Eddie Brown

More than a dozen tap dancers held a birthday love-in for ailing veteran tapper, Eddie Brown, 73, Sunday at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. Initially, however, the event verged on calamity. About 50 more tickets than the 200-seat theater had seats had been sold in advance or reserved. Another 50 people or so lined up in the hope of purchasing tickets at the door. Confusion led to a crush at the door and lots of frayed nerves.

Old masters and young phenoms brought their tap shoes and memories to Los Angeles' Ebony Showcase Theater on Wednesday to do "the Eddie Brown," a dance chorus named for the generous genius who died of cancer last week at 74. They remembered Brown, a master of rhythm tap improvisation, as an innovator who--unlike most accomplished dancers--was more than willing to teach them each new step as it came whirling from his imagination.

Eddie Brown, a master of rhythm tap improvisation who schooled a younger generation of dancers, died Monday at a convalescent hospital in Los Angeles. He was 74 and had been battling cancer. Brown overcame poverty and alcoholism as well as decades of obscurity to win acclaim among tap-dancers as a dancer and teacher. "He was one of the greatest exponents of rhythm tap," said Rusty E. Frank, a tap historian who compiled an oral history of tap-dancing.

Eddie Brown, a master of rhythm tap improvisation who schooled a younger generation of dancers, died Monday at a convalescent hospital in Los Angeles. He was 74 and had been battling cancer. Brown overcame poverty and alcoholism as well as decades of obscurity to win acclaim among tap-dancers as a dancer and teacher. "He was one of the greatest exponents of rhythm tap," said Rusty E. Frank, a tap historian who compiled an oral history of tap-dancing.

Eddie Brown has been hoofing it for nearly seven decades now. "I been dancing ever since I was 5 years old," said Brown, 73, a tap master who will appear Saturday at Orange Coast College with Rhapsody in Taps, a troupe of five dancers and five jazz musicians based in Los Angeles. An Omaha native, the Los Angeles resident learned to tap on street corners, jamming all day with buddies. "A bunch of us got together and just traded steps."

Old masters and young phenoms brought their tap shoes and memories to Los Angeles' Ebony Showcase Theater on Wednesday to do "the Eddie Brown," a dance chorus named for the generous genius who died of cancer last week at 74. They remembered Brown, a master of rhythm tap improvisation, as an innovator who--unlike most accomplished dancers--was more than willing to teach them each new step as it came whirling from his imagination.

It's OK if you know, but don't tell tap master Eddie Brown about the foot-stomping, rhythm-dancing benefit show planned in his honor Sunday at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. The 73-year-old dancer doesn't usually read The Times so it's safe to report that the show will feature plenty of tap colleagues who care about Brown, including Fayard Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers and Fred Strickler for starters and groups including Rhapsody in Taps and the Jazz Tap Ensemble.

Eddie Brown was slow to sign with Cincinnati this season, but he brought some quickness back to the Bengals' sputtering offense once he did. Brown, fresh from a contract holdout, scored a touchdown on his first catch Sunday, sparking Cincinnati to a 41-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals' offense, ranked No. 1 last year in the NFL, sputtered without Brown in the exhibition season and in an opening loss to Chicago.

When Cincinnati wide receiver Eddie Brown suffered a knee injury in last Monday night's game at Seattle, quarterback Boomer Esiason knew who his new main man was. "I grabbed Rodney Holman and told him that with Eddie out, he better find a way to get open," Esiason said. Holman found a lot of ways to get open Sunday, catching 10 passes for 161 yards in a 34-31 overtime victory over the Rams at Anaheim Stadium.

Wide receiver Eddie Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals, who had 53 receptions for 942 yards and 8 touchdowns, was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press.

More than a dozen tap dancers held a birthday love-in for ailing veteran tapper, Eddie Brown, 73, Sunday at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. Initially, however, the event verged on calamity. About 50 more tickets than the 200-seat theater had seats had been sold in advance or reserved. Another 50 people or so lined up in the hope of purchasing tickets at the door. Confusion led to a crush at the door and lots of frayed nerves.

It's OK if you know, but don't tell tap master Eddie Brown about the foot-stomping, rhythm-dancing benefit show planned in his honor Sunday at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. The 73-year-old dancer doesn't usually read The Times so it's safe to report that the show will feature plenty of tap colleagues who care about Brown, including Fayard Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers and Fred Strickler for starters and groups including Rhapsody in Taps and the Jazz Tap Ensemble.

Eddie Brown has been hoofing it for nearly seven decades now. "I been dancing ever since I was 5 years old," said Brown, 73, a tap master who will appear Saturday at Orange Coast College with Rhapsody in Taps, a troupe of five dancers and five jazz musicians based in Los Angeles. An Omaha native, the Los Angeles resident learned to tap on street corners, jamming all day with buddies. "A bunch of us got together and just traded steps."

When Cincinnati wide receiver Eddie Brown suffered a knee injury in last Monday night's game at Seattle, quarterback Boomer Esiason knew who his new main man was. "I grabbed Rodney Holman and told him that with Eddie out, he better find a way to get open," Esiason said. Holman found a lot of ways to get open Sunday, catching 10 passes for 161 yards in a 34-31 overtime victory over the Rams at Anaheim Stadium.

Eddie Brown was slow to sign with Cincinnati this season, but he brought some quickness back to the Bengals' sputtering offense once he did. Brown, fresh from a contract holdout, scored a touchdown on his first catch Sunday, sparking Cincinnati to a 41-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals' offense, ranked No. 1 last year in the NFL, sputtered without Brown in the exhibition season and in an opening loss to Chicago.

David Archer threw for 352 yards, including three touchdown passes to Eddie Brown, and Mike Pringle ran for two touchdowns as the Sacramento Surge improved to 6-2 with a 51-7 World League victory over Frankfurt at Sacramento. The Galaxy (2-6) has lost six in a row.