Moms Mabley
Encyclopedia
Jackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), was an American standup comedian
and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit
" of African-American vaudeville.
, in 1894. Her father, James P. Aiken, owned and operated several businesses, while her mother, Mary, kept house and took in boarders. Her father died a sudden accidental death when she was eleven. In 1910, her mother picked up the primary business, a general store.
James's father Henry was considered a mulatto, meaning that James P. Aiken might have been half white. James's mother Bettie was able to read and write five years after the abolition of slavery
, so she may have been a free woman of color. The genealogy of Loretta was conducted by a D. Richmond. "She has a very interesting lineage worth researching," states Richmond. By the age of fifteen, Mabley had reportedly been raped twice and had two children who were given up for adoption. After being pressured by her stepfather to marry a much older man and encouraged by her grandmother to strike out on her own, she ran away to Cleveland, Ohio
with a traveling minstrel show, where she began singing and entertaining.
in a 1970s interview that he'd taken so much from her, it was the least she could do to take his name. Later she became known as "Moms" because she was indeed a "Mom" to many other comedians on the circuit in the 1950s and '60s. She came out as a lesbian
at the age of twenty-seven, becoming one of the first triple-X rated comedians on the comedy circuit.
During the 1920s and '30s she appeared in androgynous clothing (as she did in the film version of The Emperor Jones
with Paul Robeson
) and recorded several of her early "lesbian stand-up" routines. Mabley was one of the top women doing stand-up in her heyday, eventually recording more than 20 albums of comedy routines. She appeared in movies, on television, and in clubs, and performed at the Michigan Women's Festival shortly before her death in 1975.
Mabley was one of the most successful entertainers of the Chitlin' circuit
, earning US$10,000 a week at Harlem
's Apollo Theater
at the height of her career. She made her New York City debut at Connie's Inn
in Harlem. In the 1960s, she become known to a wider white audience, playing Carnegie Hall
in 1962, and making a number of mainstream TV appearances, particularly her multiple appearances on the The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
when that CBS show was the number one show on television in the late 1960s, which introduced her to a whole new Boomer
audience.
Mabley was billed as "The Funniest Woman in the World"; she tackled topics too edgy for many other comics of the time, including racism
. One of her regular themes was a romantic interest in handsome young men rather than old "washed-up geezers," and she got away with it courtesy of her stage persona, where she appeared as a toothless, bedraggled woman in a house dress and floppy hat. She also added the occasional satirical song to her jokes, and her cover version
of "Abraham, Martin and John
" hit #35 on the Billboard charts
in the summer of 1969. At 75 years and 4 months old, Moms Mabley became the oldest person ever to have a US Top 40 hit.
in 1975 from heart failure and was survived by her children, Bonnie, Christine, Charles, and Yvonne Ailey. She is interred at Ferncliff Cemetery
, Hartsdale, New York
.
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit
Chitlin' circuit
The "Chitlin' Circuit" was the collective name given to the string of performance venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that were safe and acceptable for African-American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers to perform during the age of racial segregation in the United...
" of African-American vaudeville.
Early years
Mabley was born into a family of twenty children in Brevard, North CarolinaBrevard, North Carolina
Brevard is a town in Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States. The 2005 population estimate by the United States Census Bureau was 6,643. It is the county seat of Transylvania County....
, in 1894. Her father, James P. Aiken, owned and operated several businesses, while her mother, Mary, kept house and took in boarders. Her father died a sudden accidental death when she was eleven. In 1910, her mother picked up the primary business, a general store.
James's father Henry was considered a mulatto, meaning that James P. Aiken might have been half white. James's mother Bettie was able to read and write five years after the abolition of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, so she may have been a free woman of color. The genealogy of Loretta was conducted by a D. Richmond. "She has a very interesting lineage worth researching," states Richmond. By the age of fifteen, Mabley had reportedly been raped twice and had two children who were given up for adoption. After being pressured by her stepfather to marry a much older man and encouraged by her grandmother to strike out on her own, she ran away to Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
with a traveling minstrel show, where she began singing and entertaining.
Career
She took her stage name, Jackie Mabley, from an early boyfriend, commenting to EbonyEbony (magazine)
Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...
in a 1970s interview that he'd taken so much from her, it was the least she could do to take his name. Later she became known as "Moms" because she was indeed a "Mom" to many other comedians on the circuit in the 1950s and '60s. She came out as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
at the age of twenty-seven, becoming one of the first triple-X rated comedians on the comedy circuit.
