‘Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo’ dancing star Adolfo Quiñones aka Shabba-Doo dead at 65
Adolfo Quiñones, the innovative choreographer and actor best known for his film role as Ozone Barco in “Breakin’” and “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” has died at the age of 65.
Quiñones, known professionally as Shabba-Doo, passed away Tuesday at his Los Angeles home, reported The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.
His publicist, Biff Warren confirmed Quiñones’ passing, noting that he died one day after testing negative for coronavirus.
“The next day he’s dead,” Warren told The Reporter. “It opens up all kinds of questions.”
Born in Chicago in 1955, Quiñones co-founded the dance troupe The Lockers, which specialized in the pre-hip-hop dance known as locking. Among its earliest members were “Mickey” singer Toni Basil and “What’s Happening!!” star Fred Berry.
The son of an African-American mother and Puerto Rican father, Quiñones’ dance idols were an eclectic mix of genres and generations, including Fred Astaire, Jackie Wilson and Cab Calloway.
“When I was 3 or 4 year old, I used to dance for my family at parties and holidays for change,” he recalled during one interview. “I grew up in a mixed household . . . so I would listen to James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Tito Puente, all in the same moment.”
After appearing as a dancer on “Soul Train” and backing Bette Midler’s “Bette! Divine Madness” Broadway show in the early 1980s, he toured with Madonna on her 1987 Who’s That Girl? Tour, according to The Reporter.
Quiñones also made memorable TV appearances during the 1980s and ‘90s, notably “Miami Vice” and “Kids Incorporated.”
On the 1990 “Married . . . with Children” episode “Rock and Roll Girl,” he drew laughs as a flummoxed music video director desperately trying to get klutzy Christina Applegate to follow his commands.
That same year, Quiñones starred as Ramone in the dance drama “Lambada.”
He also wrote and directed the 1993 feature film “Rave, Dancing to a Different Beat,” according to IMDb.
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In 2006, he choreographed the Academy Awards dance routine for Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” which won the Oscar for original song.
Twice-wed, Quiñones married “Waiting to Exhale” actress Lela Rochon in 1982 but divorced five years later.
He is survived by two children, according to Extra.
