The White family
Encyclopedia
The White family is a family living in rural
Boone County, West Virginia. The family has a reputation for anti-social behavior, and, indeed, some members of the family are quite proud of it. The family, especially Jesco, is infamous in Boone County, but celebrated by some. The family was introduced in the documentary film The Dancing Outlaw, which starred family member Jesco White
as the son of famous mountain dancer
D. Ray White
.
Donald Ray White (1927–1985), known as D. Ray White
, was the family patriarch and grew up Boone County. He was profiled as a famous mountain dancer on a PBS special titled Talking Feet. He married Bertie Mae White circa 1950 and had thirteen children in under 20 years. Before his murder, D. Ray White was known as one of the greatest mountain dancers in the United States. His style, along with Jesco's, is a subtle mix of tap and clog dancing
that is native to Appalachia
.
. Bertie Mae White, also known as "The Miracle Woman", was captured in a song of the same title along with Jesco as it outlines the PBS Special.
Young created a second film The Dancing Outlaw 2: Jesco Goes Hollywood in 1994. This featured Jesco White as he was cast in a Roseanne episode as Dan's mountain clogger cousin. These scenes were later deleted from the show.
Jesco was featured in the 2009 film It Came from Trafalgar, also starring Jesco's favorite musician Hank Williams III
.
In 2008-2009, Johnny Knoxville
and the Jackass production team, Dickhouse Productions, made a film The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
. The crew stayed with the family during this year, filming over 500 hours of footage. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival
in 2009. In 2009, the movie White Lightnin'
was made. It is a docudrama directed by Dominic Murphy.
wrote the song "Legend of D. Ray White," which honors the cultural significance of Bertie Mae's husband. It also mentions Jesco, as well as another legendary Boone County artist, Hasil Adkins
, and Jesco's sister Mamie White. Jesco also dances on the Hank Williams III song "Louisiana Stripes."
In January 2011, Jesco teamed up with singer/songwriter Tanner Flowers to write his very own biography song "The Dancing Outlaw". The song speaks of Jesco's birth in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, his rise to fame, his historic encounters with country music legend Hank Williams Jr, Hank Williams III, Roger Alan Wade, and his famous skit on The Roseanne Arnold Show. The Dancing Outlaw also affirms Jesco's infatuations with Elvis Presley and the notorious Charles Manson. The song is currently available to be heard on YouTube.
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Boone County, West Virginia. The family has a reputation for anti-social behavior, and, indeed, some members of the family are quite proud of it. The family, especially Jesco, is infamous in Boone County, but celebrated by some. The family was introduced in the documentary film The Dancing Outlaw, which starred family member Jesco White
Jesco White
Jesco White, the "Dancing Outlaw", is an American mountain dancer and entertainer. He is best known as the subject of three American documentary films that detail his desire to follow in his famous father's footsteps, while trying to overcome depression, drug addiction, and the poverty that...
as the son of famous mountain dancer
Clogging
Clogging is a type of folk dance with roots in traditional European dancing, early African-American dance, and traditional Cherokee dance in which the dancer's footwear is used musically by striking the heel, the toe, or both in unison against a floor or each other to create audible percussive...
D. Ray White
D. Ray White
D. Ray White, , was a American mountain dancer and entertainer, and the patriarch of the White family. He has been featured in several American documentary films that detail the White family, and the Hank Williams III song "The Legend of D...
.
The family
Mountain dancerClogging
Clogging is a type of folk dance with roots in traditional European dancing, early African-American dance, and traditional Cherokee dance in which the dancer's footwear is used musically by striking the heel, the toe, or both in unison against a floor or each other to create audible percussive...
Donald Ray White (1927–1985), known as D. Ray White
D. Ray White
D. Ray White, , was a American mountain dancer and entertainer, and the patriarch of the White family. He has been featured in several American documentary films that detail the White family, and the Hank Williams III song "The Legend of D...
, was the family patriarch and grew up Boone County. He was profiled as a famous mountain dancer on a PBS special titled Talking Feet. He married Bertie Mae White circa 1950 and had thirteen children in under 20 years. Before his murder, D. Ray White was known as one of the greatest mountain dancers in the United States. His style, along with Jesco's, is a subtle mix of tap and clog dancing
Clog
Clog may refer to:* clog , a shoe with a rigid, often wooden, sole* A blockage in plumbing* A British brand of rock-climbing equipment owned by Wild Country * Clogging, a traditional type of percussive folk dance...
that is native to Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
.
Films
The family, except for D. Ray (who was murdered in 1985), was featured in the 1991 PBS Special film The Dancing Outlaw. This chronicled son Jesco's abilities as a mountain dancer, like D. Ray's. The film was directed by Jacob YoungJacob Young (documentarian)
Jacob Young is an American screenwriter, cinematographer, film editor and filmmaker best known for creating documentary films which explore the eccentric people living in his native Appalachia.- Career :...
. Bertie Mae White, also known as "The Miracle Woman", was captured in a song of the same title along with Jesco as it outlines the PBS Special.
Young created a second film The Dancing Outlaw 2: Jesco Goes Hollywood in 1994. This featured Jesco White as he was cast in a Roseanne episode as Dan's mountain clogger cousin. These scenes were later deleted from the show.
Jesco was featured in the 2009 film It Came from Trafalgar, also starring Jesco's favorite musician Hank Williams III
Hank Williams III
Shelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
.
In 2008-2009, Johnny Knoxville
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...
and the Jackass production team, Dickhouse Productions, made a film The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is a 2009 documentary film directed by Julien Nitzberg, chronicling the White Family of Boone County, West Virginia.-The Whites:...
