The blem getting dancers ’cause guys were laid for basement, trying to do what he was doing. father died young in 1919 when Buster was them. And when the USO times came, they (Albert “Pops” Whitman, 1921 – 1951, son only six years old. So the large Brown always would go to the USO and dance with of Alice Whitman of the Whitman Sisters, family was mostly brought up by his the soldiers and try to entertain them. And toured till 1932 with the Whitman Sisters mother and he was the only male surroun- then they would invite them home and feed Vaudeville Show, and then teamed up with ded by seven sisters. It were Isabel, Mary, them. There were so nice young men. My Louie Williams of the Four Harmony Kings to Lilian, Grace, Sadie, Buster, Ruth and mother always liked to do that ’cause she was build the famous tap and acrobat act Pops Mildred. The family’s income came mostly hoping that wherever my brother was that the and Louie) from the mothers housekeeping for white people would do things like that to him. families and later all the children had to And Buster liked Charleston. In the support the household by taking jobs after twenties, we had Charleston going around. High School – Autumn Follies school. And we both could do the Charleston. We and The Three Aces Ruth: My mother raised us all by her- practiced doing the Charleston, yeah. self practically. And we worked, all of us Years ago, they had carnivals on the Buster went to Frederick Douglass worked all the time, all seven of us. I worked street. And they had the band up on a High School in Baltimore on Calhoun and every day after school and took home my waggon. And the lady came around, said: Baker Street. It was the same school where salary and gave it to my mummy. Buster did “Miss Brown, do you know that Buster is up many later famous musicians and dancers that, too, as long as he was at home. And then there on the thing doing the Charleston up on went through. he was sending money home when he could. the waggon. We were about 14, 15 years old Buster: Noble Sissle, Cab Calloway, And, see, in those days neighbor fami- then. And at that time the Charleston was a Derby Wilson, all those guys were alumni of lies looked after each other. We were just like rage. And I used to like to do it too. I used to Douglass High School. I’m so very proud of one big family. People watched over and made do it all the time. We just liked to dance, the that. sure you didn’t make anything wrong. They whole family. Ruth: See, at that times schools were would tell your mother or they could spank All his life Buster stayed in contact segregated. We only had one school for us. you too. And you go home and get another with his family which always supported him Everybody went there. Buster played basket- spanking. and always was proud of him being a dancer. ball, and the team he played on was called We belong to the same church as when Ruth: We had a big house, on Christ- “The Ramblin’ Horsemen”. And we had a we were babies. And I am the last one in the mas time everybody went home. You know, wonderful music teacher, Mr. Lowell Wilson church. We were Methodists ... Unified Christmas was a big day for us. And when (Eubie Blake’s music teacher). He was a lovely Methodist Church. We all went there as Buster came home, bigger. When Buster came music teacher. He brought everything out of babies. We were all christianized there, every- home, everybody: “Buster’s home, Buster’s you, you know what I mean. body. Buster went to Sunday School every sun- home”. We always looked forward to him. He got friends with his classmate day. And at that time we spent most of the When he came home, we were very happy John Orange, and together with John as his day sundays in church. And these people loved around there. first teacher they learned dancing on the to sing. And in the summertime sunday school Conrad: We called him “the Celebrity” street and in the Brown house’s basement had a picknick down there near the water. Or of the family. He was the celebrity. by exchanging steps with the other kids. we went on the boat. All day long. And we Coming up during the jazz age Buster Here he got one of his biggest influences in danced all day long. We had a band, and we naturally got interested in showbusiness. jazz dance by the later famous Earl were dancing. All the kids were dancing. Then The whole family went, whenever they “Snakehips” Tucker who was an older we would go back to the table to get food for could, to the shows that came through neighbor kid (see Buster’s snakehip moves the band fellows. So they could keep playing town. in Brenda Bufalino’s documentation “Great for us. That was nice. Buster: I started to dance when I star- Feats Of Feet”). The musicality and love for dancing ted to walk. See, all of my family were Ruth: The first act that he had were the was also brought into the family by the dancers, not professionally … We did have a Brown Brothers. Yeah, first it were the two of father William Brown and their uncle. lot of fun home. I had a large family. Seven them. There’s a friend of his from Baltimore. Ruth: My mother had three brothers. sisters, my mother, my daddy, and we were His name was John Orange, and John was One died young, the other one came up to just enjoying our life. My cousin used to come just like a brother. New York and did what Buster did. He was a and play the guitar. (Ruth: His name was Buster: And that’s how I got into show- musician, he played the piano. His name was Carl Wallace) And we just had the family get business. Actually, we were the “Three Aces”, ..