Marie Bryant

Marie Bryant (November 6, 1919 – May 23, 1978) was an American dancer, singer, and choreographer whose vibrant stage presence made her one of the most celebrated Black performers of the mid‑20th century. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, she moved with her family to New Orleans as a child and began impersonating Josephine Baker in church at the age of ten, hints of her future brilliance already evident. After a teenage apprenticeship under teacher Mary Bruce, she debuted professionally with Louis Armstrong at Chicago’s Grand Terrace Café in 1934, quickly becoming a regular in floor shows and later performing with Lionel Hampton in Los Angeles and Duke Ellington at New York’s Cotton Club. By 1939 she was a featured attraction at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, touring nationally with Ellington and starring in his 1941 revue Jump For Joy, where the hit number “Bli Blip” showcased her dynamic blend of dance and vocal talent. Her film career began with a leading role in the movie Carolina Blues (1944) and a memorable appearance in the short Jammin’ the Blues the same year, accompanied by Lester Young and Barney Kessel. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s she appeared in productions such as They Live by Night (1948) and Wabash Avenue (1950), while also teaching at the Katherine Dunham and Eugene Loring schools, where she instructed future stars including Marlon Brando, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse, Betty Grable, and Ava Gardner. Kelly famously called her “one of the finest dancers I’ve ever seen in my life.” In the early 1950s she toured with the Harlem Blackbirds, married company manager John A. Rajakumar, and performed internationally in London’s High Spirits and across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, even delivering a satirical anti‑apartheid calypso that stirred controversy during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. After Rajakumar’s death in 1965, Bryant opened the Marie Bryant Dance Studios in the 1970s, served as Pearl Bailey’s understudy in Hello, Dolly!, and continued choreographing for major studios in Los Angeles and Las Vegas until her death from cancer in 1978 at age fifty‑eight.