Chubby Checker, an American rock and roll singer and dancer, has been
delighting us for 80 years with his special gift.
He is renowned for his hit songs like "Let's Twist Again," but he is
perhaps best recognized for popularizing dance moves like the Twist and the
Pony.
Checker, who was born in 1941 in South Carolina and was reared in South
Philadelphia's projects, rapidly learned that one of his greatest talents
was mimicry. By high school, he was amusing his peers by channeling Jerry
Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino.
Music executives wanted Checker to record his own version of "The Twist,"
which Hank Ballard had originally written and sung, after Checker joined
with Cameo-Parkway Records in 1959.
When Checker published his rendition of the song along with a dance
routine, it immediately became popular. Due to the flexibility it afforded
partners to separate on the dance floor, "The Twist" was a groundbreaking
dance style.
Since then, he's had 34 hits including the first Grammy-winning rock &
roll tune.
A former beauty queen named Catharina Lodders and he have been happily
married for 57 years, despite several challenges in their
relationship.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had just been passed when the couple was
married in 1964. The act resulted in the removal of limitations on
African-Americans' ability to vote as well as the end of racial segregation
in the military, educational institutions, and fundamental government
functions, but it did not end outlaw interracial marriage.
This restriction wasn't abolished until three years after their
marriage.
When people found out he was marrying a white lady, he told Philadelphia
Magazine in 2015: "I didn't care. There is no hue to love.
The couple nonetheless got married at Temple Lutheran Church in Pennsauken,
New Jersey, despite this enormous hurdle. When they got married, the couple
was 22 years old. Their wedding ceremony was handled by Rev. George L.
Garver, who made no mention of the couple's mixed-race union.
When Jet Magazine interviewed Checker and his wife a few months after their
wedding to see how marriage was going, they were the picture of
contentment.
Checker declared that he adored his marriage and assured Lodders that it
would endure in any circumstance.
Checker claimed that although his wife was aware of the racial issues in
America, she didn't care. He claimed that because they shared a similar
outlook on life, they got along well and had a blast together.
Just one month after her tenure as Miss World came to an end, in December
1963, Checkers proposed to Lodders at his parents' house. They had first met
in Manila in January 1962.
In 1962, the same year she won Miss Holland, the Dutch model made history
by becoming Miss World in London at the age of just 20.
Checker and Lodders encountered prejudice when they first tried to buy a
new home in Philadelphia during the early months of their marriage, but they
weren't deterred and in 1965 they bought a house outside of Philadelphia,
where they still live today.
Bianca Johanna Evans, WNBA player Mistie Bass, and musician Shan Egan are
three successful offspring of their 57-year marriage, which has been
sustained by their love and understanding. They have seven grandkids
altogether.
According to a 2016 Herald-Tribune article, Checker and Lodders paid a
visit to Garver, the former pastor who presided over their wedding on his
100th birthday.
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