The film explores Tony Award winner Manning's life "from a teenager in Harlem to a worldwide icon of swing dance." Manning died April 27 at the age of 94.
The documentary, according to press notes, "features the last major interview of Frankie Manning before his death, as well as precious archival footage of his dancing from the 1930's to 2009 in New York, Hollywood, Sweden, France, Italy and Singapore. Footage highlights include scenes of Manning's birthday parties, where he danced with one woman for each year he'd been alive, the legendary dance scene choreographed and headlined by Manning for the film 'Hellzapoppin,' and the phenomenal duet with his 76-year-old son, Chazz, himself a professional dancer."
Julie Cohen, director of the documentary, said in a statement, "Frankie Manning was a man who truly lived every moment of his life. Having spent the past two months watching hundreds of hours of footage of him dancing from the 1930's to the present, I've seen the joy he took in every step."
Frankie Manning won a Tony Award for his choreography for Broadway's Black and Blue and was the creative historic consultant for Play On!
"Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging" is produced by BetterThanFiction Productions for Thirteen in association with WNET.ORG. WLIW will air an encore presentation May 28 at 10:30 PM ET.