Naomi Waller

Naomi Waller, pictured on the left on Frankie Manning’s back, danced in Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers until 1938. In the photo, from the Cotton Club, they were known as “Whyte’s Hopping Maniacs.” She was Frankie Manning’s partner in the Cotton Club show and in the 1937 European tour that followed it. Frankie considered her his first professional partner because he saw the Cotton Club show as the official beginning of his professional career. After Naomi’s return to New York she left Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers and became a chorus girl, working in the Savannah Club. In later years as Bronx resident Naomi Gay, she had been active in promoting African-American culture.