- In the 1950s, Cole Porter heard Short play his work, and - although badly crippled - made his way across the room at the Carlyle to thank him personally. On the 100th anniversary of Porter's birth, the family presented Short with their 'You're the Top Award' for his outstanding contributions to the composer's legend.
- He was a classmate with Dick Van Dyke.
- Close friends included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Gloria Vanderbilt, Jacqueline Kennedy, Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Merv Griffin Stephen Sondheim, and Carroll O'Connor.
- He was instrumental in spearheading the construction of the Ellington Memorial in his beloved New York City.
- Performed at the White House for decades, entertaining the Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Clinton administrations.
- Touring in vaudeville from the age of 12 he was billed as the 'miniature king of swing'. As an adult he described himself as a saloon pianist.
- Wrote two memoirs, "Black and White Baby" (1971) and "Bobby Short: The Life and Times of a Saloon Singer" (1995).
- Born 9th of 10 children
- He was an American cabaret singer and pianist, who interpreted songs by popular composers from the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Richard A. Whiting, Vernon Duke, Noël Coward and George and Ira Gershwin.
- Short also championed African-American composers of the same period such as Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, presenting their work not in a polemical way, but as simply the obvious equal of that of their white contemporaries.
- Bobby Short was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and in 1983 was awarded the Order of Lincoln by the governor of Illinois (the state's highest honor) in the area of performing arts.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 511-513. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
- Born at 10:30pm-CDT
- He was a friend of Tom Jobim and was present during the composer's final days in New York City.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content