Jack Leroy Cooper was born in Memphis, Tennessee back in 1888 to William and Lavina. He left home when he was ten moving to Cincinnati, Ohio where his was a successful boxer in his teens and a semi-professional baseball player. By 1905, he was working in vaudeville on the Theater Owners Booking Association.
His role was as a circuit singer and dancer which soon he was running his own touring troupe with his wife. I don’t have a time frame but he began writing for newspapers in Memphis and Indianapolis. He moved to Chicago in the 1920’s where he wrote theater reviews for the Chicago Defender. He retired in 1959 and died in Chicago in 1970, he was 81.
What you may not know about Jack is that he was the first African-American radio disc jockey. He started in 1926 again retiring in 1959. In 2012, he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Your day is worthwhile when you make someone smile, so give the free gift of a smile today
Comments(15)