18 Facts About Mable Lee

Mable Lee, sometimes spelled Mabel Lee, was an American jazz tap dancer, singer, and entertainer.

Mable Lee moved to New York City with her mother in 1940 to pursue a career as a singer and dancer, and soon joined the chorus of the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

Mable Lee did acrobatics performed with a chair, which she referred to as her novelty.

Mable Lee auditioned and was chosen to perform at the West End Theatre.

Mable Lee got married in London, but the marriage did not last long.

Mable Lee traveled and did shows for the Navy, Air Force, and at different camps.

Mable Lee performed for wounded veterans after the war in hospitals and did a show at Leavenworth.

Mable Lee was known for her dancing in more than 100 soundies in the 1940s.

Mable Lee was featured on the cover of the March 1947 issue of Ebony.

Mable Lee came back from Europe in 1950 and moved back to Atlanta, where she met her husband.

Mable Lee played theaters and nightclubs in Atlanta again, but this time she was doing her own act.

Mable Lee appeared on Broadway in multiple productions, including the 1952 revival of the musical Shuffle Along.

Mable Lee traveled to raise money for the show and was a part of raising between $500,000 and $600,000.

Mable Lee danced in The Hoofers and Bubbling Brown Sugar.

Mable Lee did choreography throughout her career including for the Soundies, though she did not receive credit for it.

Mable Lee was the 2004 winner of the Flo-Bert Award which honors "outstanding figures in the field of tap dance", and a 2008 Inductee into the Tap Dance Hall of Fame.

Mable Lee kept creating so long because she was so curious and other people fostered that.

Mable Lee died on February 7,2019, at the age of 97 at a nursing home in Manhattan.