Deanie Gordon(1915-2010)
- Actress
Deani Gordon, was the most charming and vivacious of the Harlem
chorines and dancers of the Golden Era of Harlem. With her beauty,
charm, and talent, she became one of the most popular dancers, dancing
in just about every popular Harlem nightclub, including the Cotton
Club, Apollo, The Mimo Club, and others, and she frequently was
photographed and written about in the leading black newspapers of the
day. She worked with legends like Duke Ellington,
Joe Louis, Louis Armstrong, W.C. Handy, Ella Fitzgerald, Sugar Ray
Robinson, and others. Deani also appeared in films on both the east and
west coast. In Hollywood, she appeared in a few Hollywood movies that
included African American musical numbers, one of the most well-known
is in "Artists & Models" in the number "Public Melody Number 1" with
Louis Armstrong and Martha Raye. She also appeared in the soundies,
music videos of the 1940's, Deani appeared dancing and just looking
pretty in soundies with Bill Bojangles Robinson and The Charioteers.
Deani left show business in the mid 1940's.