Jimmie Daniels

James Lesley Daniels (November 23, 1907 – June 29, 1984) was an American cabaret performer, actor, model, and nightclub owner, a part of the Harlem Renaissance.

Early life and career James Lesley Daniels was born in Laredo, Texas, in 1907. He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. in John Golden's production of Savage Rhythm (1931), and with the Chamberlain Brown Stock Company in Mount Vernon, New York. He then moved to cabaret singing and performed at Harlem's Hot Cha nightclub.

Jimmie Daniels performed primarily music by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Harold Arlen. He moved on the stages of New York, Paris, London and Monaco.

In the later 1970s, Daniels performed at parties and clubs like Jan Wallman's Restaurant in Greenwich Village.

Later Daniels was in a relationship with Kenneth Macpherson, filmmaker who was married with wealthy English heiress Annie Winifred Ellerman, also known as Bryher. Bryher commissioned Richmond Barthé to make a bust of Daniels. In the 1950s Daniels shared a home with fashion designer Rex Madsen.

Jimmie Daniels died on June 29, 1984, just a few days after performing at the Kool Jazz Festival's Evening of the Music of Harold Arlen at Carnegie Hall.