# Buck Washington

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{{short description|American musician and pianist}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox actor
| name               = Buck Washington
| birth_name         = Ford Lee Washington
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1903|10|16}}
| birth_place        = [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky)
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1955|01|31|1903|10|16}}
| death_place        = New York City, U.S.
| years_active       = 1910s–1954
| known_for          = Half of ''Buck and Bubbles'' duo
| spouse             = {{marriage |Flash Amber Vincson|1927|1955}}
}}
'''Ford Lee "Buck" Washington''' (October 16, 1903 – January 31, 1955) was an American [vaudeville](/source/vaudeville) performer, pianist, and singer. He was best known as half of the duo Buck and Bubbles, who were the first black artists to appear on television, with [John W. Bubbles](/source/John_W._Bubbles), his performance partner for 40 years.<ref name="NGroveDictJazz 1994" />

== Career ==
Washington was born in [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky). He and Bubbles (born John W. Sublett) first began working together in the 1910s, while Washington was in his teens. Their duo was known as "Buck and Bubbles." Bubbles was primarily a [tap dancer](/source/tap_dancer) while Washington sang and played [stride piano](/source/stride_piano).<ref name="finding aid">{{Cite archival metadata
|author = John M. Murphy and David Day
|title = John W. Bubbles papers: Creator Info
|url = http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/11203
|repository = L. Tom Perry Special Collections
|location = Provo, UT
|date = 2015
|accessdate = May 23, 2016
}}</ref> They were so popular that the duo moved to [Manhattan, New York City](/source/Manhattan%2C_New_York_City) in September 1919. By the late 1920s they were on [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre). They played together in the Columbia Theater and the Palace, performing with [Eddie Cantor](/source/Eddie_Cantor), [Al Jolson](/source/Al_Jolson), and [Danny Kaye](/source/Danny_Kaye).<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/20/obituaries/john-bubbles-the-dancer-is-dead-at-84.html |title=John Bubbles, The Dancer, Is Dead at 84 |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=20 May 1986}}</ref> They were on the ''[Ziegfeld Follies](/source/Ziegfeld_Follies) of 1931.''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z6Cs0Y1pvRAC&q=ziegfeld+follies+1931&pg=PA200|title=Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance: A-J|last1=Wintz|first1=Cary D.|last2=Finkelman|first2=Paul|date=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781579584573|pages=199–200|language=en}}</ref> They also became the first black artists to perform at the [Radio City Music Hall](/source/Radio_City_Music_Hall). They toured Europe in the 1930s and appeared on television and in films, including ''[Calling All Stars](/source/Calling_All_Stars_(1937_musical))'' (1937) and ''[Cabin in the Sky](/source/Cabin_in_the_Sky_(film))'' (1942). The Buck and Bubbles act was represented by [Nat Nazarro](/source/Nat_Nazarro).<ref name="NYAge 1948 Sep 21" /> "Buck and Bubbles" performed live in the [first scheduled 'high definition' (240-line) television program](/source/First_day_of_television_programmes) on November 2, 1936, at [Alexandra Palace](/source/Alexandra_Palace), London, for the [BBC](/source/BBC), becoming the first black artists on television anywhere in the world.<ref name="NYTimes" /><ref name="finding aid" /><ref name="BBC">{{cite web |title=Television Begins |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fgenome%2Fentries%2Fe8a2fa30-7729-4256-aba1-e00cbb187f93 |publisher=BBC |access-date=7 June 2020 |language=en |date=2 November 2016}}</ref> In 1927, when Buck and Bubbles were performing at the Sunset Café, Buck developed a working relationship and friendship with Louis Armstrong.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0-393-06582-4|location=New York, NY|pages=265}}</ref>

As a pianist, Washington also did sessions with [jazz](/source/jazz) musicians such as [Louis Armstrong](/source/Louis_Armstrong) (1930), [Bessie Smith](/source/Bessie_Smith) (1933), and [Coleman Hawkins](/source/Coleman_Hawkins) (1934). He also played trumpet, though he only made home recordings on the instrument. He continued working with Bubbles until 1953, and in 1953-1954 worked with [Timmie Rogers](/source/Timmie_Rogers) and [Jonah Jones](/source/Jonah_Jones). He died on January 31, 1955, in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).<ref name="Slide 1981" />

== Family ==
On August 23, 1927, in [Chicago](/source/Chicago), Washington married Flash Amber Vincson (1902–1975). One of her younger sisters, Bobbie Vincent ''(née'' Bobbye Vincson; 1906–1978), was a singer and dancer who performed in the 1925 production of ''[Chocolate Kiddies](/source/Chocolate_Kiddies)'' during its inaugural European tour.

