Thomas Dilward

Who was Thomas Dilward?

Thomas Dilward, also known by the stage name Japanese Tommy, was an African-American dwarf who performed in the blackface minstrel show. He was also sometimes billed as "The African 'Tom Thumb'" and the "African Dwarf Tommy".

Dilwared is one of only two known Blacks to have performed with white minstrel companies before the American Civil War. Dilward's size, between 23 and 36 inches in height, made him a "curious attraction" and allowed him to take to the stage with whites at a time when almost no black men did; in addition, his stage name may have been intended to hide his ethnic background. He was famous for his skills at singing, dancing, and playing the violin. He has also been credited in John Russell Bartlett’s 1877 Dictionary of Americanisms with having invented the word hunky-dory, meaning "everything is all right".