Bobby Short Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family
Robert Waltrip "Bobby" Short (September 15, 1924 – March 21, 2005) was an American cabaret singer and pianist, best known for his interpretations of songs by popular composers of the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Noël Coward and George and Ira Gershwin.He also championed African-American composers of the same period such as Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, presenting their work not in a polemical way, but as simply the obvious equal of that of their white contemporaries.His dedication to his great love – what he called the "Great American Song" – left him equally adept at performing the witty lyrics of Bessie Smith's "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer)" or Gershwin and Duke's "I Can't Get Started." Short stated his favorite songwriters were Ellington, Arlen and Kern, and he was instrumental in spearheading the construction of the Ellington Memorial in New York City.
Full Name
Bobby Short
Net Worth
$1.9 Million
Date Of Birth
September 15, 1924
Died
March 21, 2005, New York City, New York, United States
Place Of Birth
Danville, Illinois, USA
Occupation
Vocalist, pianist
Profession
Actor, Singer, Jazz Pianist
Nationality
American
Children
Ronald Bell
Siblings
Reginald Short
Nicknames
Bobby Short, Short, Bobby
IMDB
Nominations
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Movies
Man of the Century, For Love or Money, Blue Ice, Savages, You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story, Bobby Short at the Cafe Carlyle
Star Sign
Virgo
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Quote
1
I go back to what I heard Marian Anderson say once: 'First a song has to be beautiful.' However 'beautiful' covers a wide range of things. I have to admire a song's structure and what it's about. But I also have to determine how I can transfer my affection for a song to an audience. I have to decide whether I can put it across.
2
I was a black performer seated at the piano singing songs from Broadway shows. There were no dos and don'ts. I had the freedom to be myself.
3
A young man told me, 'How dare you insult your race by not singing the blues?' I still get feedback about that. I'm a 76-year-old black man living in a white society; I've gone through the medley. I'd like to think my legacy included having done something positive to help eliminate the problems between races. I never let racism into the core of me.
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Fact
1
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 511-513. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
2
Touring in vaudeville from the age of 12 he was billed as the 'miniature king of swing'. As an adult he described himself as a saloon pianist.
3
In the 1950s, Cole Porter heard Short play his work, and - although badly crippled - made his way across the room at the Carlyle to thank him personally. On the 100th anniversary of Porter's birth, the family presented Short with their 'You're the Top Award' for his outstanding contributions to the composer's legend.
4
Born 9th of 10 children
5
Wrote two memoirs, "Black and White Baby" (1971) and "Bobby Short: The Life and Times of a Saloon Singer" (1995).
6
Performed at the White House for decades, entertaining the Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Clinton administrations.
