HOT SPRINGS, Ark.-
Hot Springs is known for its national park, the racetrack, Bathhouse Row and the thermal water that bubbles out of the ground, which for decades was believed to have healing properties.
But in years past, the city was also a magnet for celebrities, and a series of postcards is being issued to commemorate those famous visitors–like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who celebrated his 66th birthday in 1944 by tap-dancing two miles through town.
The Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau issued a postcard May 25 showing Robinson dancing past what appears to be the intersection of Central Avenue and Prospect Avenue in the downtown area.
Earlier this spring, the visitors bureau issued a postcard showing mobster Al Capone vacationing in Hot Springs. The series will also include images of Franklin Roosevelt and Babe Ruth.
The postcards are given as souvenirs to convention delegates.
A 1944 account of Bojangles' dance through town stated that more than 1,000 people followed him, and that he later auctioned his shoes for $100 and donated the money to a woman who'd come to Hot Springs to take thermal baths as part of her treatment for paralysis.
As a black dancer in an era of segregation, most of Bojangles' early performances were for black audiences. But later in his career he became popular among white audiences, and he also had a career in Hollywood movies. His notable performances included dancing with child star Shirley Temple in the film "The Little Colonel."
