Pleasants Roper "Snowball" Crump (1 September 1905–1 August 1995), tap dancer, was born in Richmond and was the son of Rosa Smith Crump and her first husband, Robert Crump. While he was a boy, his father died, and his mother, who worked as a domestic servant, married William Gordon in 1914. Crump dropped out of Armstrong High School to help support his family. While a student, he observed the young men who danced on the street corners at Second and Clay Streets in Jackson Ward, the lively entertainment center of Richmond's African American community. A self-taught tap dancer, Crump performed as the Dancing Busboy in local black nightclubs. He offered tap-dancing lessons at community centers and became a successful entertainer in the city's white clubs. By 1926 he had obtained engagements as far away as New York, where he performed in Schenectady as the Van Curler Kid. On 7 April 1929, in Richmond, he married Fannie Bell Snow, a native of Lynchburg. They had two daughters and one son.
Crump later recalled that he had received the nickname Snowball in 1930, while performing at the Richmond Hotel's rooftop garden. Several prominent businessmen complimented him and said that his tap dancing reminded them of the Richmond-born and internationally famous dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Having previously given Robinson the nickname "Snowbird," they christened Crump "Snowball." Encouraged by Richmond's mayor, Crump went to New York City early in the 1930s to study with Robinson. He impressed Robinson with his abilities, and they danced together at prominent New York hotels and nightclubs. In 1938 Crump performed at the Hotel New Yorker and at the Belmont Plaza, and in August of that year he won first place on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour. As a result he joined Bowes's Rodeo Rhythm Revue, a vaudeville road show that toured the nation. Crump later asserted that he was the first black entertainer to tour with the troupe.
The diminutive Crump (he stood five feet, three inches tall) was known for his debonair stage costume composed of a tuxedo, top hat, and white gloves and cane, along with a white carnation boutonnière in his lapel and a cigar in his hand. Skilled at clog, buck and wing, and fancy tap styles, he displayed a distinctive flashing, energetic, and bold dancing. At the crowd-pleasing climax of Crump's act, he lay flat on his back and tap-danced on the seat of an overturned chair.
About 1940 Crump returned to Richmond to raise his family, but he continued to dance. During World War II he toured with United Service Organization troupes and stage shows for military camps. Crump's travels took him throughout the United States and also to other countries, including appearances in Havana, Mexico City, and London. Like his mentor Robinson, he danced with Shirley Temple. Crump was among the first African Americans to appear on such early television programs as The Bob Hope Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and What's My Line? In Richmond he appeared on at least one radio broadcast of WRVA's Old Dominion Barn Dance.
Crump worked as a clerk for the Internal Revenue Service until he retired in 1960. In the years that followed he had several part-time jobs, but his passion for tap dancing kept him performing well into his eighties. Delighting Richmond-area audiences, Crump appeared at countless public and private events. He entertained at local festivals, schools, hospitals, civic centers, charity events, museums, and before governors at the State Capitol. For more than forty years he danced to "Tea for Two" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" on top of the dugout at Richmond's minor-league baseball fields, including the inaugural game at the Diamond in 1985. When asked what kept him dancing, Crump answered, "I don't want to sit down and dry out. If you keep on moving, you keep on moving."
Known as the unofficial mayor of Southside Richmond, Crump was highly regarded for his extensive community work at churches, schools, and nursing homes and also for tutoring aspiring tap dancers. In 1991 the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of the United Way presented him with an award for 5,000 hours of service at the South Richmond Senior Center. His wife died on 1 June 1985. Pleasants Roper "Snowball" Crump died on 1 August 1995 at his home in Richmond. His remains were cremated.
Sources Consulted:
Birth and death dates in Death Certificate, Richmond City, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health, Record Group 36, Library of Virginia.; feature articles in Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1 May 1972, 28 Dec. 1979 (portraits, and Richmond News Leader, 1 Sept. 1987; Marriage Register, Richmond City, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health, Record Group 36, Library of Virginia; Norfolk Journal and Guide, 8 Jan. 1927; Richmond Planet, 6 Oct. 1934 (portrait); Chicago Defender, 4 June 1938; Afro-American and Richmond Planet, 20 Aug. 1938; Richmond News Leader, 23 Aug. 1938, 16 Apr. 1985 (quotation); Richmond Style Weekly, 21 July 1987; obituaries in Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3 Aug. 1995 (with variant death date of 2 Aug. 1995), and Richmond Free Press, 3 Aug. 1995; tribute in Richmond Free Press, 10 Aug. 1995.