Ted Levy

Chicago native and Emmy-Award-winner Ted Levy started dancing at age 14, training under Shirley Hall Bass at the Sammy Dyer School of the Theatre. Hall Bass introduced Levy to master tap dancer Finis Henderson II, a colleague and friend of Sammy Davis Junior. With Henderson's mentorship, Levy landed a role in Shoot Me While I'm Happy at Chicago's Goodman Theater in 1985 that ultimately led to his role in the hit Broadway revue, Black and Blue, in 1989. Levy work with Gregory Hines on multiple occasions and earned a Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Nomination, and the 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award; he was awarded an Emmy Award for his television debut performance in the PBS Special Precious Memories, and appeared in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X. The production Ted Levy and Friends, directed by Gregory Hines, celebrated Levy as one of America’s premier tap dance artists. Levy returned to Broadway with Thou Shalt Not, in 2001 and, in 2003, gained the title role in The Ford Theater’s production of The Hot Mikado, for which he won a Helen Hayes Award.