Rudy Ray Moore

Rudolph Frank Moore (March 17, 1927October 19, 2008), known as Rudy Ray Moore, was an American comedian, singer, actor, and film producer.
Retrieved February 23, 2014 He created the character Dolemite, the pimp from the 1975 film ''Dolemite'' and its sequels, '' The Human Tornado'' and ''The Dolemite Explosion'' (aka ''The Return of Dolemite''). The persona was developed during his early comedy records.Allmusic Biography by Cub Koda Retrieved February 23, 2014Soren Baker, "`Dolemite' star explores music", ''The Chicago Tribune'', 10 May 2002
Retrieved February 23, 2014 The recordings often featured Moore delivering profanity-filled rhyming poetry, which later earned Moore the nickname "the Godfather of Rap." Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy portrayed Moore in the 2019 film '' Dolemite Is My Name''.

Early life

Moore was born and raised in the Johnson House on 1400 North 12th Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and eventually moved to Akron, Ohio, and then Milwaukee. In Milwaukee, he preached in churches and worked as a nightclub dancer.Dootsie Williams, Liner notes for ''Below The Belt''
. Retrieved February 23, 2014 He returned to Akron, working in clubs as a singer, dancer, and comedian, often appearing in character as Prince DuMarr. He joined the US Army and served in an entertainment unit in Germany, where he was nicknamed the Harlem Hillbilly for singing country songs in an R&B style. He developed an interest in comedy in the Army after expanding on a singing performance for other servicemen.Biography by Mark Jason Murray at Rudy Ray Moore website
. Retrieved February 23, 2014

After his honorable discharge he lived in Seattle and then Los Angeles, where he continued to work in clubs and was discovered by record producer Dootsie Williams. He recorded rhythm and blues songs for the Federal, Cash, Ball, Kent, and Imperial labels between 1955 and 1962, and released his first comedy albums, ''Below the Belt'' (1961), ''The Beatnik Scene'' (1962), and ''A Comedian Is Born'' (1964).

Career

Dolemite records and wider acclaim

By his own account, Moore was working at the world famous Dolphin's of Hollywood record store in Los Angeles in 1970 when he began hearing obscene stories of "Dolemite" recounted by a local man named Rico. Moore recorded a number of street poets, including Big Brown who, before he moved to Los Angeles, had been an influence on Bob Dylan, among other artists, while living in Greenwich Village. (Dylan said Brown's poetry was the best poetry he had ever heard.) In 1973, Moore produced Brown's album, ''The First Man of Poetry, Big Brown: Between Heaven and Hell''.

According to Moore, the genesis for his decision to develop the "Dolemite" character came when he invited Rico into Dolphin's, where he let him perform:

Moore began recording the stories, and assumed the role of "Dolemite" in his club act and on recordings.Jocelyn Y Stewart, "Obituary: Rudy Ray Moore", ''Los Angeles Times'', 21 October 2008
Retrieved February 23, 2014 In 1970–71 he recorded three albums of material, ''Eat Out More Often'', ''This Pussy Belongs To Me'', and ''The Dirty Dozens'', where "with jazz and R&B musicians playing in the background, oorewould recite raunchy, sexually explicit rhymes that often had to do with pimps, prostitutes, players, and hustlers."

Moore was influenced by more mainstream comedians such as Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, as well as by traditions such as the Dozens. The recordings were usually made in Moore's apartment, with friends in attendance to give a party atmosphere. The album covers and contents were often too racy to be put on display in record stores, but the records became popular through word of mouth and were highly successful in Black American communities, where his "warped wit and anti-establishment outlook" were embraced.

''Dolemite'' movie and later success

Moore spent most of his earnings from the records to finance the movie ''Dolemite'', which started filming in January, 1974. It was released and distributed nationally beginning in April 1975, and has been described as "one of the great blaxploitation movies" of the 1970s. The character was "the ultimate ghetto hero: a bad dude, profane, skilled at kung-fu, dressed to kill and hell-bent on protecting the community from evil menaces. He was a pimp with a kung-fu-fighting clique of prostitutes and he was known for his sexual prowess."

The film was successful and was followed by '' The Human Tornado'', '' The Monkey Hustle'', and '' Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil's Son-in-Law''. Moore continued to release albums that appealed to his enduring fanbase through the 1970s and 1980s, but little of his work reached a white audience. His "rapid-fire rhyming salaciousness exceeded the wildest excesses" of Foxx and Pryor, and his highly explicit style kept him off television and major films. At the same time, Moore often spoke in his church and regularly took his mother to the National Baptist Convention. He said that: "I wasn't saying dirty words just to say them... It was a form of art, sketches in which I developed ghetto characters who cursed. I don't want to be referred to as a dirty old man, rather a ghetto expressionist."

