Cholly Atkins

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Charles "Cholly" Atkins (September 13, 1913 - April 19, 2003) was an African American dancer and vaudeville performer, who later became noted as the house choreographer for the various artists on the Motown label.

A native of Pratt City, Alabama, Atkins first found fame as one-half of a top vaudeville tap dancing act with partner Charles "Honi" Coles. After working as a freelance choreographer for The Miracles, Atkins was hired by Berry Gordy to work as a Motown choreographer in 1964, and set about developing the routines that would later become the trademark moves of Motown acts like The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips and others. Atkins would in fact continue working with Motown artists well into the 1980s.

In 1989, Atkins received a Tony Award for choreographing the Broadway show Black and Blue. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, Atkins died of the cancer on April 19 of that year at the age of 89.