DeWayne Jessie (a.k.a. "Otis Day"; born September 21, 1951) is an American character actor best known for his portrayal of
Otis Day in ''
National Lampoon's Animal House
''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...
''. In the movie, the songs "
Shama Lama Ding Dong "Shama Lama Ding Dong" is a song written by and performed by fictional band Otis Day and the Knights in the 1978 film '' National Lampoon's Animal House''. Although Otis Day was portrayed by DeWayne Jessie in the film, the lead vocals were actual ...
" and "
Shout" were sung by
Lloyd G. Williams and lip-synched by Jessie.
In the 1980s, Jessie purchased the rights to the band name Otis Day and The Knights from Universal Studios and formed a real-life version of the band with some members of his family and toured the country for years afterward, with Jessie assuming the identity of Otis Day. The group released a concert video, ''Otis My Man'', in 1987 and recorded an album, produced by
George Clinton, that came out in 1989 titled ''Shout'' which flopped. It included updated versions of "Shout" and "Shama Lama Ding Dong" sung by Jessie.
Jessie and the rest of the band members were initiated as honorary members of
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...
fraternity at the University of Central Oklahoma in 1985. He lives with three of his grandchildren.
Filmography
External links
*
Allmusic - Otis Day And The Knights*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessie, Dewayne
1951 births
Living people
American male film actors
African-American male actors
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people