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Stepin Fetchit
Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black actor to have a successful film career. His highest profile was during the 1930s in films and on stage, when his persona of Stepin Fetchit was billed as the "Laziest Man in the World". Perry parlayed the Fetchit persona into a successful film career, becoming the first black actor to earn $1 million. He was also the first black actor to receive featured screen credit in a film. Perry's film career slowed after 1939 and nearly stopped altogether after 1953. Around that time, Black Americans began to see his Stepin Fetchit persona as an embarrassing and harmful anachronism, echoing negative stereotypes. However, the Stepin Fetchit character has undergone a re-evaluation by some scholars in recent times, who view him as an embodiment of the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Key West, Florida
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, Florida, Stock Island, it constitutes the City of Key West. The Island of Key West is about long and wide, with a total land area of . It lies at the southernmost end of U.S. Route 1, the longest north–south road in the United States. Key West is about north of Cuba at their closest points. It is also southwest of Miami by air, about by road, and north-northeast of Havana. The City of Key West is the county seat of Monroe County, Florida, Monroe County, which includes a majority of the Florida Keys and part of the Everglades. The total land area of the city is . The official city motto is "One Human Family". Key West is the southernmost city in the contiguous United States and the westernmost island connected by highway in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Character Actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be almost unrecognizable from part to part, and yet play many, many roles convincingly and memorably. .." The term, often contrasted with that of leading actor, is somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. In a literal sense, all actors can be considered character actors since they all play "characters", but the term more commonly refers to an actor who frequently plays a distinctive and important supporting role. Character actors are generally well-known and recognizable by the audience (by appearance if not by name), even if they play different types of roles in different movies. A character actor may play characters who are very different from the actor's off-screen real-life personality, while in another sense a character actor may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Tough Winter
''A Tough Winter'' is a 1930 '' Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 99th (11th talking) ''Our Gang'' short that was released. Plot More a vehicle for black comedian Stepin Fetchit, the gang go to Wheezer's and Mary Ann's house to have a taffy pull. But they get the ingredients mixed up and make a huge mess. They attempt to clean up and ask Stepin to help, but he crosses wires, plumbing and gas lines. As a result, light bulbs pop, water sprays from gas heaters, a phone acts as a vacuum cleaner and music plays from the icebox. Fetchit was actually signed to a one year contract with Hal Roach Studios to appear with the gang in 9 episodes from the 1930-31 season. He was originally written into the scripts for several episodes, including Pups Is Pups, Helping Grandma, and Little Daddy. However, his contract was canceled for unknown reasons and the Our Gang Series continued without him. Cast The Gang * Norman Chaney as Chubby * Jackie Cooper as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the producer of the Laurel and Hardy films, ''Our Gang'' shorts were produced from 1922 to 1944, spanning the silent film and early sound film periods of American cinema. ''Our Gang'' is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively natural way; Roach and original director Robert F. McGowan worked to film the unaffected, raw nuances apparent in regular children, rather than have them imitate adult acting styles. The series also broke new ground by portraying white and black children interacting as equals during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the United States.Leonard Maltin, Maltin, Leonard (1994). ''The Little Rascals: Remastered and Uncut'', vol. 22, introduction. Videorecording. New York: Cabin Fever Entertainment/Hallmark E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Roach
Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, who was the founder of the namesake Hal Roach Studios. Roach was active in the industry from the 1910s to the 1990s and is best remembered today for producing a number of successes including the Laurel and Hardy franchise, the films of entertainer Charley Chase, and the ''Our Gang'' short film comedy series. Early life and career Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York, to Charles Henry Roach, whose father was born in Wicklow, County Wicklow, Ireland, and Mabel Gertrude Bally, her father John Bally being from Switzerland. A presentation by the American humorist Mark Twain impressed Roach as a young Primary education, grade school student. After an adventurous youth that took him to Alaska, Hal Roach arrived in Hollywood, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ol' Man River
"Ol' Man River" is a show tune from the 1927 musical ''Show Boat'' with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River. It is sung from the point of view of a black stevedore on a showboat,"Lesson: Ol’ Man River" (school lesson for Mississippi River), Michael E. Marrapodi, New Covenant Christian School, Ashland, Massachusetts, 2006, webpageMassGeo-River: shows phrase "feared of dyin' " (rather than "skeered" of dying) as sung in earlier recordings. and is the most famous song from the show. The song is meant to be performed in a slow tempo; it is sung complete once in the musical's lengthy first scene by the stevedore "Joe" who travels with the boat, and, in the stage version, is heard four more times in brief reprises. Joe serves as a sort of musical one-man Greek chorus, and the song, when reprised, comments on the action, as if saying, "This ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Show Boat (1929 Film)
