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The Swinging-est Funeral: Celebrating the life and legacy of legendary lindy hopper Frankie Manning

Posted on May 2, 2009 by

Today I was fortunate enough to participate in the most swingin' funeral I have ever attended. Today, we laid Frankie Manning in his final resting place.

As I entered the Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church in Harlem, I was greeted by the powerful sound of the full Harlem Renaissance Orchestra playing on stage.  I saw assembled in the small chapel hundreds of friends, family and fans of Frankie from all over the US, and even a few from as far away as Sweden and the UK.  And at the front of the altar there was the body of Frankie, lying in state, looking so peaceful and at rest.

So many old and new friends were there, including my first dance partner Nina, some of my first swing instructors like Paul Grecki and Bill Kline, many "retired" lindy hoppers, and many swing celebrities like Norma Miller, Dawn Hampton, Steven Mitchell, Erin Stevens, Sylvia Sykes, Callede, W, and several other Rhythm Hot Shots from Sweden, Simon Selman from London, and many, many more familiar faces.  I guess it takes sad events like this to draw together folks who rarely assemble in one place.

The ceremony was presided over the the Reverend Calvin Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and featured short remembrances by various folks who were close to Frankie.  It was great getting this full spectrum picture of a man who lived such a rich and fascinating life.

Norma talked to us about Frankie's early days as a dancer, leader of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers and apparently strict taskmaster to the other dancers. His granddaughter Kai gave us a wonderful image of Frankie as a grandfather and a loving presence in his family.  Jazz historian Phil Schaap explained how he first met Frankie as a fan of swing jazz and a postal worker, noting how much more shy and introverted of a man Frankie was back then.  Then Erin Stevens described how she and Steven found Frankie in the mid-1980s, and coaxed him back into the swing world.  Elliott Donnelly explained how far Frankie's influence had spread around the world in the last ten years, as truly the ambassador of lindy hop.

At the service, I wondered how solemn and serious it was going to be, since Frankie was such a joyful and laughter-filled presence in our lives.  I shouldn't have worried.  By about the second song that the orchestra played, people were dancing in the aisles, clapping and beaming from ear to ear.  And that spirit of joyful remembrance continued throughout the service and into the rest of the day.

After the ceremony, the family and close friends of Frankie went to the burial in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.  The rest of us headed up to the Harlem Stage Gatehouse at 135th Street for the "repast."  It was a fitting continuation of the celebration, featuring the George Gee Orchestra and a delicious soul food buffet. (Sadly there was no sweet potato pie, Frankie's favorite.)  I had a fantastic time dancing, eating, socializing and sharing remembrances of Frankie with fellow lindy hoppers.

Here's Dawn Hampton and John Dokes dancing to Count Basie's "Splanky."  I've seen Dawn and John dance to this song probably dozens of times, but never better than this. Wow.

The event closed with a jam circle and a final Shim Sham (of course) during which I got to dance with Frankie's long-time girlfriend Judy Pritchett. What a perfect send off to the man who taught so many of us what swing was all about.

Before the funeral, I was talking with Atalanta about how interesting it was seeing the diverse assortment of hundreds of folks who were part of Frankie's life.  Atalanta replied, "It's like being at a funeral of a Head of State" which I think was just so perfect. We often call Frankie the "international ambassador of lindy hop."  Frankie was our leader, our inspiration, our mentor… he was the President of the United Republic of Swing. 

I feel so fortunate to have had Frankie in my life.

16 thoughts on “The Swinging-est Funeral: Celebrating the life and legacy of legendary lindy hopper Frankie Manning”

  1. Spuds says:
    May 3, 2009 at 12:11 am

    Thanks for posting this, Rik.

    Reply
  2. Snora says:
    May 3, 2009 at 7:36 am

    Thanks for posting this- I was thinking about Frankie all day yesterday, and while not there in body, I was there in spirit.
    -Nora

    Reply
  3. Stan says:
    May 3, 2009 at 8:08 am

    Thanks so much for the detailed story and video clips for the people who couldn’t be there.

