List of entertainers who performed in blackface
Bert Williams, shown here in blackface, was the highest-paid African-American entertainer of his day.
This is a list of entertainers known to have performed in blackface makeup, whether in a minstrel show, as satire or historical depiction of such roles, or in a portrayal of a character using makeup as a racial disguise, for whatever reason.
A–C
- Roy Acuff, country music singer, performed in blackface in 1930s-40s traveling medicine shows[1]
- Julie Andrews, in the 1964 film Mary Poppins[2]
- Anne of Denmark, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, in The Masque of Blackness[3]
- Fred Armisen, impersonating U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday Night Live in 2008 and 2009[4]
- Louis Armstrong, as Zulu King during 1949's Mardi Gras in New Orleans[5]
- Clarence Ashley, 1910s-1940s singer and blackface comedian in traveling medicine shows[6]
- Ant and Dec, in old sketches[7]
- Fred Astaire, in Swing Time (1936)[8] and in Easter Parade (1948)
- Gene Autry[6]
- Dan Aykroyd, in Trading Places (1983)[9]
- David Baddiel, while portraying Jason Lee on a 1995 episode of Fantasy Football League[10]
- Marcus "Buff" Bagwell, while performing for World Championship Wrestling[11]
- Fay Bainter, as Topsy in a 1933 production of Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Milt G. Barlow, 19th-century American minstrel[12]
- Ethel Barrymore, in the 1930 play Scarlet Sister Mary [13]
- Billy Barty, in Roman Scandals (1933)[14] and Rabbit Test (1978)
- Jack Black, in Be Kind Rewind (2008)[15]
- Sergei Bondarchuk, in Othello
- John Boulter, lead singer of the long-running Black and White Minstrel Show on the BBC[16]: 248
- Zach Braff, in the Scrubs episodes "My Friend the Doctor" and "My Chopped Liver"[17]
- Frank Brower, 1840s-1860s minstrel performer[18]
- Bugs Bunny, in the 1942 cartoon Fresh Hare[19]
- George Burns[6]
- Butterbeans and Susie[20]
- Eddie Cantor, 1912-1927 performances in vaudeville and Ziegfeld Follies[21]
- Judy Carne, in a 1969 episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In[22][23]
- Dave Chappelle, in a 2006 episode of Chappelle's Show[24]
- George Christy, born George Harrington but became a star with Christy's Minstrels in the 1840s[16]: 8
- Charles Correll[20]
- Bing Crosby,[25] in Dream House (1932), Mississippi (1935), Road to Singapore (1940), Holiday Inn (1942), Dixie (1943), and Here Come the Waves (1944)
- Billy Crystal, in the "Negro Leagues" skit on Saturday Night Live in 1984 and whenever impersonating Sammy Davis Jr., including at the 84th Academy Awards.[26]
D–G
- Ted Danson, at a 1993 Friars Club roast of his then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg[27]
- Tommy Davidson in the 2000 film Bamboozled[28]
- Sammy Davis, Jr.[25] in Ocean's Eleven (1960)[29]
- Shane Dawson, YouTuber, actor, and comedian[30]
- Neil Diamond in The Jazz Singer (1980 film)[31]
- Thomas Dilward, 1850s-1870s dwarf minstrel performer[32]
- George Washington Dixon, 1820s-1830s stage performer[33]
- Lew Dockstader, 1870s-1900s minstrel performer[34]
- Roma Downey in an episode of the television series Touched By An Angel entitled “Black Like Monica”, the character is turned black to better empathize with a community dealing with racial tensions.[35]
- Robert Downey Jr. in the 2008 film Tropic Thunder[36]
- Jimmy Durante[25]
- Harry Enfield, impersonating Nelson Mandela in the television show Harry & Paul.[37]
- The Ethiopian Serenaders were a Boston troupe which performed at the White House in 1844 and then toured Britain.[38]
- Jimmy Fallon, impersonating Chris Rock on Saturday Night Live[39]
- Edwin Forrest[40]
- Dai Francis, lead singer of the long-running Black and White Minstrel Show on the BBC[41]
- George Givot, in the play (1931)[42]
- Freeman Gosden[20]
- Billy Gould (1869-1950)[43]
- Savion Glover in the 2000 film Bamboozled[28]
H–L
- Sam Hague[44]
- Masatoshi Hamada, dressed in blackface as Eddie Murphy from the film Beverly Hills Cop for the 2017 New Year's Eve special of Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!![45]
- Jon Hamm on an episode of 30 Rock[46]
- Goldie Hawn, in a 1969 episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In[22][23]
- Bob Height[44]
- Charles Hicks[44]
- Ernest Hogan[20]
- C. Thomas Howell in the 1986 movie Soul Man[47]
- William A. Huntley[48] Starting 1860. Moved to whiteface in mid-1880s.
