'Crip' Heard

Starting out as a tap dancer in his native Tennessee, Henry Heard 's career came to a halt after a 1946 automobile accident with a speeding freight train resulted in the loss of his right arm and leg. Nevertheless, he persevered, and was soon known through the world of Black entertainment as "Crip" Heard, who danced without the aid of a crutch or an artificial limb. Active in the Chicago metropolitan area as an advocate for the physically handicapped, after his retirement, Heard held down a 9-to-5 position as an office clerk in the office of Chicago's 34th Ward Sanitation Bureau and sponsored programs for the physically handicapped.