Frankie Manning was one of the great dancers – and great characters – in New York City history. As a teenager, Manning started dancing in the best venues in Harlem, including the legendary Savoy Ballroom. He became a member of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, the energetic, immensely talented group that made the dance a national phenomenon.
Frankie’s performances were captured on film in a number of Hollywood movies. His dance sequence in “Hellzapoppin” is still considered the great swing dance number of all time (he’s the one in the overalls):
Frankie never stopped dancing. On May 21, THIRTEEN will air a tribute to Manning with a special documentary premiering Thursday, May 21st at 10:30pm after his recent passing on April 27, 2009 at the age of 94. Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging will explore Manning’s life from a teenager in Harlem to a worldwide icon of swing dance.
You can watch the entire documentary online at SundayArts.
The documentary features the last major interview of Frankie Manning before his death, as well as precious archival footage of his dancing from the 1930s to 2009 in New York, Hollywood, Sweden, France, Italy and Singapore. Footage highlights include scenes of Manning’s birthday parties, where he danced with one woman for each year he’d been alive; the legendary dance scene from “Hellzapoppin”; and a phenomenal duet with his 76-year-old son, Chazz, himself a professional dancer.
See a preview of the documentary:
Other appearances by Manning on PBS:
Ken Burn’s Jazz
Manning was one of only two dancers interviewed for this history of jazz. You can read more about him or see the full transcript of his interview (pdf).NewsHour
In 1998, Manning was interviewed as part of a story on the swing revival.Great Performances
Manning was a featured dancer in GP’s “Swingin’ With Duke“, a tribute to Duke Ellington.
Frankie Manning’s legacy will live on in the teachings he’s passed to his students as myself and all swing dancers thougout the world. I had the pleasure of having him as my mentor. I am looking forward to seeing this documentary!
Frankie was bigger than life. When he passed, he took a big chunk of the Earth with him, and it seems the planet fell off it’s axis for a moment. He left us too soon, but we shall honor him by sharing with others what we learned from him.
I am proud to say Frankie considered me his friend and I am a better person for knowing him.
Frankie was and only will be our inspiration. He was our mentor and our hero. The world was a better place because of him.
Any chance that we can see that documentary in Canada?
We are looking forward to seeing The Master Swing Dancer glide once more — THANK YOU for spotlighting him once more and sharing!
The documentary will be online after broadcast, streaming on our website. You can view it from Canada that way. thanks!
When will the Frankie Manning documentary be available for purchase?
I can’t wait to see the documentary!
I was there for his 86th birthday in Japan. He definitely knew how to live and enjoy life. I can only hope that I’m dancing with my partner as long as he did. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere, but can anyone post the link to the rebroadcast?
you can watch the whole documentary online at sundayarts, here: http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/frankie-manning-never-stop-swinging/291
I still can’t believe he’s gone. We felt like he’d be living and dancing forever.