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="NYAge 1948 Sep 21">"Buck and Bubbles Center of Suit," ''[New York Age](/source/New_York_Age),'' Vol 63, No. 17, September 21, 1948, p. 6 (accessible ''via'' {{URL|https://www.newspapers.com/image/40655850|Newspapers.com}}; subscription required)</ref>
<div style="margin-left:2em">

<ref name="NGroveDictJazz 1994">"Buck Washington," entry by Howard Henry Rye, EdD, ''[The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz](/source/The_New_Grove),'' (this edition is in one Vol.), [Barry Kernfeld](/source/Barry_Kernfeld) (ed.). [Saint Martin's Press](/source/Saint_Martin's_Press) (re-print 1994), pps. 1264–1265; {{OCLC|611333148}}, {{ISBN|0-3336-3231-1}}, {{ISBN|0-3121-1357-9}}, {{doi|10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J473300}}<br />Rye's sources:
<ol type="i" start="1">
<li>"Mr. Washington of Buck & Bubbles," by [Leonard Feather](/source/Leonard_Feather), ''[Melody Maker](/source/Melody_Maker),'' No. 12, October 14, 1936, p. 2
<li>"Ford Lee 'Buck' Washington," by [Mezz Mezzrow](/source/Mezz_Mezzrow), ''[Bulletin du Hot Club de France](/source/Jazz_Hot),'' No. 48, 1955, p. 3
<li>''Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance,'' [Marshall Stearns](/source/Marshall_Stearns) and Jean Stearns (1994 ed.), p. 213; also pps. 151, 157, 192, 217, 218, 246
<ol type="a" start="1">
<li> [Collier](/source/Collier_Books)-[Macmillan](/source/Macmillan_Publishers) (1968); {{OCLC|655466715}}</li>
<li> [Macmillan](/source/Macmillan_Publishing_Company) (1971); {{OCLC|900269}}</li>
<li> [Schirmer](/source/Schirmer) (1979); {{OCLC|720681903|1069868504}}; {{ISBN|978-0-0287-2510-9}}</li>
<li> [Da Capo Press](/source/Da_Capo_Press) ([paperback](/source/paperback)) (1994); {{OCLC|610972997}}; {{ISBN|978-0-3068-0553-0}}</li></ol>
<li> "Visiting Firemen: 10" (article), by Howard Henry Rye, "Buck Washington (Buck & Bubbles)" (article section), ''[Storyville](/source/Storyville_(magazine)),'' No. 114, August–September 1984, pps. 211–217 (accessible ''via'' [National Jazz Archive](/source/National_Jazz_Archive) at {{URL|https://nationaljazzarchive.org.uk/explore/journals/storyville/storyville-114/1265360|link}})</ol></ref>

<ref name="Slide 1981">''The Vaudevillians: A Dictionary of Vaudeville Performers,'' "Buck and Bubbles," by [Anthony Slide](/source/Anthony_Slide), [Arlington House Publishers](/source/Arlington_House_Publishers) (1981), p. 18; {{OCLC|7460932}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8700-0492-6}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Buck}}
Category:African-American jazz pianists
Category:American vaudeville performers
Category:Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky
Category:American jazz singers
Category:1903 births
Category:1955 deaths
Category:Jazz musicians from Kentucky
Category:Singers from Kentucky
Category:20th-century American pianists
Category:20th-century African-American male singers
Category:20th-century American male singers
Category:20th-century American singers
Category:American male jazz pianists
Category:American jazz pianists
Category:20th-century American male pianists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Buck Washington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Washington) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Washington?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.