After 58 Years in the Biz, Hoofer Harold Nicholas Is Still a Tap-Happy Guy

How many dancers who debuted on Broadway back in 1936 are still going strong in musical theater today?

Harold Nicholas, one of the stars of Starlight Musical Theater’s “My One and Only,” just might be the one and only.

“There sure aren’t too many,” said Nicholas, 64, who will appear in the two-week run at the Starlight Bowl starting Wednesday. “Most dancers don’t last long, and I keep asking myself how I did it. But there’s still a couple of old tap dancers around, like the ones I danced with in ‘Black and Blue,’ ” he said of the Broadway hit.

Harold and his brother Fayard, the legendary Nicholas Brothers, tap-danced their way from the famous Cotton Club to Broadway and the silver screen during more than 58 years in show business.

The great George Balanchine discovered them in “The Ziegfield Follies of 1936” and snared the twosome (along with their original tap routines) for Rodgers and Hart’s “Babes in Arms.”

In the late ‘30s and all through the ‘40s, the golden age of Hollywood musicals, the tap-dancing team of Harold and Fayard Nicholas was considered tops, and the old-time hoofers danced up a storm in more than 30 movie musicals. In fact, Harold’s gravity-defying escapades in “Orchestra Wives” was the model for Donald O’Connor’s show-stopping, off-the-wall routine in “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Fayard, the older of the two brothers, has curtailed his dancing considerably in recent years, although he still teams up with his old partner for some soft shoe from time to time.

But Harold, an indomitable hoofer even now that he’s pushing 65, continues his fast-paced, globe-trotting career in show business. And he insists that retirement is out of the question.

“No! Why should I retire? I’m still in good shape. I never really had any injuries or other problems, and I’m not exactly doing my splits anymore. There’s no dancing on stairs or on the walls now,” he said, referring to the acrobatic antics that became his calling card in all those splashy movie musicals.

“I don’t think I can do any of that anymore. We were young in those days, and we were just having fun,” he said, a touch of nostalgia in his voice.

“I travel more now and do more singing than dancing. But I never stopped tap dancing, ever since I started as a boy of about 6 or 7. My brother taught himself to tap dance, and then he taught me. I’ve been dancing ever since.”

Despite the resurgence of tap on dance school curricula, and the accent on tap-trained performers for Broadway shows, Nicholas is not optimistic about a renaissance in this jazz-based style.

“Tap dancing never really left,” he said. “I still keep doing it. But it’s more like a novelty now, and I don’t think it’s ever going to take off like it was. It’s good that they’re looking for tap training on Broadway now, though.”

Dancing the part of Mr. Magix, the tap-happy role created on Broadway by Charles (Honi) Coles), is not a new experience for Nicholas. He pounced on Gershwin’s fascinating rhythms for “My One and Only” in a production for the San Bernardino Civic Light Opera earlier this year. Kirby Ward, who takes on Tommy Tune’s role in the Starlight run, was his tap-dancing co-star there, too.

Nicholas was not due in San Diego to rehearse with the company until a couple of days before its local debut, but that doesn’t worry this seasoned trooper.

“I’ve done it before, so all I need is a little time to refresh myself,” he said. “Two days is enough.”

Bonnie Ward, who shares director/choreographer credits with husband Don for this San Diego premiere, is convinced that Nicholas will dance right into the role without a hitch, even on minimal rehearsal time.

“Harold has danced the role before, and he got a chance to rehearse with Kirby in New York for six to eight hours, doing that wonderful laid-back duet,” she said. “But he could do this part in his sleep. Don and I have admired his work since we were youngsters starting in the business.

“He’s basically an institution in the tap-dance field,” she noted, “and we’re so thrilled to have him here. He’ll get to put a few of his special touches in the role.”

“My One and Only” will keep Nicholas in San Diego through Aug. 13. Then it’s back to a busy solo schedule for the veteran dance man.

But in February, both of the Nicholas Brothers are headed this way for the San Diego Foundation for the Performing Arts’ season finale, “Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance,” a song-and-dance fest that features Cotton Club superstar Cab Calloway, the dapper “Hi-De-Ho” man.

“When I left for Europe, plans still weren’t finalized for the ‘Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance’ show,” said Nicholas, obviously surprised that the news was already out. “You’re telling me something I don’t know yet. But I love coming to San Diego. I’m a big golfer, and you can be sure I’m looking forward to getting out on those links.”