A 1952 Shout-Out for DEI 

A friend sent this video, saying, “You must see this. The Stepp Brothers are great, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis do very well.”

The Stepp Brothers were great, but great in a way that surprised me, considering this was filmed more than 50 years ago. Check out the moves. They are inventive and athletically impressive in a way that seemed beyond tap dancing. They reminded me of the kind of evolved, super-athletic break dancing that has become the mainstay of street performance you can see these days in city parks.

The video runs about six minutes. During the first minute, I must say, it felt a little “Stepin Fetchit.” But when Dean stepped in, I got it. And then when Jerry danced, it elevated the ensemble performance to something truly great and admirably humane.