Nick Long, Jr.

Nick Long, Jr. (August 14, 1904 – August 31, 1949) was an American actor and dancer born in Greenlawn, New York, whose career spanned stage and screen from the silent film era through the early sound period. He was the son of Nick Long, Sr. and Idele Cotton, both of whom worked as vaudeville and theater performers. His father appeared in a silent film in 1925. Growing up in a theatrical household, Long was performing on stage by the age of nine, largely in productions alongside his parents.

Long made his first screen appearance in 1915, at age nine, in Hearts of Men, billed as Nicholas Long, Jr. Additional film roles followed during his childhood years, including The Corner Grocer (1917), Adventures of Carol (1917), and The Oakdale Affair (1919). He stepped away from film acting in the 1930s after a final cluster of screen appearances that included Broadway Melody of 1936, in which he played Basil Newcombe, King of Burlesque (1936), in which he portrayed Anthony Lamb, and Autumn Laughter (1938).

His Broadway career ran from 1923 to 1940 and encompassed several musicals. He appeared in Lady Butterfly (1923), She's My Baby (1928), Say When (1934–1935), and Louisiana Purchase (1940). During his time on Broadway he shared the stage with performers including José Ferrer, Bob Hope, Irene Dunne, and Clifton Webb.

Beginning in 1931, and again from 1934 to 1939, Long worked as an actor and dancer in London, where he performed alongside Danny Kaye during the early part of Kaye's career. During this period he danced in Frederick Ashton's Autumn Leaves, with performances in both London and Manchester. In 1939 he was recruited for service in the Second World War but was released seven months later. Long died in a traffic accident on August 31, 1949.