Bunny Briggs (February 26, 1922 – November 15, 2014) was an American tap dancer who was inducted into the American Tap Dancing Hall of Fame in 2006.
Briggs was born under the name Bernard Briggs in Harlem, New York on February 26, 1922.[1] When asked about his nickname Briggs said "Well, I'm fast."[1] At one point he thought about becoming a Catholic priest[2][full citation needed] but his priest told Briggs that "God clearly wanted him to be a dancer."[1] In the 1960s, Briggs was known to dance with the likes of bandleaders Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington, so much so that Briggs was deemed "Duke's dancer."[1] In May 1985 Briggs performed on the NBC TV Special, "Motown Returns to the Apollo." He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1989 for his work in the Broadway show Black and Blue. He appeared on stage and in movies including the Gregory Hines film Tap in 1989. In 2002, Briggs received an honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts in American Dance by Oklahoma City University in 2002, honoring him as one of the nine doctorates of Tap Dance.[3]