1. Marie Bryant was an American dancer, singer and choreographer, described as "one of the most vivacious black dancers in the United States".
11 Facts About Marie Bryant
1. 2.
Marie Bryant made her professional debut with Louis Armstrong at the Grand Terrace Cafe in Chicago in 1934, and became a regular singer and dancer in the venue's floor shows.
3.
Marie Bryant then performed in Los Angeles with Lionel Hampton, and at the Cotton Club in New York City with Duke Ellington.
4.
Marie Bryant appeared as the head of a dance troupe in the movie Carolina Blues, and sang in the short film Jammin' the Blues, accompanied by Lester Young, Barney Kessel and others.
5.
Marie Bryant worked as a teacher at the dance schools run by Katherine Dunham and Eugene Loring, where she taught actors, including Marlon Brando.
6.
Marie Bryant appeared in the RKO movie They Live by Night, as well as Betty Grable's 20th Century Fox film Wabash Avenue, and toured the US in The Big Show of 1951 with Ethel Waters, Sarah Vaughan and Nat 'King' Cole.
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Marie Bryant worked as a dance coach and choreographer for Paramount, 20th Century Fox, MGM and Columbia, and developed her own dance teaching style which she called "controlled release".
8.
Marie Bryant has appeared in musical shows into the early 1950s.
9.
Marie Bryant returned to the US after Rajakumar became ill; he died in 1965.
10.
Marie Bryant continued to work as a choreographer in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
11.
Marie Bryant died of cancer in Los Angeles in 1978, at the age of 58.