- Hal Le Roy at the Internet Broadway Database
- Hal Le Roy at IMDb
- Hal Le Roy at AllMovie
- Steppin' Hal: Book 2, 1933-1946, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Hal Le Roy | |
|---|---|
| Born | John LeRoy Schotte December 10, 1913 |
| Died | May 2, 1985 (aged 71) Hackensack, New Jersey, United States |
| Other names | Hal LeRoy Hal Leroy Harold Teen |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, dancer, singer |
| Years active | 1928–1982 |
| Spouse | Ruth Hedwig Dod |
Hal Le Roy (born John LeRoy Schotte, December 10, 1913 – May 2, 1985) was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer appearing on stage, in film, and on television.
Hal Le Roy was born John LeRoy Schotte in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 10, 1913.[1][2]
Le Roy danced in amateur productions as a youth, spurring his mother to take him to New York where he broke into the theater as a dancer. His dancing teacher, Ned Wayburn, got him his first job, in Hoboken Hoboes in 1928.[2] Le Roy quickly worked his way into Broadway roles, where his tap dance style created a sensation in the 1931 Ziegfeld Follies. On April 12, 1934, he married Ruth Hedwig Dod (March 13, 1911 – July 1, 1979), who had been one of his dance partners.[3]
Le Roy also began doing a series of musical film shorts for Vitaphone and Warner Brothers Pictures. Aside from his work on Broadway and in film, he performed in revues and vaudeville and as a featured entertainer in New York's nightclub scene. He was selected as a feature performer by Bob Hope for Hope's TV Premier appearance. In 1954, Le Roy was cast in the pilot film for the Blondie television series based on the comic strip with Hal Roach, Jr. producing. While his appearance was similar to Arthur Lake, who starred in the long running Columbia movie series, Le Roy's characterization was seen as uneven and awkward. The series was revised three years later and recast, recalling Lake to reprise his original role as Dagwood Bumstead. The series ran for one season on NBC, going to syndicated reruns for a short period afterward.
Le Roy died on May 2, 1985, in Hackensack, New Jersey, of complications following heart surgery.[2] With his wife predeceasing him, he left no descendants and was interred in a private funeral.[2]
In 2021 Le Roy was inducted posthumously into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame.[4]