During the 1920s and '30s she appeared in androgynous clothing (as she did in the film version of The Emperor Jones
The Emperor Jones (1933 film)
The Emperor Jones is a 1933 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play of the same title, directed by Dudley Murphy, featuring Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, and Fredi Washington. The screenplay was written by DuBose Heyward and filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios with the beach scene...
with Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
) and recorded several of her early "lesbian stand-up" routines. Mabley was one of the top women doing stand-up in her heyday, eventually recording more than 20 albums of comedy routines. She appeared in movies, on television, and in clubs, and performed at the Michigan Women's Festival shortly before her death in 1975.
Mabley was one of the most successful entertainers of the Chitlin' circuit
Chitlin' circuit
The "Chitlin' Circuit" was the collective name given to the string of performance venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that were safe and acceptable for African-American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers to perform during the age of racial segregation in the United...
, earning US$10,000 a week at Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
's Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
at the height of her career. She made her New York City debut at Connie's Inn
Connie's Inn
Connie's Inn was a Harlem, New York City nightclub established in 1923 by Connie Immerman, a white bootlegger. It was located in the basement at 2221 Seventh Avenue at 131st Street....
in Harlem. In the 1960s, she become known to a wider white audience, playing Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1962, and making a number of mainstream TV appearances, particularly her multiple appearances on the The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is an American comedy and variety show hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969.-History:...
when that CBS show was the number one show on television in the late 1960s, which introduced her to a whole new Boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
audience.
Mabley was billed as "The Funniest Woman in the World"; she tackled topics too edgy for many other comics of the time, including racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. One of her regular themes was a romantic interest in handsome young men rather than old "washed-up geezers," and she got away with it courtesy of her stage persona, where she appeared as a toothless, bedraggled woman in a house dress and floppy hat. She also added the occasional satirical song to her jokes, and her cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Abraham, Martin and John
Abraham, Martin and John
"Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy...
" hit #35 on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
in the summer of 1969. At 75 years and 4 months old, Moms Mabley became the oldest person ever to have a US Top 40 hit.
Family
She had four children (aside from the two who were adopted when she was a teenager) and five grandchildren.Death
Mabley died in White Plains, New YorkWhite Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
in 1975 from heart failure and was survived by her children, Bonnie, Christine, Charles, and Yvonne Ailey. She is interred at Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian...
, Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hartsdale is located at ....
.
Stage
- Bowman's Cotton Blossoms (1919)
- Look Who's Here (1927)
- Miss Bandana (1927)
- Fast and Furious (musical) (1931)
- Blackberries of 1932 (1932)
- The Joy Boat (1930s)
- Sidewalks of Harlem (1930s)
- Red Pastures (1930s)
- Swingin' the Dream (1939)
Filmography
- The Emperor JonesThe Emperor Jones (1933 film)The Emperor Jones is a 1933 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play of the same title, directed by Dudley Murphy, featuring Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, and Fredi Washington. The screenplay was written by DuBose Heyward and filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios with the beach scene...
(1933) - Killer DillerKiller Diller (1948 film)Killer Diller is a 1948 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Josh Binney and released by All American.The movie features The Clark Brothers , Nat King Cole, Moms Mabley, Dusty Fletcher, Butterfly McQueen, the Andy Kirk Orchestra and the Four Congaroos .-Plot summary:Dusty Fletcher plays a...
(1948) - Boarding House Blues (1948)
- It's Your Thing (1970) (documentary)
- Amazing Grace (1974)
Discography
- 1961 On Stage (Funniest Woman in the World)
- 1961 Moms Mabley at the "UN"
- 1961 Moms Mabley at The Playboy Club
- 1962 Moms Mabley Breaks It Up
- 1962 Moms Mabley at Geneva Conference
- 1963 I Got Somethin' to Tell You!
- 1963 Young Men, Sí - Old Men, No
- 1964 Moms the Word
- 1964 Out on a Limb
- 1964 The Funny Sides of Moms Mabley [Chess]
- 1964 Moms Wows
- 1964 Best of Moms and Pigmeat, Vol. 1
- 1965 Men in My Life
- 1965 Now Hear This
- 1966 Moms Mabley at the White House
- 1968 Best of Moms Mabley
- 1969 The Youngest Teenager
- 1969 Her Young Thing
- 1970 Live at Sing Sing
- 1972 I Like 'em Young
- 1994 Live at the Apollo
- 1994 The Funny Sides of Moms Mabley [Jewel]
- 1994 Live at the Ritz
- 2004 Comedy Ain't Pretty