. The crew stayed with the family during this year, filming over 500 hours of footage. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in 2009. In 2009, the movie White Lightnin'
White Lightnin'
White Lightnin' is a 2009 dramatic thriller film directed by Dominic Murphy and written by Eddy Moretti and Shane Smith.White Lightnin' was inspired by the life of Jesco White, an Appalachian mountain dancer. It was shown at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:Jesco White is the last of the West...
was made. It is a docudrama directed by Dominic Murphy.
Other work
Jesco has been linked to many popular artists through song. Big and Rich mention his name in their single "Comin' to Your City," although Jesco is not a fan and feels as if they are capitalizing on his name. Hank Williams IIIHank Williams III
Shelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
wrote the song "Legend of D. Ray White," which honors the cultural significance of Bertie Mae's husband. It also mentions Jesco, as well as another legendary Boone County artist, Hasil Adkins
Hasil Adkins
Hasil Adkins was an Appalachian country, rock and roll, and blues musician, though he was frequently considered rockabilly and sometimes primitive jazz...
, and Jesco's sister Mamie White. Jesco also dances on the Hank Williams III song "Louisiana Stripes."
In January 2011, Jesco teamed up with singer/songwriter Tanner Flowers to write his very own biography song "The Dancing Outlaw". The song speaks of Jesco's birth in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, his rise to fame, his historic encounters with country music legend Hank Williams Jr, Hank Williams III, Roger Alan Wade, and his famous skit on The Roseanne Arnold Show. The Dancing Outlaw also affirms Jesco's infatuations with Elvis Presley and the notorious Charles Manson. The song is currently available to be heard on YouTube.
Family members
This list is incomplete. Living children and living adults who have not engaged in notable behavior are not included.- Donald Ray (D. Ray) White (April 17, 1927 – July 2, 1985) - One of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
's most famous Mountain DancerCloggingClogging is a type of folk dance with roots in traditional European dancing, early African-American dance, and traditional Cherokee dance in which the dancer's footwear is used musically by striking the heel, the toe, or both in unison against a floor or each other to create audible percussive...
s. Married to Bertie Mae. Murdered in 1985. - Bertie Mae White (February 23, 1924 – June 1, 2008) - The matriarch of the family. D. Ray's wife. She survived most of her children, eventually dying from heart problems in 2008.
- D. Ray and Bertie Mae White had 13 children:
- Ona Fontaine White (August 15, 1951 - May 27, 1971) - The daughter of D. Ray and Bertie. She was killed by her ex-husband in Cleveland.
- Minis Ray White (September 8, 1954 - December 22, 1954) - D. Ray and Bertie Mae's son; died as an infant.
- Mamie White (1954-) - Nicknamed "The Biggest" in the trio of "The Biggest, The Meanest, and the Baddest." Mamie is the oldest surviving child of D. Ray and Bertie Mae White. She lives in Gordon, West Virginia, near Jesco. She was married to Billy Hastings, the man who started the fight that killed D. Ray White. She is now known as "Mamie Warner."
- Mousie White (1973–present) - The daughter of Mamie White.
- Jesco WhiteJesco WhiteJesco White, the "Dancing Outlaw", is an American mountain dancer and entertainer. He is best known as the subject of three American documentary films that detail his desire to follow in his famous father's footsteps, while trying to overcome depression, drug addiction, and the poverty that...
(July 30, 1956-present) - Jesco is the "Dancing Outlaw" and the son of D. Ray White and Bertie Mae White. He was married to Norma Jean White.- Norma Jean White (1939–2009) - Jesco's wife. She died on October 22, 2009.
- Dorsey Ray White (December 21, 1963 - March 14, 1987) - Jesco and Mamie's brother. Shot during the fight with Billy Hastings and D. Ray White. Later killed himself unintentionally with a gun.
- Roberta Fontaine White (August 15, 1959 - October 8, 1978) - The daughter of D. Ray and Bertie Mae. She has died.
- Donald Mairs White (September 13, 1961 - May 7, 1987) - The son of D. Ray and Bertie Mae.
- Bernadine "Bo" White (1962–present) - Jesco's sister. She is divorced and lives near the family. She is the mother of Kirk White and Derek White.
- Susan Rae "Kirk" White (March 15, 1975 – present) - Bo's daughter. Her father was imprisoned for a double homicide.
- Derek Castle (1987–present) - Bo's son. He lives in Bim, West Virginia.
- Virginia A White (December 21, 1963 – October 15, 1978) - D. Ray and Bertie Mae's daughter. She was killed in a car accident while pregnant.
- Jerry Pontosa "Poney" White (196?-present) - D. Ray and Bertie Mae's son. He moved to MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
to seek better opportunities and works as a housepainter. Featured in "The Dancing Outlaw" film. - Billy R White (196?-deceased before 2008) - D. Ray and Bertie Mae's son. He has died.
- Sue "Bob" Ann White (1969–present) - D. Ray and Bertie Mae's daughter. Lives in West Virginia with daughter, Ashley. Is the mother of Brandon White from a previous marriage. She was jailed shortly after the film about the family was completed.
- Brandon Poe (1986–present) - Sue Bob's son. Sentenced to 50 years in prison (eligible for parole after 25) for shooting Mamie White's boyfriend in the face and having a shootout with the police.
External links and further reading
- Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance: Buck, Flatfoot and Tap
- Mike SeegerMike SeegerMike Seeger was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, and pan pipes. Seeger, a half-brother of Pete Seeger, produced more than 30 documentary...
and Ruth Pershing, Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance of the Appalachian, Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountain Regions, North Atlantic Books (January 29, 1993), paperback: 152 pages ISBN 978-1556430800 - Official website of The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
- Order the "Dancing Outlaw" DVDs
- Official website for the Community of Bandytown, West Virgnia