Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost (middle), April 3, age 44:
Imagine a world without break dancing -- highly possible had there not been a
talented, flashy young man named Wayne Frost, who went by the name Frosty
Freeze. With his Rock Steady Crew, Frost burst onto the pop culture scene
... more in
1981 when The Village Voice first wrote about the trend of freestyle break
dancing. His trademark move, "the suicide," actually came about, he admitted
years later, when he muffed a backflip and landed on his back -- but the move
was a huge crowd-pleaser. He created his biggest splash with Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance," and suddenly break dancing and hip-hop went
mainstream. "Frosty was one of the most charismatic b-boys that was ever
around," director Benson Lee told The New York Times earlier this year. Lee
directed "Planet B-Boy," in which Mr. Frost appeared. "He had so much fun with
it." And thanks to him, so did we.