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About The advocate. (Portland, Or.) 19??-19?? | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1931)
The Advocate True Stories Achievement Stories , Clean Fiction - Human Interest Features ______________ n /tit « • « UasiNfs M i M u m M m iM to i lip r u iM M l i i n» n m a VI*« J» r is is i* m u « I* «'titre* llTU STR ATK I) FEATURE SECTION- Jsnusry 81, 1981 m U m IU *iM rst*d P e s tw r e H t f t l o n w e ie p o t« ), and do not dopir«, p rutc. .si* unto»« mi e»trt»an*d DOES B LA C K FA C E A C TIN G EXERT A M AGIC SPE LL OVER AMERICAN AUDIENCES? '• -.»T'*-»* - - - Ever since the great Bert W illiam s began the now prevalent artifice of corking the face, there has been a strange epidemic of blackface actors both bad and good an epidemic that shows no sign of abating By GEORGE SA N TA lllur king tht* face In»» not only In-come an art. it has lii'fonit’ un it 1 most sure ticket lo gi'eat popularity on the stage. Since many years ago when Ih-rt Williams, Americas greatest comedian o f nil time, tirst began the now prevalent practice of corking the face «m the stage, it has r, m a i n e d for virtually every actor who claimed any degree of finesse in the art of entertaining to smear his face with a gtiodly portion of soot, coloring, or any substance which created the exaggerated effect of a typical Negro, and mimic what ix conceived to he the everyday colored brother. T h r U lr * B r r t ” W i'li.in iv roitt r d r d by th e mont “ h a rd -b o il-d ” i r i t i s to h a v e been th e »reateM ro m rd ia n o f a ll time«. He, it ira a. w h o b e gan th e now p rev a len t ru stn m o f h la c k in t th e fa r e . It w av rum ored th a t (hi* m a ste r • ito r lilt tinon th r Idea a r r ld e n ta lly but th ere r a n he no d ou bt th a t she aa- tom ha« becom e a d eep ly Im bedded e sse n tia l to A m e rican s ta g '' h um or. • 'S c a rle t S is t e r M a r s “ ¥ I Ih rl n.irrvntnr«\ riillrd hr m snv " A m r r lr » 'i « ¡ r r » t r . l ■ (Ir n a ." » h o . iindiiuhlrdlv. I* onr nf th r forrm oxl p l-.rrr. oh th r t n i l h h « p r lk in i a la ir T h l» hi a ptrturr t how in* Ih r hrwutr "h r w « « rv rr mi rrlw U n l to roncrul in order to » i n fanu* vin Ih r h lark farr routr. H ie inlmllahle Johnny Hwdgtns, who spent quite a suecesaful period abroad and la still a recipient of great ovations whenever he appears Amateurs, profess!, nuts, bad and g xnl nctora have reaped the lucrative profits of the corked face. The success of blackface acting lias been little short of phenomenal. Over the radio by far the most popnla comedy team has been the mirth-provoking Amos ’n' Andy These two by sheer extta- tlon of the listener's Imagination have cre ated nil unprecedented demand for the rtdl- eullng type of blackface acting. The listen er-in on Amos 'n' Andy derives his pri mary entertainment from Imagining tha' these two comedians are thoroughly black ed so far its their laces are concerned and lira going through all of the ludicrous mo tions of tin* most preposterous so-called Ne gro Jargon. If for one moment the radio "bug Imagined his comedy Idols as white In ap- pearnncc. as they are suppised t i be In actuality the whole dubious Illusion ol Amos 'it Andy would be lost, and to Amos 'n' Andy their tloo.oon contract would be an evanescent dream Instead of a potent reality That they may not lose the advantages of Hits hlarklaeed cffeel, Correl and O o’ den have is a 11 cleverly handled their publicity so that far more plcturca of them are pub lished with their moneyed ' faces Ilian ap- l>ear wdlioul their magic makeup Al Jolson, tlm originate' (,t ih" "mammy racket did so cnlv with the me of ttv A scene from one o f the year's most unusual plays in which Ethel B a rry more. on the left, appeared in blackface in an effort to duplicate tile . a c c e s s o f Al Jokon. Amos and Ady and a host of other whltea who have attained fam e and fortune through the burnt cork route. ubiquitous blttckfacrd mask. One thinks of Al Jolson not as a Hebrew song writer but as a blarkfared sentiment dispenser on his knees, his arms out howling "mammy." He received ills Inspiration from ttie Inimitable Bert Williams years before Jolson had ever received the acclaim and. of course, the wealth, that has fallen his lot. Perhaps more than Jolson's unusual ability lo "put over" a song. It was (lie blackiaced scene in the "Singing Fool" that brought such widespread success to that weeping picture. Again. Eddie Cantor. Jolson's fellow He brew, has capitalized most magmnceuHy o n - • mammy" yowling In the picture -Whoopee." one of the very best shots was the clever msnair In which this smart little actor managed t v gel himself into the blackface attitude without deliberately sooting his lace. The song he sang while In this makeup was one of the best of the picture But on numerous other occasions Eddie Cantor has used unsparingly the Bert Williams method of making himself funny. And now comes Ethel B.irrymore, "Am er ica's greatest actress." in “ Scarlet Bister Mary" with a face necessarily so dark that she was many wis»ks In deciding whether she would allew It (o appear In print as It appeared In this unusual play Scarlet Sister Mary, the principal char acter, is a most unmoral colored girl who knows nothing of birth control and posses sing no sort of contraceptive Intelligence, allows her nonchalance hr matters of sex to simply color her life without the slightest bit of remorse. It has been up to Ethel Barrymore to portray Uris character in bold outlines In older to fully create the atmosphere alleged to exist among Nngr'es In certain sections of the United States This aspect of the great actress's step does not here concern this article. It is far more significant that she. too. has felt the magic spell of blackface acting. Not satis- lied with being considered America's great est aetress. she wishes to establish herself as immortally in the minds and hearts of her public as did Bert Williams, tier proto type The most colorful Negro exponents of blackface acting are Miller and Lvles. From the famous "Shuffle A lo n f down to the present time this team has had marked success in this field. Recently, they separated as a team to follow their chosen professions separately, but now they have united again, realising that they are far more effective together than apart. It has been rumored that Amos n' Andy <‘outlim ed an Page Eight
