Cholly Atkins

Cholly Atkins
Born	Charles Sylvan Atkinson September 13, 1913(1913-09-13) Pratt City, Alabama, USA
Died	April 19, 2003(2003-04-19) (aged 89) Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Occupation	Choreographer, dancer
Spouse	Maye Atkins (?-2003) Dottie Saulters (1962†) Catherine Atkins (div)

Charles “Cholly” Atkins (13 September 1913 – 19 April 2003) was an American dancer and vaudeville performer, who later became noted as the house choreographer for the various artists on the Motown label.

Biography

Born Charles Sylvan Atkinson, a native of Pratt City, Alabama, Atkins first found fame as one-half of a top vaudeville tap dancing act with partner Charles "Honi" Coles. After working as a freelance choreographer for The Miracles, Atkins was hired by Berry Gordy to work as a Motown choreographer in 1964, and set about developing the routines that would later become the trademark moves of other Motown acts like The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips and others. Atkins would, in fact, continue working with Motown artists well into the 1980s. He choreographed for non-Motown artists as well, namely the dance routines of The Cadillacs in the 1950s, and the Sylvers and The O'Jays during the mid-1970s.

In 1989, Atkins received a Tony Award for choreographing the Broadway show Black and Blue. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2003, Atkins died of the cancer several weeks later on April 19, 2003 Las Vegas, Nevada at 89.

References

• Vance Holmes (2008). "Charles "Cholly" Atkins". American Dance Legends. TheatreDance.com. http://www.theatredance.com/legends/atkins.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
• Douglas Martin (2003-04-23). "Cholly Atkins, 89, Dancer and Choreographer". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD6113AF930A15757C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 

External links

	Biography portal
	Dance portal

• "Cholly Atkins". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7377706. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
• Cholly Atkins at the Internet Broadway Database
• Cholly Atkins at the Internet Movie Database
• The Sylvers performing Boogie Fever and discussing Cholly Atkins' choreography of the number

Persondata
Name	Atkins, Cholly
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1913-09-13
Place of birth	Pratt City, Alabama, USA
Date of death	2003-04-19
Place of death	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA