These Fast-Steppers Made Jackson Famous
The Zouaves of the local American Legion post were a sensation, even performing on Ed Sullivan and in a Danny Kaye film
Jackson — For much of the 1900s, the most famous American Legion post in America was the one in Jackson, Michigan—and it was all thanks to a group of fast-stepping veterans known as the Zouaves.
Zouave drill teams started popping up all across the country in the late 1800s. They were precision drill teams that performed quick-stepping routines, and they were fashioned after the original Zouaves, French troops who served in North Africa and wore colorful outfits that featured baggy pants, vests, and fezzes.
They were especially popular at American Legion posts, and at one time in the 1900s, there were more than 100 active Zouave drill teams in the country.
And none of them were better, faster, or more famous that the one from the American Legion Richard F. Smith Post 29 in Jackson. The Jackson American Legion Zouaves formed in the early 1920s, and within a few years, they were the toast of the nation.
They performed all over the world and were wildly popular everywhere they went. The Jackson American Legion Zouaves reached the zenith of their popularity in the 1950s, when they made numerous national TV appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and then made it to Hollywood, appearing in Danny Kaye’s most beloved movie, “The Court Jester.”
Simply put, the Jackson American Legion Zouaves rank as one of the most renowned performing groups this state has ever known, right up there with The Supremes, The Temptations, and the Michigan and Michigan State marching bands.
The Jackson American Legion Zouaves formed in 1923 under the direction of Capt. Harry C. Devlin, the legendary son of a Civil War veteran who had formed a Zouave drill team at a military school in Jackson in 1890. That team eventually morphed into the one at the American Legion post.
The original Zouaves from the American Legion post were all Jackson-area World War I veterans who had returned home from the war and thought it might be fun to join the drill team.
They were an immediate hit. They performed in the summer of 1923 at the State American Legion convention in Ironwood, and invitations to perform started pouring in from all over the state.
They started performing all over the country, and in 1927, they went international, performing in Paris at a ceremony commemorating the end of World War I.
The Jackson Citizen Patriot reported, “The Jackson post of the American Legion is sending its drill team to France that it may attend the national convention of the Legionnaires and take part in the decoration of the graves of Michigan soldiers who are buried abroad.”
Their popularity continued to soar throughout the 1930s and, at some point in the 1940s, somebody started holding a world championship for Zouave drill teams. Not surprisingly, the crew from the Jackson won it every time.
When the 1950s rolled around, the Jackson American Legion Zouaves were true sensations. They performed at the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 and caught the attention of Ed Sullivan, who started booking them for his TV show every chance he got.
Ed himself once sent a telegram to the Post in Jackson, expressing his regret that he wasn’t able to attend a banquet honoring the drill team. In it, he called the Jackson Zouaves “the best darn act we ever had.”
Thankfully, several of those appearances have been preserved on YouTube, so folks today can see just how damn cool the Jackson American Legion Zouaves were.
Their popularity kicked up another notch in 1954 when they went to Hollywood to star in Danny Kaye’s hit film, “The Court Jester.” It’s a rip-roaring comedy set in Medieval England, and the Zouaves were hired to play palace guards in a scene where Kaye’s court jester character becomes a knight. As the Jackson Zouaves are doing their fast-stepping routines, Kaye gets caught up in the madness.
It's one of the best (and funniest) scenes in the movie, and once again, we can be thankful that it’s been preserved.
The Zouaves spent 18 days in Hollywood filming their scene, and it was the thrill of a lifetime for them. One of the last surviving members, Ken Melville of Spring Arbor, talked about the experience in 2012 to MLive.
“It was a great bunch of guys, and we had so much fun,” Melville said. “They paid us $133 a day, which was pretty good. We each kept $50, sent $50 home and put $33 in the Zouaves' kitty.”
There were a few more TV appearances and other big performances in the 1960s, but by the time the 1970s rolled around, Ed Sullivan was off the air and the gigs dried up. By 1975, the Jackson American Legion Zouaves had officially disbanded.
A quick check of the Internet shows there are no active Zouave drill teams anywhere in the country these days, so all we have left are the memories (and YouTube clips) of “the best darn act” Ed Sullivan ever saw.
