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Mr. Webb quit school when he was just thirteen years of
age to follow his dream of the arts, singing, dancing, painting,
etc. Although not formerly trained in dancing he started
his dance career as a comic vaudeville and musical dancer
and Opera singer in the early 1910s. Webb got his big break
in 1913 when Bonnie
Glass spotted him dancing at the Jardin de Danse nightclub
in New York. This teaming proved valuable for Webb as the
Glass / Webb team became very proficient at the dances they
performed together for about a year and this brought him
great exposure. It has been reported that Glass trained
Webb in the Ballroom dances they did.
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When Webb ended his partnership with Glass, its said they
were romantically involved at the time, Mae Murray picked
him up and danced off with him for quite a few months on
the keith vaudeville circuit. Later he would add eccentric
type dances with Mary Hay and Gloria Goodwin. In 1915, the
famous ballroom choreographer Ned Wayburn headlined him
in his Broadway revue "Town Topics of 1915." Webb
opened a dance studio with his mother Maybelle (whom he
lived with untill her death) and continued to perform.
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Webb started doing movies in 1920 but didn't get his first
big movie break until 1944 in the film titled "Laura".
Today he is mainly remembered for his movie acting roles,
rather than his dancing.
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