Stump and Stumpy

Stump and Stumpy were a dance/comedy/acting duo popular from the mid 1930s to the 1950s, consisting of James "Stump" Cross and Harold "Stumpy" Cromer. Their act was mostly jazz tap, and comedy expressed through song and movement.

History

On the radio, Cross and Cromer appeared on "The Steve Allen Show", among others. As television grew in popularity, so did their appearances on shows like the "Kate Smith Hour", and the "The Milton Berle Show":

That was a madhouse because everything was live then. It was like, "You sing and dance. Then we'll have some dialogue. When I say this, you say that." …Even if you weren’t ready to end the sketch, the live Texaco commercial would come on and cut you off. That was wild. – Harold "Stumpy" Cromer

Stump and Stumpy’s road to success was a natural one, touring on the 'Black Vaudeville' circuit with the likes of the Nicholas Brothers, Buck and Bubbles, and Duke Ellington. Some of their act was written down, and then improved upon once on stage. The improvisational work was predominantly all from Jimmy Cross, a man that many white comedians would look to in perfecting their own acts, including Mel Brooks and Jerry Lewis. Harold "Stumpy" Cromer would later say that Mel Brooks stole from the act to create Brooks' "The Producers". [http://www.talkinbroadway.com/rialto/past/2001/5_20_01.html, Interview with Harold "Stumpy" Cromer, by Nancy Rosati]

The act eventually moved on to bigger shows, with appearances in Las Vegas, and in shows with Frank Sinatra.

In the 1950s, producer Joe Davis recorded Stump and Stumpy on the Irene Higginbotham penned song "Two Thirds Dead". The song was rewritten by Jimmy Cross to really showcase the team, and adlibbed to absurdity during taping. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=STUMP|AND|STUMPY&sql=11:g991z8ba3yv6~T1, Stump and Stumpy biography by Eugene Chadbourne]

Sammy Davis Jr. mentioned in one of his autobiographies that James (Jimmy) Cross was the real talent, deserving of a place in the limelight.

Dizzy Gillespie's bent horn is often attributed to the comedic duo, cited most often by Jimmy Cross.

Stump and Stumpy would appear in a handful of movies, together or apart, most notable in "This Is the Army" and "Boarding House Blues" (1948).

Manager Nat Nazarro once interrupted Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis during a theater performance, running down the aisle screaming, "You've stolen my act!" [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/oral/rat02.html, "Talented, Black and Blue", cite Lois Badsen, Frontline 1996]

Appearances

*Flatbush Theatre, Brooklyn, New York, Duke Ellington headlining – Nov 28-Dec 4, 1940 [http://www.depanorama.net/dems/04dems2b.htm, On the Road and On the Air with Duke Ellington, New York Post Dec 5, 1940]
*Windsor Theatre, New York, (same as Flatbush show)
*Regal Theatre, Chicago, the Inkspots headlining – Nov 8, 1942 [http://inkspots.ca/ispress.htm, "Chicago Defender" Newspaper, Nov 9, 1942]
*The Strand, Lakewood, New Jersey (?), Billie Holiday headlining – 1948 [New York Times, Jul 17, 1948]

Worked with

*Steve Allen
*Count Basie
*Milton Berle
*Irving Berlin
*Duke Ellington
*Billie Holiday
*Martin and Lewis
*Frank Sinatra

ee also

*imdb name|0189182|James Cross
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g991z8ba3yv6~T1 Stump and Stumpy] All Music guide
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/ Secret Daughter] PBS.org

Notes