BUCK AND BUBBLES | PARADISE ISLE (ca. 1930) Photo

Np, [ca. 1930]. Vintage original 10 x 8″ (25 x 20 cm.) black-and-white print still photo, near fine.

Buck and Bubbles were an important African American vaudeville act in the early decades of the twentieth century. Ford “Buck” Washington played stride piano and sang, and John Bubbles (a stage name for John Sublett) tap danced. Even Fred Astaire acknowledged Bubble’s mastery of tap, and actually had him give Astaire lessons.

This is a photo from a traveling stage show which the pair performed in the late-20s and early-30s.