Toast of the Town : Madge & Carr and June Taylor Dancers Madge and Carr performer June Taylor Dancers performer The Toastettes performer Television/Video 1948-12-19 "The Toast of the Town" (Mae West, John Garfield) One in this series of variety programs presided over by Ed Sullivan. The June Taylor Dancers (as The Toastettes) perform to the "Toast of the Town" theme. A tap dance duo of Madge and Carr performs "Tap City in Rhythm": he is in a tux and tie; she in a short dress; they are an adagio tap team ; you can hear the taps but the music is boxed; a faux Eleanor Powell-Fred Astaire routine; his smile is broader than the hem on her skirt; all Ed Sullivan can say after their performance is "aren't they cute?" Taylor took up choreography, founding, in 1942, her own troupe of dancers, the June Taylor Dancers, and took them on the road. She met Jackie Gleason at a Baltimore nightclub in 1946 and made her television debut in 1948, on "The Toast of the Town" starring Ed Sullivan, where six of the original dancers appeared as The Toastettes, bringing the chorus line to television. The June Taylor Dancers in this segment have the technique of ballet and Broadway tap: they pose in classical ballet barre arm positions; they they kick line while hands are in muffs; winter boots. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Museum of Television and Radio Broadcasing: Museum of Television and Radio Broadcasing. (). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html June Taylor Dancers (biography) loc.music.tdabio.115 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.1961