    Reply
  4. Orchid says:
    May 3, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    So glad that I have bumped into your post. Thanks for the detailed story. It has perfectly complimented George Gee’s up-to-the-minute Facebook updates yesterday.
    Unfortunately we in China can’t view the clips. Youtube has been blocked for months and so far no hope of seeing it back.
    Orchid/Shanghai Swings

    Reply
  5. The Riz says:
    May 3, 2009 at 1:05 pm

    Thanks Rik.

    Reply
  6. Jeri says:
    May 3, 2009 at 2:29 pm

    Thanks Rik. I appreciate you posting these clips and comments for those of us that couldn’t be there. I am extremely thankful that I signed up for the Frankie 95 and I will be there later this month, but I sure wish I could have done both.
    Are there any videos of the service? I’d like to hear the comments from the service, if you or anyone else got that. Thanks again.
    P.S. I just checked out your resume…very interesting!
    –Jeri (breakalegg)

    Reply
  7. liz says:
    May 3, 2009 at 6:49 pm

    Ahhh that was great. Thank you so much for posting that. What a fitting way to send Frankie off. He was a great man and I will forever be thankful for bringing Lindy into this world AND himself 🙂

    Reply
  8. Sing says:
    May 3, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    thank u Rik. It helps the healing to grab every bit of info i can.

    Reply
  9. Sharon says:
    May 4, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    Great post and videos Rik – makes those of us who couldn’t be there feel part of the celebrations of the great man’s life. Thanks!

    Reply
  10. Roxanne Dominis says:
    May 4, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    Thanks for the posting. I was not able to be there but now I feel I have a taste of the lindy community spirit. My heart goes out to the family and friends of Frankie. If there is video of the comments or the service I would enjoy hearing that too.

    Reply
  11. Helen says:
    May 4, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    Beautiful. What a wonderful celebration of life and legacy. We should be so lucky to live such a long, happy life… Very inspirational.

    Reply
  12. Tim Hellzapoppin says:
    May 5, 2009 at 3:24 am

    Hi, Rik,so sorry I couldn’t make the funeral for Frankie. However I can come over for the festival now. Ryan Francois & Peter Loggins will recommend me to Dj for you ,if you can find a small time for me at one or more of the event venues. My name is Tim (Tim’s Jumpin’ Jive is my deejay title.)I am the premiere Uk vintage swing dj!! Check out my website below. We run two regular swing nights in London UK. We are just coming up for Hellzapoppin’s 20th anniversary in October! My own birthday is on 21/05/2009,so this makes it particularly poignant that Frankie’s is very close to mine!! I’m not looking for any dj fees, but if you could arrange somewhere for me to stay that would be great/or not charge me for the registration fee?. It would be a great honour to do a last tribute to the great man as I named my club after his best movie performance!!Let me know asap, best regards, Tim.

    Reply
  13. Mikael Antic says:
    May 5, 2009 at 6:07 am

    Thanks Rik, i wish I could have been there myself.

    Reply
  14. B.L. Ochman says:
    May 5, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    Thank you Rik! I wish I could have been there. I’ll see you all at Frankie95.
    BL

    Reply
  15. rikomatic says:
    May 5, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    don’t worry, there will be many more opportunities for remembering Frankie! We are holding a memorial during the Frankie Fest in a few weeks!

    Reply
  16. Gretchen Christopher says:
    August 10, 2009 at 1:47 am

    Thanks so much for these details – and the terrifically entertaining video.
    What an honor to have danced with Frankie Manning and to have learned from him, the “Shim Sham Shimmy,” as he called it, when I first took from him in Pasadena, California.
    Now, though others may teach variations, when I teach the Shim Sham, I’m a purist; I do it Frankie’s way! Thank you Frankie. And thank you, Erin Stevens, for bringing Frankie out of retirement. I remember our celebrating with him, several birthdays in his eighties, and Catalina Island in 1999, the year he turned 85.
    Watching the video of his last interview, I truly think he just kept getting younger those last ten years, right up to the end, just a month short of 95!
    DIP, dear Frankie, and thank you for sharing your gifts with thousands and, exponentially, perhaps millions of people. As long as we live, a bit of you lives on in us. And thank goodness for the films that will keep your talents, good natured humility, humor, dazzling smile, energy and beautiful spirit with us forever. What a legacy you’ve left!

    Reply

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