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Peppi Borza

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Peppi Borza
Born
Giuseppe Mario Chaly Borza

(1936-10-22)22 October 1936[1]
Portsmouth, England
Died24 July 1990(1990-07-24) (aged 53)
Other names
Occupation(s)Actor, circus performer, entertainer, singer, dancer, songwriter, composer
Years active194?–1989

Peppi Borza (22 October 1936 – 24 July 1990) was a British-American dancer, entertainer, songwriter, composer, actor, and circus performer.[4][5][6]

Early life

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Born to a circus performing family and brought up in Sarasota, Florida, Borza performed in a double act with his sister Nita.[1][7][8][9] The siblings were acrobats and performed with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Benny and Judy Garland, as well as appearing twice on The Ed Sullivan Show.[10][11][12] One of their acts was Stars of the Future, a balancing and tumbling act with Polack Bros. Circus.[13]

Singer/Songwriter

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Encouraged by Sammy Davis Jr. and others that told him he had a good voice, Borza decided to become a singer. He came to England and formed the group Peppi and the New York Twisters. They performed in England, Ireland and New York.[14][15][16][17]

Borza also performed at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, teaching a young Cilla Black how to dance the Twist, having learnt himself from Chubby Checker. The dance was the inspiration behind his former group.[11]

Despite recording several singles including The Skip (an attempt to start a new dance craze) and Pistol Packin' Mama, Borza's singing career was not a success.

In Britain, Borza became lifelong friends with singer Dusty Springfield (having first met The Springfields when they toured with Del Shannon[18]), accompanying her on tours, as well as being a dancer on Ready Steady Go!.[19][20] Borza was the partner of Dusty Springfield's brother Tom, and the couple collaborated on the writing of four songs: No Tears for Johnnie, Chain Gang Blues,[21] The Skip[22] and O Holy Child[23] (recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1964 as a Christmas charity single for Barnardo's). In 1965, Borza co-wrote Matt Monro's single Before You Go.

Borza also worked as a composer on Dusty Springfield's The Christmas Album and several other projects, including with Matt Monro.[24]

Theatre and Screen

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Borza performed on stage in London and New York. He appeared on Broadway in the original cast recording of Evita.[25][26] He played a Muleteer in the original West End production of Man of La Mancha[27] as well as the 1972 film version.[28] He also appeared in Intimate Games (1976). Other roles include a pirate in the 1976 musical Peter Pan[29] and a policeman in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1983 musical The Pirates of Penzance[28] as well as playing a Vervoid in parts 11 and 12 of the Doctor Who saga The Trial of a Time Lord (segment: Terror of the Vervoids).[30][31][32][33] He was in the 1985 cast of On Your Toes at the Palace Theatre, London.

Among Borza's final work was an appearance in the 1987 West End revival of Follies.[34]

Death

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Borza died from AIDS. Dusty Springfield frequently visited him at the hospice as he neared the end of his life. Borza left money to his closest friend in his will.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b Some sources give the birth year as 1938 in Florida but his official birth was registered in the Dec 1936 quarter in Portsmouth as Giuseppe M C Borza. Also, The Kansas City Times (29 August 1945) gives his age as 8 and Billboard - 11 Nov 1950 - page 52 mentions Peppi's 14th birthday celebration (other American newspapers I've seen list his age corresponding with 1936). In addition, I have seen travel records giving the birth year as 1936.
  2. ^ "Pepe Borza | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Jaxsta". jaxsta.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  4. ^ "12 Apr 1946, Page 40 - The Akron Beacon Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  5. ^ "19 Nov 1948, 8 - The Baltimore Sun at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  6. ^ "The Greatest Show on Earth | Sarasota History Alive!". www.sarasotahistoryalive.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  7. ^ "21 Jul 1961, 35 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  8. ^ "23 Aug 1945, Page 20 - Star Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  9. ^ "10 Feb 1948, 28 - Courier-Post at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  10. ^ "26 Oct 1950, 11 - The Shreveport Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  11. ^ a b Biography in The Dion and Del Shannon Show programme
  12. ^ "29 Aug 1945, 6 - The Kansas City Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  13. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (27 September 1947). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ "Live Music - Pepi And The New York Twisters - Town Hall - UK". www.45worlds.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  15. ^ Magee, Jimmy; O'Toole, Jason (31 August 2012). Memory Man: The Life and Sporting Times of Jimmy Magee: Sports trivia from the 'Memory Man' Jimmy Magee. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7171-5353-4.
  16. ^ Bell, Robin (13 February 2016). The History of British Rock and Roll: The Beat Boom 1963 - 1966. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN 978-91-981916-6-0.
  17. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (17 March 1962). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ a b Valentine, Penny; Wickham, Vicki (25 October 2012). Dancing with Demons: The Authorized Biography of Dusty Springfield. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 9781444719024.
  19. ^ Ancestry Thread
  20. ^ "Let's Talk Dusty!" (PDF).
  21. ^ "Chain Gang Blues Sheet Music". Oktv. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  22. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series Page 556. Library of Congress. Copyright Office.
  23. ^ "Lyrics - O Holy Child". Rockol. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Peppi Borza | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Peppi Borza - PERFORMER". Playbill. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  26. ^ Kerr, Walter (26 September 1979). "Stage: 'Evita,' a Musical Perón (Published 1979)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Production of Man of La Mancha | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Peppi Borza". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  29. ^ "HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: PETER PAN (TV)". The Pauley Center for Media. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  30. ^ Books, My Old School (17 December 2014). "The Trial of a Time Lord Parts 9-12 (aka Terror of the Vervoids)". Doctor Who Cast & Crew Guide. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  31. ^ "A Brief History Of Time (Travel): The Trial Of A Time Lord (Segment Three)". www.shannonsullivan.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  32. ^ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Series Episode Guide - Cast and crew". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  33. ^ "The Trial of a Time Lord ★". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Sondheim Guide / Follies". www.sondheimguide.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
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