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Dora Cole Norman
Dora Cole Norman (1888 – 1939) was an African-American educator, dancer, theater producer, playwright and sportswoman. As a young woman she played basketball for one of the first African-American women's basketball teams, the New York Girls (basketball team), New York Girls. She taught for the New York Public School System and was the founder-director of the Colored Players Guild at the Harlem YWCA. She collaborated with W. E. B. Dubois on the 1913 production of his historical pageant ''The Star of Ethiopia'', and gave Paul Robeson his first acting roles in the early 1920s. Life Dora Cole was the daughter of Robert Allen Cole Sr., a carpenter, and Isabella Thomas Weldon, an African-American couple who had settled in Athens, Georgia after emancipation and later moved to Atlanta. Her eldest brother was Bob Cole (composer), Bob Cole, the leading figure in black musical theatre, and all the family were given some musical education. She attended Wadleigh High School for Girls. By 190 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Cole (composer)
Robert Allen Cole Jr. (July 1, 1868 – August 2, 1911) was an American composer, actor, and playwright who produced and directed stage shows. In collaboration with Billy Johnson, he wrote and produced '' A Trip to Coontown'' (1898), the first musical entirely created and owned by black showmen. The popular song '' La Hoola Boola'' (1898) was a result of their collaboration. Cole later partnered with brothers J. Rosamond Johnson, a pianist and singer, and James Weldon Johnson, a pianist, guitarist and lawyer, creating more than 200 songs. Their vaudeville act featured classical piano pieces and their musicals featured sophisticated lyrics without the usual stereotypes such as "hot-mamas" and watermelons. Success enabled Cole and Rosamond to tour America and Europe with their act. The trio's most popular songs were " Louisiana Lize" and " Under the Bamboo Tree" (1901?). Their more successful musicals were '' The Shoo-Fly Regiment'' (1906) and '' The Red Moon'' (1908, written wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
