He was born James Hubert Blake.

He wrote Shuffle Along, among the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans.

Eubie! opened on Broadway in 1978 and featured his body of work.

He was he sole survivor of 8 children who died in infancy.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 from Ronald Reagan.

When he was 59 he enrolled in New York University and graduated in two and one half years.

He was on Saturday Night Live in 1979 with Gregory Hines.

His headstone was engraved with “I’m Just Wild About Harry.”

He reportedly said “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.”

He lied about his birth year, saying it was 1883 so he would be 100 years old.