George Hillman

The Hillman family consisted of two generations of performers. George Abraham Hillman and his wife Ethel Riddick Hillman were a song and dance team. They performed around the turn of the century and later. Their sons, George Ira and Christopher, the Hillman Brothers followed in their footsteps. Known as the "Creators of Suave Syncopation" and the "Aristocrats of Modern Dance," the Hillman Brothers had numerous engagements in vaudeville, theaters, and nightclubs in the United States and abroad. They toured with the USO, Bob Hope, Sophie Tucker, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, and Ben Vereen, performing for over thirty years. In 1968, George made his Off-Broadway debut in the starring role of Bill Bojangles in "Curley McDimple,"which ran for two years. He later appeared in the Off-Broadway play "On Toby Time" (1977) as well as "Suddenly the Music Starts"(1979), "Stompin' at the Savoy"(1980) and "1,000 Years of Jazz"(1981) where he starred as one of the "Original Hoofers." He was also a principal dancer in "Black and Blue"(1991). George passed in 1995, following Christopher, who had died one year earlier.