I read somewhere were the two couldn't get along very well for some reason (maybe there's a clue in this documentery)
anyway they both were the same age and contempories,so there may be some interesting parellells in their lives..
Jack Johnson-born March 1878 in Gavelston Texas(died 1946)
Bill Robinson born May 1878 in Richmond Virginia (died 1949)
Re: Jack Johnson vrs Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Posted: 20 Feb 2020, 15:26
by Caractacus
I'm guessing it goes back to the early 1920's at least
when Jack Johnson was released from Leavenworth in 1920 and moved to Harlem New York.
Both already had been in Vaudeville.
Jack Johnson in 1909 when he became HW Champ
and did 5 shows a day at the Hammerstein Victoria on Broadway and a number of other revues later on .
Re: Jack Johnson vrs Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Posted: 21 Feb 2020, 20:27
by margaret thatcher
Maybe Bill spilled the truth to Jack about Jack's massively overinflated reputation
Jack will parry you into oblivion!!
Re: Jack Johnson vrs Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Posted: 22 Feb 2020, 14:24
by Caractacus
says in the documentary that in the 1920's Harlem was Bill Robinson's Town.
"It was his town-He owned the Place" and was made him
the "Unofficial Mayor of Harlem"
and supplied with a special badge and a customized gun and even had the power to arrest people.
Maybe he tried to arrest Jack Johnson for something ( mainly out of envy perhaps).
