Clarence Landry, 89; Tap Dancer a Member of the High Hatters
Clarence “Frenchie” Landry, 89, who as a member of the fast-tapping High Hatters danced with the Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Freddie Martin bands and also appeared in the 1942 film “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” with Abbott & Costello and Ella Fitzgerald, died of natural causes Nov. 14 in Santa Monica.
Landry and his partners, Vernon Bradley and Eudell Johnson, also appeared at the Cocoanut Grove and many other venues in California.
In addition, Landry was featured in “Jump for Joy,” a Los Angeles revue starring Ellington, and appeared on television and in commercials and videos.
He was a native of Texas.
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