vintagelasvegas:Delcenia Boyd at Moulin Rouge, Las Vegas, May 22, 1955Delcenia (Boyd) Jones and her
vintagelasvegas:Delcenia Boyd at Moulin Rouge, Las Vegas, May 22, 1955Delcenia (Boyd) Jones and her sister Theodora (Boyd) Hartman performed in the Moulin Rouge revue. They were raised in Harlem, performing modern dance and ballet in their school years. They were brought to the Moulin Rouge by Clarence Robinson, choreographer of the Cotton Club on Broadway and the movie Stormy Weather. The Boyd sisters returned to New York after Moulin Rouge. They were recruited again by Clarence Robinson for revival of “Cotton Club Revue” in Miami Beach in ‘57. (Cotton Club Revue also played in Las Vegas at the Royal Nevada in ‘57 – unknown whether the Boyd sisters were in the Las Vegas cast.) Delcenia later returned to school, obtaining BS, MS, and MSW degrees in New York. She married in ‘62, participated in the ‘63 March on Washington, and worked as a teacher. She died in 2019.These photos by Jay Florian Mitchell, with boxer Joe Louis sitting in the background, were used for hotel publicity and distributed to African American newspapers around the country. The misspelling “Dolcenia” appears on one of the photos; Las Vegas Review-Journal published one on 5/12/55 misidentifying her as Theodora. Delcenia Boyd, her maiden name in 1955, has been confirmed by family, and her correct name also appears along with these photos in the Chicago Defender (May ‘55) and on the front page of Los Angeles’ California Eagle, 5/26/55. Photos: Jay Florian Mithcell Photo Collection, Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, and UNLV Special Collections - The African American Experience in Las Vegas. Thanks to Hi De Ho Blog and UNLV Oral History Collection. -- source link