15 Facts About Eddie Leonard

Eddie Leonard, born Lemuel Gordon Toney, was a vaudevillian and a man considered the greatest American minstrel of his day, at a time when minstrel shows were an acceptable and popular mainstream entertainment in the United States.

Eddie Leonard was called "last of the great minstrels" in his 1941 obituary in Time.

Eddie Leonard performed in vaudeville for 45 years before that medium faded in the 1920s, and was known for such songs as "Ida, Sweet As Apple Cider" and "Roly Boly Eyes".

Eddie Leonard published his memoir titled What a Life I'm Telling You in 1934.

Eddie Leonard then took up the stage name Eddie Leonard.

Eddie Leonard worked as a water boy at Tredegar Iron Works in Belle Isle.

Eddie Leonard was unsuccessful, but danced and sang for the players in the clubhouse, and George H Primrose discovered him.

Eddie Leonard would find his way to New York City, and was hired in the show McFadden's Flats'.

In 1903, Eddie Leonard danced and sang the song "Don't Do Nothin' for Nobody That Won't Do Nothin' For You" with Primrose and Decker.

Eddie Leonard became known for a ragtime song style that Leonard called "syncopated syllabication" and a "soft shoe" dance.

Eddie Leonard appeared in the musical comedies, The Southerners and Lifting the Lid.

Eddie Leonard performed with his wife Mabel Russell in vaudeville acts.

In 1929, Eddie Leonard starred in the movie production Melody Lane and he appeared in several other movies.

Eddie Leonard was found dead on July 29,1941, at the Imperial Hotel.

Eddie Leonard was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Queens, New York.