Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates was born and raised in Fountain Inn, South Carolina, in the early 1900s. His parents were sharecroppers. When he was a young child, he would dance for nickels in front of local street audiences. In 1919, Clayton took a job in a farm factory to help his family survive, yet it only lasted a few days when fate struck. He lost his left leg to a cotton gin accident at age 12. Clayton subsequently taught himself to tap dance with a makeshift wooden peg leg from which he took his nickname. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Peg Leg entertained audiences with his unique brand of tap dancing, traveling all around the US on the Vaudeville circuit. By this time, he had established himself as a world-famous tap dancer, even performing for 'Queen Elizabeth II' . Today, Peg Leg remains an entertainment giant in tap dancing and inspires many with his memorable style.
Tap dancer
Lost his left leg just below the knee in a cotton mill accident at the age of 12. He thereafter became known as Peg Leg.
Whereas tap dancers have two feet to come down upon, Peg Leg had only one foot and the metal tip of his artificial leg on which to land. He had to rethink his method of tap dancing.
Inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2005.
