* 1943 Special Academy Award, the only award to an African American man up until that point.
Others:
* The Dance Magazine Honors, posthumous, 1988
* The National Tap Dance Day Festival, held in his honor in New York, 1989
* Inducted into the National Association of Dance Masters, posthumously, 1994
* Hoofer Award for Lifetime Achievement, awarded posthumously at the first annual DVD Awards in 2002