DeWayne Jessie
Encyclopedia
DeWayne Jessie (born 1953) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Otis Day
Otis Day and the Knights
Otis Day and the Knights was originally created as a fictional band to perform in the movie National Lampoon's Animal House. They are best known for their version of "Shout" and "Shama Lama Ding Dong". Otis Day was played by DeWayne Jessie. Robert Cray was one of the members of the band in the...

 in National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...

. In the movie, the songs "Shama Lama Ding Dong
Shama Lama Ding Dong
"Shama Lama Ding Dong" is the title of a song written by Mark Davis and performed by fictional band Otis Day and the Knights in the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House...

" and "Shout" were sung by Lloyd Williams and lip-synched by Jessie. He eventually released his own versions on CD as Otis Day & The Knights entitled "Shout" on MCA Records in 1989. The CD was produced by Funkadelic George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...

. Jessie and the rest of the band members were initiated as honorary members of Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

 Fraternity at the University of Central Oklahoma in 1985.

He is the younger brother of R&B singer Young Jessie
Young Jessie
Obediah Donnell "Obie" Jessie , is an African American R&B and jazz singer and songwriter. He recorded as Young Jessie in the 1950s and 1960s, and was known for his solo career, work with The Flairs and a brief stint in The Coasters...

, who sang with The Flairs
The Flairs
The Flairs were an American doo-wop group based in Los Angeles. They went through several lineup changes during their existence. Their notable members included Richard Berry and Cornell Gunter, who would go on to being a member of The Coasters.-Career:In 1952, an African-American musical group...

 and The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...

.

Filmography

  • Halls of Anger
    Halls of Anger
    Halls of Anger is an American drama directed by Paul Bogart. The drama features Calvin Lockhart, Janet MacLachlan, Jeff Bridges and James A. Watson Jr.-Cast:* Calvin Lockhart as Quincy Davis* Janet MacLachlan as Lorraine Nash...

    (1970)
  • Darktown Strutters (1974)
  • The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder
    The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder
    The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder is a 1974 film from Playboy Enterprises directed by Arthur Hiller and produced by Hugh Hefner. This was the final film for actor George Marshall.-Plot:...

    (1974)
  • The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings is a comedic sports film about a team of enterprising ex-Negro League baseball players in the era of racial segregation. Loosely based upon William Brashler's novel of the same name, it starred Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor...

    (1976)
  • Car Wash (1976)
  • Sparkle
    Sparkle (1976 film)
    Sparkle is a 1976 American film directed by Sam O'Steen and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. Inspired by The Supremes, Sparkle is a period film set in Harlem, New York during the late 1950s and early 1960s which follows the rough lives and careers of singer Sparkle Williams and her family and...

    (1976)
  • Fun with Dick and Jane
    Fun with Dick and Jane (1977 film)
    Fun with Dick and Jane is a 1977 American film starring George Segal and Jane Fonda as an upper-middle-class couple who lose their jobs, fall through the cracks of society in the United States and then become high-class thieves to get back all they lost. The comedy was directed by Ted Kotcheff and...

    (1977)
  • Scott Joplin (TV) (1977)
  • Which Way Is Up?
    Which Way Is Up?
    Which Way is Up? is a comedy film starring Richard Pryor. It was directed by Michael Schultz, and is a remake of the 1972 Italian film The Seduction of Mimi, which was written and directed by Lina Wertmuller....

    (1977)
  • National Lampoon's Animal House
    National Lampoon's Animal House
    National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...

    (1978)
  • Thank God It's Friday
    Thank God It's Friday
    The triple album was, unlike the movie, a commercial success. It contained contributions from some of the biggest names in disco at the time, including Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Thelma Houston, The Commodores, and many others....

    (1978)
  • Where the Buffalo Roam
    Where the Buffalo Roam
    Where the Buffalo Roam is a 1980 American semi-biographical comedy film which loosely depicts Hunter S. Thompson's rise to fame in the 1970s and his relationship with Chicano attorney and activist Oscar Zeta Acosta. Art Linson directed the picture, while Bill Murray portrayed the author and Peter...

    (1980)
  • The Star Chamber
    The Star Chamber
    The Star Chamber is a 1983 American thriller film written by Roderick Taylor and directed by Peter Hyams. It stars Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook...

    (1983)
  • D.C. Cab
    D.C. Cab
    D.C. Cab is a 1983 comedy film, starring Mr. T, Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Gary Busey and a special appearance by singer Irene Cara. The film was co-written and directed by Joel Schumacher. The R-rated comedy was controversial upon release due to Mr...

    (1983)
  • Otis Day And The Knights: Otis My Man! (documentary) (1986)
  • Drawn Together (cameo) (2007)

External links

  • [ Allmusic - Otis Day And The Knights]
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK