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District New Teacher of the Year at the Intermediate Level and Middle and High School Administrator to his experiences. In 1992, Criner ordained Maceo Anderson as an elder in the church. Elder Anderson resided with the Criner family in Las Vegas, Nevada, for seven years, until he moved to Los Angeles, California. Criner eulogized Maceo Anderson at his "Home-going" celebration. His favorite song was "When the Saints Go Marching In." And, Anderson's all-time favorite saying was, "Watch your step, brother!" Dr. Terry Criner continues in ministry today as Bishop of Holy Tabernacle Outreach Mission, Inc.
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performance. The four simultaneously pointed towards stage right and Little Terry dashed onto the stage – with a series of acrobatic moves. His routine was very similar to
Bozeman's, however; the kid added head spins, somersaults, no-hand head flip – all done with lightning speed. Several newspapers described him as a blur. Criner, who courageously followed Bozeman, was up to the task and was acknowledged by the group's charter members as a "great addition."
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the routine and always danced last, in the same spot that
Spencer had held. Step Brother Flash McDonald said at the time, “Let him be himself, instead of doing Prince’s (Spencer’s) routines.” They all agreed. “They thought I was a kid, but I was 35,” Bozeman recalled. Although there is very rare footage of Edward Bozeman performing with the Four Step Brothers, he performed with them from 1964 up to the disbandment of the group in 1989-1990.
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them," I was told, but who the hell was "we"? Because I was riding high in 1950, I sent out the word: "If they don't go on, I don't go on." At ten minutes of eight—ten minutes before showtime—I got permission for the Step
Brothers to appear. If I broke the color-line policy or not, I don't know, but later on I had no trouble booking
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During his performing years, Terry Criner became Nevada State Diving
Champion, Clark County Theater Arts Ensemble Acting Co-Champion, and Recipient of the DeVos Scholarship in Theater Arts to UNLV. In 1980, he entered the gospel ministry. During those years he added United States Marine, Clark County
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When Prince
Spencer left the group to go into the Chicago grocery business, he was replaced by Edward Bozeman. Before his Step Brother days, Bozeman also danced professionally under the name of “Prince.” The name was not the only coincidence. Like Spencer, Bozeman did the acrobatics and flips part of
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Criner eventually agreed with Maceo
Anderson's idea of starting a new group. Initially called Four Steps and a Miss, the troupe became the Third Generation Steps. The group went on to successes of its own. In 1979, after eleven years of a rather successful show business stent, the 21-year-old Criner
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Subsequent to the addition of
Bozeman, there was one other dancer who, essentially, may be considered the "final" addition to the famous dance quartet's immediate family. In 1968, a ten year-old, acrobatic ball of energy, named Terry Criner was brought on at the end of the quartet's already superior
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I remember clashing with the advertising agency and the sponsor over my signing the Four Step
Brothers for an appearance on the show. The only thing I could figure out was that there was an objection to black performers on the show, but I couldn't even find out who was objecting. "We just don't like
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Terry Criner was a fourth-grade elementary student when he was picked to share the stage with some of the greatest dancers in tap history. Although a novice in the art of tap dancing, his acrobatic-dance skills combined landed him into a unique place in history. Criner was the protégé of Maceo E.
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Other members of the group during its long tenure included
Sylvester "Happy" Johnson; Prince Spencer, who joined the group in 1941 replacing Johnson; Freddie James, who performed with the group from 1939 to 1943; Rufus "Flash" McDonald, who joined the act in 1943 when James left; Ernie "Sunshine
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quartet, they subsequently changed their name to "The Three Step Brothers." In 1927, after accepting a new member, Sherman Robinson, they became The Four Step Brothers. Dubbed "The Eight Feet of Rhythm," the group soon traveled with
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Anderson, one of the original members. Criner simultaneously toured with the Step Brothers and opened as a solo act for Donald O'Connor for nearly three years.
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shocked Maceo Anderson and group members Cindy Notz and Ivery Wheeler by announcing his retirement—at the peak of the group's success.
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The Four Step Brothers became one of the longest-lasting dance groups, surviving for more than four decades into the 1960s.
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