- George Jessel[6]
- Al Jolson[25]
- Louis Jordan[25]
- Buster Keaton, in vaudeville[20] in the short film Neighbors (1920), possibly with satiric intent: he alternates in and out of blackface, receiving a very different reaction from a policeman;[49] also in The Playhouse (1921) and College (1927)
- Billy Kersands, 1880s-1900s minstrel performer[50]
- Jimmy Kimmel, impersonating Karl Malone and Oprah Winfrey on The Man Show[51][52]
- Jane Krakowski twice on 30 Rock[46]
- Wallace King, 1880s minstrel performer[53]
- Francis Leon, 1870s-80s minstrel performer[54]
- Eddie Leonard, 1890s-1930s minstrel performer, "last of the great minstrels"[20]
- Sophia Loren in Aida (1953)[55]
- Peter Lorre, in the play Weisse Fracht[56]
- Matt Lucas, multiple characters in Little Britain, Precious Little in Come Fly with Me[57]
- Sam Lucas, 1870s minstrel performer[58]
M–R
- Pigmeat Markham, performer in 1920s-1950s traveling shows, as well as The Ed Sullivan Show and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In[59]
- Joni Mitchell appeared as black dandy, Art Nouveau, at parties and on the cover of Don Juan's Reckless Daughter[60]
- Mickey Mouse in the 1933 cartoon Mickey's Mellerdrammer[2]
- Emmett Miller,[44] an important influence on early country stars like Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills
- Flournoy E. Miller[20]
- Irvin C. Miller[20]
- Clayton McMichen[1]
- Bill Monroe[1]
- Moran and Mack[20]
- Herbert Wassell Nadal (1873-1957)[61]
- Cornelius J. O'Brien (1869-1954)[62]
- Laurence Olivier in Othello (1965)[63]
- Richard Pelham[44]
- Thomas D. Rice[44]
- Jimmie Rodgers[1]
- Benny Rubin[44]
S–Z
- Harry Scott of the comedy duo Scott and Whaley, an African American act working in Britain.[64]
- Ramblin' Tommy Scott[65]
- Sarah Silverman[66]
- Frank Sinatra, in the Major Bowes short The Big Minstrel (1935) and Ocean's Eleven (1960)[29]
- Grace Slick, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1968) and Teen Set magazine (1969)[67][68][69]
- Bessie Smith[25]
- Hobart Smith[6]
- Howard Stern in a series of 1991 skits as Clarence Thomas and in a 1993 New Year's Eve special[70]
- Bert Swor (1878-1943)[71]
- Shirley Temple in The Littlest Rebel.[16]: 152
- Frank Tinney, in vaudeville and Broadway musical comedies[72]
- Sophie Tucker[73]
- Tracey Ullman, in a 1989 episode of The Tracey Ullman Show[74]
- Ben Vereen, as a part of the 1981 inaugural celebrations for US President Ronald Reagan[75]
- Vladimir Vysotsky, as Abram Gannibal in How Czar Peter the Great Married Off His Moor
- David Walliams, minstrel character, Desiree Devere in Little Britain[57]
- George Walker[20]
- Billy Whitlock[44]
- Gene Wilder in Silver Streak (film)[76]
- Barney Williams[77]
- Bert Williams[44]
- Hank Williams[25]
- Bob Wills[1]
- Tom Wilson[44]
- Jane Withers in Can This Be Dixie?
- Jo Anne Worley, in a 1969 episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In[22][23]
See also
External links
- Kake Walk at UVM digital collection, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries
References
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- ^ Jump up to: a b Daniel Pollack-Pelzner (28 January 2019), "'Mary Poppins,' and a Nanny's Shameful Flirting With Blackface", New York Times
- ^ D. J. Gordon (1943), "The Imagery of Ben Jonson's the Masque of Blacknesse and the Masque of Beautie", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 6: 124, doi:10.2307/750427, JSTOR 750427
- ^ Is Blackface Ever OK? - Newsweek
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- ^ https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2020-06-10/ant-and-dec-apologise-saturday-night-takeaway-sketches/
- ^ Behind the Camera (4/30)
- ^ Evans’ Release – Ethan Skolnick's Season Ticket – Sun-Sentinel Archived 2007-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Blackface still dominates pop culture - but feigning ignorance is no longer an excuse
- ^ http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2006/articles/1142225472.php Archived March 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rice, Edward Le Roy - Monarchs of Minstrelsy from ‘Daddy Rice’ to Date (1911)
- ^ "The Theatre: Scarlet Sister; Red Apples". Time. December 1, 1930. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011.
- ^ "Billy Barty - Overview - MSN Movies". Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2008-02-22). "Be Kind Rewind". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
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- ^ Arnold Shaw (1986), Black Popular Music in America From the Spirituals, Minstrels, and Ragtime to Soul, Disco, and Hip-hop, Schirmer Books, p. 21, ISBN 9780028723105
- ^ Eddie Scarry (6 February 2019). "Why Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon aren't talking about blackface". New York Post. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
Fallon once appeared in a “Saturday Night Live” skit portraying Chris Rock, complete with makeup and wig.
- ^ Watkins p. 83
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- ^ http://amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/7/jimmy-kimmel-oprah-winfrey-jimmy-fallon-chris-rock/
- ^ Joseph A. Wulfsohn (5 February 2019). "Kimmel, Fallon avoid Ralph Northam controversy in late-night monologues; both have histories using blackface in skits". Fox News. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
Kimmel wore blackface on numerous occasions, impersonating NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone as well as former daytime talk show host Oprah Winfrey in his Comedy Central series “The Man Show.”
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- ^ "Neil O'Brien Dies at 85. Retired Minstrel Once With Primrose and Dockstader". New York Times. January 14, 1954. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
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- ^ Frank Tinney. The New York Times, November 29, 1940, p.26
- ^ Lott, Eric (1993). Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-509641-5.
- ^ "Tracey Ullman on Her New HBO Show, Creating Impressions of Famous People, and Her History With Blackface". Vulture. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "When Ben Vereen Wore Blackface to Reagan's Inaugural Gala". New Yorker. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ "Remembering Gene Wilder: In (not-quite) defense of 'Silver Streak'". Los Angeles Times. 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
- ^ Derby, George, White, James Terry - The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol. 5, 1897, p. 440
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