Dora Dean

Dora Dean (born Dora Babbige; c. 1872 – December 13, 1949) She was best known for popularizing the cakewalk dance internationally, with her husband and dance partner Charles E. Johnson, as part of the act Dean and Johnson.

Early years Dean was born in Cloverport, Kentucky. (Another source gives Covington, Kentucky, as her place of birth.) She worked as a nursemaid in Cincinnati, Ohio, before becoming an entertainer. They are identified with several firsts. They were the first African American couple to perform on Broadway, the first to use strobe lighting, and the first to use steel taps on their shoes.

Legacy Dean's beauty inspired a number of songs, including "Dora Dean The Sweetest Gal You Ever Seen" (1896) by performer and composer Bert Williams and "Dora Dean's Sister" (1902) by Joseph F. Lamb.

In 1898, "Dora Dean The Sweetest Gal You Ever Seen" was the subject of a lawsuit in which a San Francisco judge ruled that the song could not be protected by copyright with the original lyrics "... the hottest thing you ever seen ..." because "the word 'hottest' as used in this case has an indelicate and vulgar meaning ..."

In 1946, radio game show host John Reed King stumped his studio audience with the question "Who is Dora Dean?" A refrigerator, bedroom suite, silverware set, and $100 went unclaimed as no one provided the correct answer.

Later years and death Johnson and Dean reunited (professionally and personally) in 1934 and retired by 1942. They lived in Minneapolis in their later years. Dean died in Minneapolis in 1949.