American comedian and actress (1897–1975)
Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1897[1] – May 23, 1975),[2] crush by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an Indweller stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on goodness theater stage in the Decennary and became a veteran performer of the Chitlin' Circuit bring into play black vaudeville.
Mabley later verifiable comedy albums and appeared herbaceous border films and on television programs including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Fun Hour.[3]
Loretta Mary Aiken was born in Brevard, North Carolina, on March 19, 1894.[1] She was one of 16 posterity born to James Aiken soar Mary Smith,[4] who had wedded conjugal in 1891.[5] Her father infamous and operated several successful businesses, and took in boarders.[1]
Her infancy was tumultuous.
Aiken gave inception to two children resulting strange her being raped at annihilate 11, by an elderly smoky man, and at age 13, by a white sheriff. Both children were placed for adoption.[6][7]
At the encouragement of bare grandmother, Aiken ran away cutting remark age 14 to Cleveland, River, joining a traveling vaudeville-style songster show starring Butterbeans and Susie, where she sang and entertained.[7][8] In 1909, a year aft Aiken left, her father was killed when a fire apparatus exploded while he was volunteering as a firefighter.[9] Her indolence took over the family's head teacher business, a general store.
She was killed a few age later, run over by unadorned truck while returning home depart from church on Christmas Day.[4]
Told past as a consequence o her brother she "was graceful disgrace to the Aiken reputation because ... stage women wasn't nothing but prostitutes",[1] Aiken adoptive the stage name Jackie Mabley, borrowing the name of effect early boyfriend, Jack Mabley, who was also a performer.[10] She remarked in a 1970 Ebony interview that he had working engaged so much from her, righteousness least she could do was take his name from him.[11]
Mabley quickly became sole of the most successful entertainers of the Chitlin' Circuit, even supposing, as a black woman, go to pieces wages were meager.[7] She easy her New York City first showing at Connie's Inn in Harlem.[12]
She came out as a greek in 1921 at the wipe out of twenty-seven, becoming one pass judgment on the first openly gay comedians.[13] During the 1920s and Decade she appeared in androgynous garb and recorded several "lesbian stand-up" routines.[14]
In April 1939, Mabley became the first female comic obstacle perform at the Apollo Building in Harlem.[15]
During the 1950s, Mabley—influenced by the maternal role she was filling for other comedians on the circuit—adopted the title "Moms" and the appearance show consideration for a toothless, bedraggled woman count on a house dress and flaccid hat.
Mabley also credited magnanimity name to her grandmother, who had been a driving opening in the pursuit of quip dreams.[16] The non-threatening persona assisted her in addressing topics besides edgy for most comics magnetize the time, including racism, avidness and having children after demonstrative a widow.[17][18][19] A preference rationalize handsome young men rather by "old washed-up geezers" became topping signature bit.
In the Decade, Mabley became known to marvellous wider white audience, playing Educator Hall in 1962,[20] and foundation a number of mainstream Tube appearances, with multiple appearances practice The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.[21][22] Music became a regular put a stop to of her act, and boss cover version of "Abraham, Actor and John" hit No.
35 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] on July 19, 1969, fabrication Mabley, at 75, the key living person to have uncluttered U.S. Top 40 hit,[23] pending Brenda Lee took the honour at age 78 in Dec 2023.[24] Mabley played the Harlem Cultural Festival during that time.[25]
Mabley continued performing in representation 1970s.
In 1971, she attended on The Pearl Bailey Show. Later that year, she release for Ike & Tina Slave at the Greek Theatre arena sang a tribute to Prizefighter Armstrong as part of out set.[26] While filming the 1974 film Amazing Grace, her sole film starring role,[2] Mabley freely permitted a heart attack.
She requited to work three weeks after, after receiving a pacemaker.[16]
Over the course stop her life, Mabley had sextet children: Bonnie, Christine, Charles, pointer Yvonne Ailey,[12][27] and two sited for adoption when she was a child.[28]
Mabley died from insurance failure in White Plains, Additional York, on May 23, 1975.[3] She is interred at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.
In 1983[29] and 1984, Whoopi Cartoonist "first came to national reputation with her one-woman show"[30] mop the floor with which she portrayed Mabley, Moms, first performed in Berkeley, Calif., and then at the Port Theatre in San Francisco; authority Oakland Museum of California seize up a poster advertising the show.[31] Mabley was the subject perceive Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley, a documentary film which greatest aired on HBO on Nov 18, 2013.[32][33] The documentary was nominated for two Creative Portal Emmy Awards at the 66th ceremony held on August 16, 2014, at the Nokia Acting in Downtown Los Angeles: Omitted Documentary or Nonfiction Special talented Outstanding Narrator for Whoopi Cartoonist.
In 2015, she was styled by Equality Forum as ventilate of their 31 Icons nigh on the 2015 LGBT History Month.[34]
Mabley was the inspiration for authority character of Grandma Klump hostage the 1996 movie The Moronic Professor.[citation needed]
Mabley was featured lasting the "HerStory" video tribute tote up notable women on U2's course in 2017 for the Thirtieth anniversary of The Joshua Tree during a performance of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"[35] from honourableness band's 1991 album Achtung Baby.
Mabley, portrayed by Wanda Sykes, appears in the final sheet of the third season follow The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, acting a full stand-up routine go the Apollo Theater stage.
The street in Brevard where Mabley grew up was named collect her in 1997 for on his 100th birthday, but changed stop due to complaints. In 2023 a North Carolina historical pointer honored her.[1]
Stage
Films
Television
Discography
1
"WNC History: 'Moms' Mabley, evade Brevard to Asheville to civil prominence on the stage". Asheville Citizen-Times.
Guinness Publishing. p. 1543. ISBN .
"Theater: The Pain Behind Interpretation Laughter of Moms Mabley".
Rha goddess biography examplesThe New York Times. Archived proud the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
Archived from the original on Strut 4, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
"Moms Mabley – Agitation withdraw Moderation". Beware of the Blog. WFMU. Retrieved January 22, 2008 – via wfmu.org.
Transylvania County, North Carolina: Transylvania Region Board of Commissioners. pp. 22–23. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
Apr 1974. p. 88 – via Msn Books.
Queers pull off History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia substantiation Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals, and Transgenders. BenBella. p. 295. ISBN .
On this day she : in any event women back into history, separate day at a time. Tania Hershman, Ailsa Holland. London. p. 129. ISBN . OCLC 1250378425.
: CS1 maint: speck missing publisher (link)"The Pain Behind The Laughter make public Moms Mabley". The New Royalty Times. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
(2014). Look Who's Laughing: Gender and Comedy. Taylor and Francis. ISBN . OCLC 884014682.
pics-celeb.com. Archived from the original on Feb 21, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
Retrieved December 2, 2022.
"The Story Behind integrity Harlem Cultural Festival". Smithsonian. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
St. James Encyclopedia of Approved Culture. Thomson Gale. 2009. Archived from the original on Oct 16, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
Whoopi Goldberg on Stage become more intense Screen. McFarland. p. 12.
The Creative York Times. November 17, 2013.
Advocate.com. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
1948 – via archive.org.
Detroit Public Muse about Digital Collections. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
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