19TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL TAP DANCE DAY
HONORING MASTER TAP OCTOGENARIANS: TEX CLYDE,
LARRY HOWARD & GLORIA WHETSTONE

(Fort Worth, TX… 5/13/08)

DATE: SUNDAY/MAY 25, 2008
TIME: 8:00 PM En Plein Air
COST: FREE - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, ALL AGES WELCOME, CONESSIONS AVAILABLE

  Please join us as we celebrate the 19th Annual of National Tap Dance Day as signed into legislation by Pres. George H. W. Bush on November 7, 1989. This year we are honoring Tap Octogenarians Fort Worth’s Living Legends: Olin “Tex Clyde” Eddleman, Larry Howard and North Texas /Louisiana Legend Gloria Whetstone.

  Admission to the Celebration is by donation but everyone is welcome. If you are a Tap dancer and know the Tap Dancer’s National Anthem – the Shim Sham (as created by Dr. Leonard Reed), please feel free to bring your shoes and join in. This year we will be joined by tap dancers from across the Metroplex,

TAP DAY BILL signed into law by Pres. George H. W. Bush on November 7, 1989
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 131 Introduced by John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 53 Introduced by Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY)
TO DESIGNATE MAY 25 AS NATIONAL TAP DANCE DAY

  MAY 25TH was chosen to commemorate the birth of Bill Robinson (May 25th 1878) and his outstanding contribution to the art of tap dancing on both stage and film through the unification of diverse stylistic and racial elements

  Olin “Tex” Clyde Eddleman was born in Weatherford, TX on April 16, 1922. After observing his first tap class at the old South Side Recreation Center, Tex knew he was destined to be an entertainer…at the ripe old age of 7! He began studying dance and circus skills and at the age of 15 began performing with the Fort Worth Community Circus as a wire walker. Tex was trained on the wire by Glyndon Lionel Burns, who was once featured with the great Hagenbeck/Wallace Circus. Tex enlisted in the Air Force at the age of twenty and while in the service wrote, produced, and directed his first full scale musical entitled “IT’S A MILITARY SECRET”. After leaving the service, Tex moved to New York to study and later toured with the Theatre Guild’s original production of “OKLAHOMA” for over two years. While in New York, Tex also taught dance in Harlem. Upon his return to Fort Worth, Tex worked with the Fort Worth Opera Chorus as a singer and dancer. While with the Opera Chorus, Tex performed in “CARMEN” with another Fort Worth entertainment luminary, Margo Dean, as his partner. Tex’s credits also include stints with the Ice Capades as wardrobe master, the DeWayne Brothers Circus, and Disney on Parade… and don’t forget Tex is also an accomplished banjo and ukulele player! In 1985 he formed the Tex’s Tip Top Tappers – a professional Tap Company – co-directed by Gracey Tune.

  Larry Howard born Edward Lawrence Drinkwater in Highland Park,Mich., has tapped and
turned on stages from coast to coast since age 9. Along the way, he added singing and acting to his repertoire. As a teenager, he appeared in the Andy Hardy movie series and on the Dr. Pepper Radio Hour. He was a featured dancer on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jackie Gleason Show and the Colgate Comedy Hour. His Broadway credits include Damn Yankees, Ankles Aweigh, Wish You Were Here, Rumple, The Boy Friend and By the Beautiful Sea. He worked with legendary choreographers and directors Bob Fosse and Gower Champion, and director-producer George Abbott. In1958, Howard turned his sights to
Fort Worth, a city he had not heard of. With in months, they opened a dance studio, and they were onstage when Casa Mañana opened in the summer of 1958. For the next 30 years, they were staples of the North Texas dancing community. Among their students was Broadway star Betty Buckley. The one-time Casa Mañana dancing wizard has to use a walker at times. But he hasn't put away his dancing shoes.

  Gloria Whetstone was born in Shreveport, La March 23, 1927. She began dancing at 5 and opened a studio in her home at age 15 teaching tap, ballet, acrobatics, jazz, theory and exhibition ballroom. She was the Artistic Director of the Shreveport Civic Ballet, the Shreveport Civic Opera and the Assistant choreographer for the Dallas Ballet Theatre. She studied in New York City and California with the greats, including Ernest Carlos, Louis Chalif, Jessie Stone, Ernest Belcher and Henry LaTang. Gloria performed in the Broadway touring companies of “Up in Central Park” and “From Texas to Broadway. In 2003 she received the Mary McLarry Bywaters Award for Lifetime Achievement. She continues to teach every Saturday at Dana’s Dance Academy in Irving, Texas.

For More Information contact: Gracey Tune 817-923-9500