Henry "Crip" Heard (November 11, 1924 – September 11, 1991)[1] was an American professional dancer who appeared mostly in Black vaudeville theaters and nightclubs during the late 1940s and 50s.
The film featured performances by black entertainers including Dusty Fletcher, the Berry Brothers, Lucky Millinder, and Una Mae Carlisle.
[3] Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates, for example, had a long career including dancing twice for the King and Queen of England in the 1930s and appearing 19 times on The Ed Sullivan Show during the 1950s and 60s.
A 1955 issue of Jet magazine had a photo of Bates and Heard together, "taking to the air with ease, [tossing] aside their peg and crutch to show their agility during a backstage get-together at the Chicago Theater.
Critical of the minimally rewarding work available via charitable organizations such as Goodwill Industries, Heard wanted to see more training programs in the private sector, saying that, "There are thousands of perfectly healthy people holding down big paying jobs that could be done as well or better by the handicapped.