Michael Chambers

Last updated
Michael Chambers
Born (1967-11-13) November 13, 1967 (age 56)
Nationality American
Other namesBoogaloo Shrimp
Occupations
  • Actor
  • dancer
Years active1983–present
Known forTony "Turbo" in Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
Website http://www.boogalooshrimp.com

Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers (born November 13, 1967) is an American dancer and actor, known for his role as "Turbo" in the 1984 film Breakin' and its sequel, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo , in which he is credited as "Boogaloo Shrimp". Chambers, along with his Breakin' series co-star Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quiñones and other dancers from the films, were prominently featured in the music videos for Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" (1983) and Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You" (1984).

Contents

Early life

Chambers, born in Wilmington, California, is the youngest of four. In 1978, while at junior high, Chambers saw a member of the Samoan American dance group Blue City Strutters perform. The group would influence Chambers' style by performing King Tut and domino routines. [1] Initially, he formulated his style of dance through his interest in fantasy and sci-fi television shows, including the work of Ray Harryhausen and others. He credits his older brother with introducing him to the "moonwalk".

While still a teenager, Chambers' older brother would take him to Redondo Beach, California, where he would perform for money.[ citation needed ] Chambers' sister gave him a jacket that read "Mike a.k.a. Boogaloo Shrimp", his street dancing name. Chambers would meet Bruno "Pop N Taco" Falcon and Timothy "Popin' Pete". Both would later be featured in the Breakin' series.

Career

Chambers' early stints were through television commercials, followed by an appearance in the music video for Lionel Richie's "All Night Long". He made appearances in the videos for Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You", Richard Marx' "Children of the Night", Stacey Q's "Give You All My Love" and Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract", where he played the character MC Skat Kat and was an assistant choreographer. In 1985, he co-starred in "Stop the Madness", an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration. He also appeared in such films as Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)—as a dancing robot— Naked Gun 33+13: The Final Insult (1994) and Dudley Do-Right (1999). He also appeared as Urkel-Bot in two episodes of the television show Family Matters : "Robo-Nerd" and "Robo-Nerd II".

Chambers was the announcer on the children's show Fun House from 1990 to 1991. He also appeared in Sugar Ray's 1997 video for the song "Fly" and break danced in the video.

Chambers has been invited as a speaker several times to USC's Thorton School of Music. He has also spoken at Santa Monica College, the University of Redlands, and gave a surprise visit to Spelman College in Georgia, U.S.

In 2014, Chambers was in talks to do a second sequel to the Breakin' franchise. As of 2020, Chambers is set to release a website, as well as music and YouTube pages, featuring his original footage from his early career.

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1983Breakin' 'N' Enterin'Selfas Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers
1984 Breakin' Turbo / Tonyas Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers
1984 Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo Turboas Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers
1991 Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey Good Robot Billas Michael 'Shrimp' Chambers
1994 Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult Dancer
1999 Dudley Do-Right Dancer
2018Groove StreetShrimp
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1991–1994 Family Matters (TV Series) Urkelbot / Emile4 episodes
Music videos
YearTitleRoleNotes
1983 Lionel Richie: All Night Long (All Night) Break Dancer
1984 Chaka Khan: I Feel for You Michael Chambers
1986 Stop the Madness Michael Chambers
1989 Paula Abdul: Knocked Out - Version 2 [ broken anchor ]Skeleton DancerUncredited

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References

  1. Higa, B. & Wiggins, C. (1996) "Electric Kingdom" The history of popping and locking, from the people who made it happen. Rap Pages. Sep. 1996: 52-67. Print.