Later career

In 1990, Moore appeared on Big Daddy Kane's album ''Taste of Chocolate'' and Eric B. & Rakim's music video for "In The Ghetto". Four years later, he appeared on Method Man's album '' Tical'' and 2 Live Crew's album '' Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4''. 2 Live Crew attributed their use of obscenity-laden lyrics to Moore's act. After appearing on a 1995 episode of ''Martin'' titled "The Players Came Home", he reprised the Dolemite character for the intro of Busta Rhymes' album '' When Disaster Strikes...'' Snoop Dogg's 1999 album ''No Limit Top Dogg'', and Ol' Dirty Bastard‘s 1999 music video " Got Your Money“, in which the rapper was digitally inserted into scenes of ''Dolemite''. He again reprised Dolemite in the 2000 film '' Big Money Hustlas'', a film created by and starring the rap-rock group Insane Clown Posse. In 2001, Moore was a featured guest in the intro of Busta Rhymes' album ''Genesis''. Five years later, Moore voice-acted in the show '' Sons of Butcher'', as Rudy, and Joseph in season 2. Moore reprised the character Petey Wheatstraw on the 2008 song "I Live for the Funk", which featured Blowfly and Daniel Jordan. It marked the first time Blowfly and Moore collaborated on the same record together, as well as the 30-year anniversary of the movie ''Petey Wheatstraw''; it was also the final recording Moore made before his death.

Personal life

Moore never married. His long-time manager,Donald Randell and entertainer Stanton Z. LaVey, a friend of Moore's, said in 2019 that Moore was "very much bisexual, if not gay", and that his Dolemite persona helped cover it up.

Death

On October 19, 2008, Moore died in Toledo, Ohio, of complications from diabetes. His mother, two brothers, two sisters, a daughter, and grandchildren survived him.

Legacy

He came to be regarded as a major influence by many later rap stars. Snoop Dogg said that "without Rudy Ray Moore, there would be no Snoop Dogg, and that's for real."

On June 7, 2018, it was announced that Craig Brewer would direct '' Dolemite Is My Name'' from a script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski with Netflix producing and distributing and Eddie Murphy starring as Moore. Later that month, the rest of the principal cast was announced. In July 2018, Chris Rock and Ron Cephas Jones joined the cast. Principal photography began on June 12, 2018. In August 2019, the trailer was released. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and received a limited release on October 4, 2019, before digital streaming on October 25, 2019.

In January 2022, a detailed biography, ''Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself: The Authorized Biography of Rudy Ray Moore aka Dolemite'' by Mark Jason Murray, was released.

Discography

Albums

;Comedy
*''Below the Belt'' (1959)
*''Beatnik Scene'' (1962)
*''A Comedian Is Born'' (1964)
*''Let's Come Together'' (1970, recorded 1967)
*''Eat Out More Often'' (1970) (Kent KST 001)
*''This Pussy Belongs to Me'' (1971) (Kent KST 002) – with "The Signifying Monkee"
*''Dolemite for President'' (1972)
*''Merry Christmas, Baby''
*''The Cockpit'' – with "Petey Wheatstraw – The Devil's Son-in-Law"
*''Return of Dolemite'' (featuring The Grunts & Groans of Love)
*''The Sensuous Black Man – by "The Prince"''
*''Zodiac''
*''I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Thing''
*''Jokes by Redd Foxx''
*''Live in Concert''
*''The Player—The Hustler''
*''House Party: Dirty Dozens Vol. 1''
*''The Streaker''
*''Dolemite Is Another Crazy Nigger''
*''Sweet Peeter Jeeter''
*''Close Encounter of the Sex Kind''
*''Good-Ole Big Ones''
*''Hip-Shakin' Papa''
*''Greatest Hits'' (1995)
*''This Ain't No White Christmas''
*''Raw, Rude, and Real—More Greatest Hits''
*''Phantom Surfers – XXX Party'' (2000)
*''21st-Century Dolemite'' (2002)
*''Genius of Rudy Ray Moore''
*''Dolemite for President — Special Edition'' (2008)
*''50 Years of Cussing'' (2009)
*''50 Years of Cussing, Vol. 2'' (2019)

;Music
*''The Turning Point'' (1972)
*''Hully Gully Fever'' (2000; compilation)

Singles

*"Step It Up and Go" (King Records)
*"Below the Belt" (Dooto)
*"The Roosevelt" (Dooto)
*"Let's Come Together"
*"My Soul" – The Seniors (Ball 001)
*"Rally in the Valley" (Vermont 105-45)
*"Hully Gully Papa" (Case Records 1006)

Filmography

References

External links

Rudy Ray Moore official Web site
*

Dolemite Records



Rudy Ray Moore Record Label
* Zolten, Jerry, "'I Ain't Lyin'!' The Unexpurgated Truth about Rudy Ray Moore." ''Living Blues'' # 157, May/June 2001.

ZZZlist.com 2007 interview with Rudy Ray Moore

Rudy Ray Moore dies at the age of 81

MTV Obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Rudy Ray
1927 births
2008 deaths
African-American male actors
African-American male comedians
African-American comedians
20th-century African-American male singers
American male comedians
Male actors from Arkansas
Singers from Arkansas
Norton Records artists
Deaths from diabetes in the United States
People from Fort Smith, Arkansas
Male actors from Cleveland
Imperial Records artists
Kent Records artists
20th-century American singers
Comedians from Cleveland
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
Comedians from Arkansas
Comedians from California
20th-century American male singers
21st-century African-American people