''Show Boat'' is a 1929 American romantic drama film based on the 1926 novel ''Show Boat (novel), Show Boat'' by Edna Ferber. The film initially did not use the Show Boat, 1927 stage musical of the same name as a source, but scenes were later added into the film incorporating two of the songs from the musical as well as other songs. This version was released by Universal Studios, Universal in two editions, one a silent film for movie theatres still not equipped for sound, and one a part-talkie with a sound prologue. The film was long believed to be lost, but most of it has been found and released on LaserDisc and shown on Turner Classic Movies. A number of sections of the soundtrack were found in the mid-1990s on Vitaphone records, although the film was made with a Movietone sound system, Movietone soundtrack. Two more records were discovered in 2005. Plot The eighteen-year-old Magnolia meets, falls in love with, and elopes with riverboat gambler Gaylord Ravenal. After her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Bledsoe
Julius Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe (1898 – July 14, 1943) by John Troesser. Retrieved 2013-07-14. was an American and one of the first artists to gain regular employment on . Early life and education Jules Bledsoe was born Julius Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe to Henry L. and Jessie Cobb Bledsoe in |
Hearts In Dixie (movie)
''Hearts in Dixie'' (1929) starring Stepin Fetchit was one of the first all-sound film, "talkie", big-studio productions to boast a predominantly African-American cast. A musical film, musical, the film celebrates African-American music and dance. It was released by Fox Film Corporation just months before the release of ''Hallelujah (film), Hallelujah!'', another all-black musical by competitor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The director of ''Hearts in Dixie'' was Paul Sloane (director), Paul Sloane. Walter Weems wrote the screenplay, and William Fox (producer), William Fox was producer. Synopsis There is no overarching storyline. The film is a series of unconnected scenes celebrating the advent of sound technology in the context of "black music". ''Hearts in Dixie'' unfolds as a series of sketches of life among American blacks. Although the characters are not slaves they are nevertheless racial stereotypes in terms of the contemporary white images of the period. One plot focuses on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolynne Snowden
Carrie Artiemissia Snowden (January 16, 1900 – September 5, 1985), known professionally as Carolynne Snowden, was an American actress, dancer, and singer who broke new ground for black people working in the entertainment industry. Biography Carolynne was born in Oakland, California, to Frederick Snowden and Nellie Derrick. Early on in her career, she performed on the theater circuit, traveling the country and earning acclaim. She was singing and dancing at New York City's famous Cotton Club by the early 1920s. By 1925, she had relocated to Los Angeles to perform at the New Cotton Club and at Club Alabam on Central Avenue; she slowly began to get small roles in Hollywood films like ''The Marriage Clause'' and ''The Merry Widow''. Eventually she signed a five-year contract with John M. Stahl's Tiffany Pictures, which led to a bigger role in 1927's '' In Old Kentucky'' alongside Stepin Fetchit. Carolynne left Hollywood around 1933 after her Tiffany contract was up, taking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Old Kentucky (1927 Film)
''In Old Kentucky'' is a 1927 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by John M. Stahl. The film was based on the popular 1893 play of the same name by Charles T. Dazey and stars Helene Costello and James Murray. ''In Old Kentucky'' also features an early performance by Lincoln Perry, who later became known as Stepin Fetchit. The performance proved to be a breakthrough for Perry who signed a five-year contract with Fox Film Corporation shortly after the film's release. The film is a remake of the 1919 film of the same name which was M-G-M studio head Louis B. Mayer's first production as an independent producer. The play was adapted for the screen a third time in 1935 starring Will Rogers in one of his final film appearances. Cast * James Murray as Jimmy Brierly *Helene Costello as Nancy Holden *Wesley Barry as Skippy Lowry *Dorothy Cumming as Mrs. Brierly *Edward Martindel as Mr. Brierly * Harvey Clark as Dan Lowry *Stepin Fet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chicago Defender
''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim Crow-era violence and urged black people in the American South to settle in the north in what became the Great Migration. Abbott worked out an informal distribution system with Pullman porters who surreptitiously (and sometimes against southern state laws and mores) took his paper by rail far beyond Chicago, especially to African American readers in the southern United States. Under his nephew and chosen successor, John H. Sengstacke, the paper dealt with racial segregation in the United States, especially in the U.S. military, during World War II. Copies of the paper were passed along in communities, and it is estimated that at its most successful, each copy was read by four to five people. In 1919–1922, the ''Defender'' attracted t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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