Ben Vereen: Rising to Life's Challenge

"I knew a man Bojangles and he danced for you in worn out shoes With silver hair, a ragged shirt and baggy pants, the old soft shoe...

For many of Ben Vereen's fans he will always be renowned for his performance in "Pippin," and for his long association with the late choreographer Bob Fosse, his mentor and friend. Vereen's burlesque-styled razzle dazzle showmanship is the trade mark for which he is known and what truly catapulted him to stardom.

Life has a way of altering ones course and redefining one. Ben Vereen knows all to well the power of the Fates. The past few years have been both a struggle and triumph for Ben Vereen. He has brought himself back from the throes of a debilitating accident; a life and death struggle that finds him the winner.

For over a decade or so, Ben's life has been filled with an ever-continuing effort to heal and fully recover from both a stroke and debilitating car accident. If one looks closely while gazing upon his face, they will see a maturity about the man. Not so much determined by age as by spirit. There is the sense of someone who has known a trial by fire and has forever been transformed. A sadness and yet an inner joy emanate from Vereen. Perhaps, it is forged by having had to undergo the pain, therapy, and rehabilitation of the healing process. He is a man that has both struggled against and with his God, only to become a recruit in God's army. There is an inner peacefulness Ð a quietness, a calmness that exudes from Vereen, so much so, it becomes part of the surrounding atmosphere. It is clear that struggle has etched Vereen making him more inward and in tune with his own mortality and perhaps even his own divinity.

I met him in a cell in New Orleans; I was down and out He looked at me to be the eyes of age, as he spoke right out He talked of life, he talked of life, he laughed, slapped his leg a step

Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles, dance!

The death of Vereen's daughter left the star devastated causing him to begin a period of substance abuse. "The death of my daughter is a subject I talk about briefly because there is nothing more tragic. Even after going through the accident and being near death myself, there is nothing worse than losing a child. They say talking about it helps heal the wound but even talking about it for me, opens up the wound again," reflected the dancer sadly. "It is very painful. I was very angry with God and it took some time for God and me to come to peace after her death."

The 57-year-old Vereen began dancing with Fosse when Fosse cast him in "Sweet Charity," at age 20. In 1971, he played Judas Iscariot in "Jesus Christ Superstar." The following year, Fosse cast him as the lead in "Pippin." Vereen's performance of the show's glitzy dance number, "Manson Trio" won him a Tony Award in 1972. He also co-starred in "All That Jazz," Fosse's autobiographical film. He received acclaim for his Chicken George performance in "Roots." He has appeared on television, stage and screen and in commercials. His exhilarating one-man show earned him "Entertainer of the Year," "Rising Star," and "Song and Dance Star," the highest honors awarded by the American Guild of Variety Artists. He has graced stages throughout America as well as in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean Islands. He held guest spots on 'The Nanny," "Star Trek- The Next Generation," "Touched by an Angel," as well as appeared in his own TV series, "Ten-speed and Brownshoe."

"He jumped so high, he jumped so high, then he lightly touched down He said his name, Bojangles, then he danced a lick across the cell

He grabbed his pants a better stance, oh, he jumped up high, Then he clicked his heels, he let go a laugh, he let go a laugh, Shook back his clothes all around

Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles, dance!"

"After I had my own accident, I find that in trying to go back to doing those things that I used to do just doesn't fit. Everything seems to just fall apart. I don't know why but I think it is because I am this new creature. This new being, a different being. Whether it is better can only be determined in ones individual eyes as one sees their life and in how one chooses to live that life. You can think of it as being better or just being within the light of one's own divinity. Whether that divinity is known to you as God, Allah, Elohiem, Khrisna, Buddha or whomever you chose your deity to be," reflected Ben. "If you feel walking that path is right for you you end up living your life for your path. Now, I feel that I am living my life for my path. It has taken me years to realize that and to get to the point to be able to say I surrender.

"People sometimes say, " well, you got to surrender and give over your will." It is so easy to talk the talk. But it all comes down to doing the deed. Someone wrote a song that says 'Love comes in on tiptoes' but love is a quiet thing. Sometimes we look for those thunderous things to happen in our life for our lives to change or go in the other direction. We seek the miracle. We seek the parting of the seas, the moving of the mountains. But no, it's a quiet thing. At least for me it was. I think God's charge is " be still and see the miracle I do for you this day," said Vereen. "I had three accidents in one day. I hit my head on the roof of my car after smashing into a tree. I did not realize it at the time, but I had damaged an artery to my brain after hitting my head. I started walking home and had a stroke and then was hit by a truck. I didn't recognize the symptoms of my impending stroke although I was drooling and dizzy and feeling faint."

Vereen's condition was serious. "As I lay in the hospital bed I started thinking that I had a show to do. I was hoping the doctor would put me together so I could do the show. It eventually dawned on me that I was in pretty bad shape and could do nothing more than lay there. I couldn't lift myself out of the bed. I couldn't sing, dance or do anything but lie there. I had been telling people about the power within prior to my accident. I had been telling people that if they relied on the higher power of God within them they could be healed and restored. And now here I was faced with the very challenge I had been talking about to others. That is when you are really tested," claimed the enduring star. "As I lay there a song came into my mind saying, "It's Me, O' Lord! Standing in the need of prayer. I said, Ok, God, show me what you can do! I had to have 3 operations. I had infections and even asked the nurse was I going to die. At the time, I felt all right with the prospect of dying. I didn't want the doctors to keep operating and cutting me open. "It's amazing! I can only say that I felt much caring and love from the hospital personnel. I began to think, "Ok, I will live. I will be ok! I realized that even if I would never sing or dance again, I would have lived. And, in that, I would be ok."

"He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs throughout the south

He spoke with tears of 15 years how his dog and him had traveled about

His dog up and died, he up and died, after 20 years he still grieves

Vereen paid tribute to Bert Williams, a comedian who performed in blackface. He was criticized for it.

"I did a ministerial show about the life of Bert Williams. Williams was a comedian who did political satire. It was not fashionable to do political satire at that time, which was in 1910 and 1914. I did a parody on him. People like him made it possible for me and other Black entertainers to do what we do today. In the past, people like Williams endured the slings and arrows to pave the way for generations to follow. He had to swallow the abuse. He had to wear the black face or risk being tarred and feathered and run out of town. A lot of black people feel ashamed of this. But instead of feeling ashamed we should honor these black people as being part of our history. We should honor them by knowing our history and realize that there was a time in this country that in order to work Black entertainers were forced to wear the black face. I hear them say, "Don't forget us." I chose not to forget them. In knowing our history we begin to know ourselves. In knowing ourselves we begin to heal ourselves. In knowing who we are, we will know our divinity."

"He shook his head and as he shook his head, I heard someone ask him...

`Please' Please! Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance!

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