Bill Bailey (dancer)

For other uses, see Bill Bailey (disambiguation).

Bill Bailey (December 8, 1912 – December 12, 1978) was an African-American tap dancer. He was the brother of Pearl Bailey. Bill was the first person to be recorded doing the Moonwalk, although he referred to it as the "Backslide", in the film Cabin In the Sky (1943), starring Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Lena Horne. He was trained briefly by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. He was married to Pernell Bailey, and had nine children and many grandchildren.

He also was a patient at the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital in Saranac Lake, New York.

External links

• Bill Bailey performing the "Moonwalk" on YouTube.
• Bill Bailey at the Internet Movie Database