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llTU STR ATK I) FEATURE SECTION- Jsnusry 81, 1981
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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 “
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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
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