Tommie
Hlaking' Good
UNTIL
я
year ngo he
ил*
an
uvernll-eliit! boy on a Ynsli
( oiinly farm: loilay he i* liv¬
ing In !4’eu' York and I* being
(rained by some of (he motif
e\|*er( ln*(rue(or* in (ha(
H(y.
А Г
BAR AGO. Tom mi» Raker
lived <m ■ farm on Sandy
Cro», near Xedmlle. and
■ ml around elad mo.ll* in overall».
II. had -Worn born beyond lb. limit,
of Xaah and Fdgerombe countim.
Today Tommie i. living in Xew
York, lie i. receiving init ruction»
in dancing and dramatic* from aomc
of the l«M teacher. in the country,
be ha. obtained audition, from
MOM. RKO, Warner Brother. and
other., he hat danced at the famoua
Cotton Club in
XV»
York and everv-
body
«Ьо
ba. teen bin baa made m-
Anyway,
"r^i
• to Xath
Ho wa.
i a t •!
у
ire-
Year brforr
«'.rent*
younm..
■ re m f d
prated. Year before
la.t bo took Tommie
to Italciffh where be
put on a «pedal dance
at the Preuidenl’a Hall
in Memorial Audito¬
rium. The
»юу
cre¬
ated a big mutation.
He al*o a pile* red at
o®r of the Shrine dance.
Bill Kobinton, the famoua dancer, and Tommie
Baker as they appeared at the Cotton Club, New
York, laat winter.
at Xew
Ilia mother died
nd be wai reared
r— Hit father U a fanner
and alto run. a tilling nation. Keen
before Tommie »at three year» old
he .bowed a remarkable aptitude for
dancing. For tevrral year, he hat
been participating in amateur .how»
at .chool. ami other place, in Xa.h
County and in practically every in-
•In nr* he ha. walked off with lint
prire.
DiKorered by Billy Burke
Somebody told BiUy Burke about
the lad. Billy it a trailing man
and hat been ■orkin* Xorth Caro¬
lina for a number of run He nted
to plav aitb At G. Field*’ min.treb
and aim
»
the Keith vandeville eir-
ewit. Incidentally, it wa. be wbo
diacoter*d “Amo..- of
Andy (Freeman t^tney.)
I»i; Amo. played in one of Bille
Borke’t m.nttrel drew., and from then
So back to Xew York -rot Billy
md made a wonderful impree- and Tommie. Mr. Burke knew a lady
Bill, alao took him up to Kieh- in the city by the name of Ur. P. II.
at tereral Ste.an an .Jd frwud .d B.eh
mood and London She agreed to help
in tbe work of educatto. and train¬
ing. At the tame time. T-mmi* «at
-e«,-er-i at tbe
(.шеи,
Carlo. Seb».l
of Dancing on Broad- ay. where be
it now taking learont in aerobatic,
ballet, tap and -ft -H- dancing. lie
it ttudying dramatic and »oic* at
Bob liuttenutli’t Miulio. Hit in
ttructor* arc wild about him and pre¬
dict that in a very thorl time be it
going to prove to I* the biggrtt llnd
long
cabaret# and then carried him up
Xew York.
Not .at. tied with hi.
in the matter. Bally look T
-me of the big ttud.o. (n, a,, ai.di
lion, lie wat told that the b.n ha<
unque.tiooable talent and would g<
far if he were given the proper train
ing.
Proper Training
So Mr. Burke determined to te<
that Tommie obtained the proper ^iTba. 'been unearthed
training. He went back to Xa*h
County and talked to Tommie’, father. .
He explained to him that without ,
»
S-‘t no idea 01
training, the voung.te,
соиИ
ne~,
in the boy-
few day* ago.
perron.llty He
_ «be Cotton Cleb -Hh Bill It
which would gite Billy roetrol of tbe ***
ет*г?Ы>^
boy until he reached tbe a,* of f I.
satyMbfe
гегдт гзбх
erly educated. (Confiau'J on plfe suite»)
He
7
