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BiographyEarly yearsCab Calloway was born Cabell Calloway III in a middle-class family in Rochester, New York, and raised primarily in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Cabell Calloway II, was a lawyer, and his mother Martha Eulalia Reed was a teacher and church organist. His parents recognized their son's musical talent, and he began private voice lessons in 1922. He continued to study music and voice throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and vocal teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and eventually performing in many of Baltimore's jazz clubs, where he was mentored by drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones.
When the tour ended in Chicago in the fall, Cab decided to remain in Chicago with his sister, who had an established career as a jazz singer in that city. His parents had hopes of their son becoming a lawyer like his father, so Calloway enrolled in Crane College. His main interest, however, was in singing and entertaining, and he spent most of his nights at the Dreamland Cafe and the Sunset Cafe, performing as a drummer, singer and emcee. At the Sunset Cafe he met and performed with Louis Armstrong who taught him to sing in the "scat" style. Success
Unlike many other bands of comparable commercial success, Calloway's gave ample soloing space to its lead members, and, through the varied arrangements of Walter 'Foots' Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest. In 1931, he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song, "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "The Old Man Of The Mountain" were performed for the Betty Boop animated shorts Minnie the Moocher, Snow White and The Old Man of the Mountain, respectively. Through the magic of rotoscoping, Cab not only gave his voice to these cartoons but his dance steps as well. Cab took advantage of this and timed his concerts in some communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention. As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher" he became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man." In 1943 he appeared in the high-profile 20th Century Fox musical film, Stormy Weather. In 1941 Cab Calloway fired Dizzy Gillespie from his Orchestra after an onstage fracas erupted when Calloway was hit with spitballs. He wrongly accused Gillespie, who stabbed Calloway with a surreptitious knife. In 1944, The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive was published, an update of an earlier book in which Cab set about translating jive for fans who might not know, for example, that "kicking the gong around" was a reference to smoking opium. Later yearsIn the 1950s, Calloway moved his family from Long Island, NY, to Greenburgh, NY to raise the three youngest of his five daughters. In his later career, Calloway became a popular personality, appearing in a number of films and stage productions that utilized both his acting and singing talents. In 1952, he played the prominent role of "Sportin' Life" in a production of the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess with William Warfield and Leontyne Price as the title characters. Another notable role was "Yeller" in The Cincinnati Kid (1965), with Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret and Edward G. Robinson. In 1967 Calloway co-starred as Horace Vandergelder in an all-black revival of Hello, Dolly! (even though the original production was still running!) starring Pearl Bailey. This was a major success and led to a cast recording released by RCA. In 1973-1974 he was featured in an unsuccessful Broadway revival of The Pajama Game alongside Hal Linden and Barbara McNair. 1976 saw the release of his autobiography, Of Minnie The Moocher And Me (Crowell). It included his complete Hepsters Dictionary as an appendix. Calloway attracted renewed interest in 1980 when he appeared as a supporting character in the film The Blues Brothers, performing "Minnie The Moocher", and again when he sang "The Jumpin' Jive" with the Two-Headed Monster on Sesame Street. Calloway helped establish the Cab Calloway Museum at Coppin State College (Baltimore, Maryland) in the 1980s and Bill Cosby helped establish a scholarship in Cab Calloway's name at the New School of Social Research New York City. In 1994, a creative and performing arts school Cab Calloway School of the Arts was dedicated in his name in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1986, Calloway appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s WrestleMania 2 as a guest judge for a boxing match between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T that took place Nassau Coliseum and in 1990 made a cameo in Janet Jackson's video for "Alright". In the United Kingdom he also appeard in several commericals for the Hula Hoops snack, both as himself and as a voice for a cartoon (in one of these commericals he sang his hit "Minnie The Moocher"). He also made an appearance at the Apollo Theater. DeathOn November 18 1994, Calloway died after having suffered a major stroke six months previously. In 1998, The Cab Calloway Orchestra (directed by Cab's grandson Christopher Brooks) was formed to "honor" Cab Calloway's legacy on the national and international levels. Stage appearances
Filmography
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