Cuff Link and Stud Set
Datec. 1980
Credit LineGift of Joey Hollingsworth, Hamilton, Ontario, 2024
Object number2024.007.003
Label TextAfro-Canadian tap dancer Joey Hollingsworth (b.1936) wore this pair of gold cufflinks. Hollingsworth was an early Black performer on CBC television, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and was the Dancing Salesman on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
In the 1960s, he was active on civil rights shows, performing to raise funds for Martin Luther King Jr. in Toronto’s Massey Hall during which he shared the bill with Oscar Peterson and Harry Belafonte. Raised in London, Ontario Hollingsworth attended Aberdeen Public School and H.B. Beal Technical Highschool. Throughout his life, Hollingsworth was surrounded by musical and dance greats. He can be heard tapping on legendary jazz guitarists Lenny Breau’s album, At the Purple Onion.
In the 1990s, near the close of his career, Hollingsworth tapped, sang, and acted the title role in the jazz infused tap extravaganza The Hot Mikado, directed by David H. Bell. In 2018, the Ontario Black History Society awarded Hollingsworth the Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2024 he was inducted into the Canadian Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame.
NameLink, Cuff
CopyrightPhoto Credit: Alex Walker
