D. Ray White

D. Ray White
Born	Donald Ray White
Other names	"D Ray White"
Occupation	Mountain Dancer, Entertainer
Years active	1940's –1980's
Spouse	Bertie Mae White

D. Ray White, (born April 17, 1927-July 2, 1985), was a American mountain dancer and entertainer, and the patriarch of the White family. He has been featured in several American documentary films that detail the White family, and the Hank Williams III song "The Legend of D. Ray White." His style was a subtle mix of tap and clog dancing that is native to the Appalachian Mountains and Appalachia. D. Ray rose to regional stardom before his murder in 1985 and became known as one of the greatest mountain dancers of his time.^[1] His son, Jesco White, or "The Dancing Outlaw," who has also been the subject of several documentaries, has carried on his style and continues to perform.

In Media

D. Ray was profiled as a famous mountain dancer on a PBS special titled Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance - Flatfoot, Buck and Tap.,^[1] and has been referenced in "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia",^[2] the 1991 PBS Special film The Dancing Outlaw which chronicled son Jesco's abilities as a mountain dancer, the 2009 film It Came from Trafalgar, and the 2009 docudrama White Lightnin' was inspired by both D. Ray and Jesco. He is also the subject of the Hank Williams III song The Legend of D. Ray White.

Death

Steve Allen Rowe, 30, also of Prenter, located in Boone County, West Virgina, home of the White family, shot D. Ray and sons Jesco and Dorsey White with a 12-gauge shotgun outside D. Ray's home on July 2, 1985, stemming from an argument between White and his sons and Rowe. Jesco and Dorsey were injured, and D. Ray was killed by a shotgun wound to the chest.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance - Flatfoot, Buck and Tap documentary film by Mike Seeger and others, 1 hour and 27 minutes, color, Smithsonian Folkways, Smithsonian Institution 3/4 tape (1987); DVD region 1 (U.S. and Canada only) (April 24, 2007)
2. ^ The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, a documentary film directed by Julien Nitzberg, 2009
3. ^ http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/4675760570_1fbd0b9ac9.jpg

External links

• The Murder of D Ray White
• Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance: Buck, Flatfoot and Tap
• Mike Seeger and Ruth Pershing, Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance of the Appalachian, Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountain Regions, North Atlantic Books (January 29, 1993), paperback: 152 pages ISBN 978-1556430800
• Official website of The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
• Order the "Dancing Outlaw" DVDs
• Official website for the Community of Bandytown, West Virgnia

Persondata
Name
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Short description
Date of birth	April 17, 1927
Place of birth
Date of death	January 1, 1985
Place of death