Lew Leslie

Lew Leslie
Born	Lewis Lessinsky April 15, 1888 Orangeburg, New York
Died	March 10, 1963 New York City, United States
Residence	New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Occupation	Vaudeville entertainer, producer
Years active	1910-1950s

Lew Leslie (April 15, 1888 or 1890 – March 10, 1963) was a Broadway writer and producer. Leslie got his start in show business in vaudeville in his early twenties.

Although white, Lew Leslie was the first major impresario to present African-American artists on the Broadway stage. He became famous for his stage shows at the Cotton Club and later for his Blackbirds revues, which he mounted in 1926, 1928, 1930, 1933 and 1939. Blackbirds of 1928 starring Adelaide Hall,Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Tim Moore and Aida Ward. was his most successful revue and ran for over one year on Broadway, where it became the hit of the season. The sell-out show transferred to the Moulin Rouge in Paris, France, where it ran for three months before returning to the U.S., where it commenced an American road tour. Adelaide Hall starred in the show for just over two years. The Blackbirds revues helped advance the career of several famous artists, including Florence Mills, Adelaide Hall, Tim Moore, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Aida Ward and Lottie Gee. Leslie began his career doing a patter act in vaudeville. He had two well-known wives, torch singer Belle Baker and Ziegfeld Follies showgirl Irene Wales.

Leslie started his showbusiness career in vaudeville, first as an impressionist then in a double act with Belle Baker to whom he was married for a while. Becoming an agent, he listed among his clients Ben Bernie, Frank Fay and Bea Palmer. He put on a revue starring Baker and Palmer at the Café de Paris, which later became the Plantation Club where Leslie staged Plantation Revue, the second edition of which, in 1922, starred Florence Mills and her husband, dancer Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson. Leslie also staged Dixie To Broadway (1924), again starring Mills and Thompson, and then came his Blackbirds revues, which began in 1926 with a show also starring Mills. At first, these revues were only moderately successful but they paved the way for Blackbirds of 1928.

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