[1] He had typhoid fever when he was 2 years old, and he later said that the disease affected his feet, giving him "the hard bone structure a dancer needs".

[6] In 1933 Long performed in a production of Hot Chocolates,[5] and he was featured at the Cotton Club in Harlem, singing "Brown Boy".

[7] Long performed in a number of Broadway shows, including Porgy and Bess (as Sportin' Life in the 1942 revival), and Beggar's Holiday (1946).

Long, along with Thomas Anderson, Joshie Armstead, Robert Dunn, Jay Van Leer, Esther Rolle, Mabel King, George "Ooppee" McCurn, Frank Carey, Nate Barnett, and Rhetta Hughes, recreated their stage roles in the 1973 film adaptation of the musical.

Long originated the role of John in Bubbling Brown Sugar on Broadway, which opened at the August Wilson Theatre (then-ANTA Playhouse) on March 2, 1976, and closed on December 31, 1977, after 766 performances.