1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. I really 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,159 Speaker 1: enjoy the TV show The Marvelous Mrs Mazel. If you 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: are not familiar with this show, it is about a 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: Jewish woman named Midge Mazel who tries to build a 7 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: career as a comedian starting at the end of the 8 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties. There are various performers who appear as characters 9 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: on this show. Some of them have real world inspirations, 10 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: but they're fictional characters, and there are other ones, like 11 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: Lenny Bruce, who are fictionalized representations of a real person. Uh. 12 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: In an episode from the show's third season, Mrs Mazel 13 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: performs at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and ahead of 14 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: her on stage is Moms Maybe, who was played wonderfully 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,759 Speaker 1: by Wanda Sykes. If my own age and background were 16 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: a little different, or maybe if I had grown up 17 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: watching reruns of old variety shows, I would have already 18 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: known who this was. But I did not, so I 19 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 1: did what I always do when a new performer shows 20 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: up on The Marvelous Mrs masl and I googled so 21 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: Mom's Maybe yes was a real person, But I had 22 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: some doubts about being able to do this episode. Because 23 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: her career lasted more than six decades. She was hugely influential. 24 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: She inspired so many comedians and other performers who came 25 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: after her. She's really one of the founders of stand 26 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: up comedy in the United States. But outside of her work, 27 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: a lot of the details of her life are kind 28 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: of a mystery, and there are some contradictory accounts of 29 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: a particularly traumatic part of her early life. Heads up 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: that talking about those contradictions is that's going to involve 31 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: some discussion of rape and other trauma. And I also 32 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: think if I were part of an adoption triad, there's 33 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: some part of this that I would probably also find 34 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: particularly troubling. Moms Mabley was born Loretta Mary Aiken on 35 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:17,079 Speaker 1: March nineteen, probably eighteen. In the ninet hundred census, her 36 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: age is given US three, but in the earliest years 37 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: of her career, when people might have thought she was 38 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: too young to be out on her own, she gave 39 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: her birth year is eighteen ninety four. Later in her life, 40 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: she was not forthcoming about her age at all, and 41 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: to add another layer of confusion, her grave marker lists 42 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: her date of birth as March nineteen, eighteen ninety nine. 43 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: Loretta's parents were James and Mary Magdalen Smith Aiken. James, 44 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: who was known as Jim, was the son of Jane 45 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: Aiken Hall, and his father was her enslaver. Jim was 46 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: born in eighteen sixty one, and normally that would have 47 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: meant he was considered enslaved from his birth, but it 48 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: seems that his five are considered him to be free. 49 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: According to Mom's Mabley's later accounts, his mother made a 50 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: particular point of telling both him and Loretta that they 51 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: had been born free. Loretta also had a great grandmother, 52 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: Harriet Smith, who she described as Cherokee, who was a 53 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,799 Speaker 1: big part of her early life and a big influence 54 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: on her. The family lived in Brevard, North Carolina, which 55 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: is southwest of Asheville on the edge of what is 56 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: now Pizga National Forest. In ninet it had a population 57 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: of under six hundred people. It is easy to imagine 58 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: that a black family in a small town in the 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: North Carolina Mountains in the early twentieth century was living 60 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: in severe poverty, and a lot of current descriptions of 61 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: moms Mabley's imply that her early childhood was one of 62 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: extreme hardship and that she fled Brevard and never looked back. 63 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: But in interviews later in her life, Mayblee talked about 64 00:03:55,480 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: western North Carolina with just enormous fondness. Studs turn Icle 65 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: recorded an oral history with her in nineteen sixty one, 66 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: and she did joke that you had to take a 67 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: buggy from Asheville to get to Brevard, but she also 68 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: called it one of the greatest and healthiest places on earth. 69 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: She spoke of her grandmother and her great grandmother with deep, 70 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: deep love and respect. Interviews that other people gave after 71 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: her death also described her making frequent visits home and 72 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: maintaining her connection to the North Carolina mountains. She also 73 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: described her father, Jim Aiken, as a great man. He 74 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: was a successful businessman who had started out selling gingerbread 75 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: and cider and worked his way up to owning a 76 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,160 Speaker 1: store along with a bakery, slash cafe, and a barbershop 77 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: that catered to white customers. He also ran a dray 78 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: service which carried both passengers and freight along with carrying 79 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: the mail into and out of town. Although Mabel's oral 80 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,840 Speaker 1: testimony describes Brevard as not being segregated, it did have 81 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: segregated schools. Her father was a big part of getting 82 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: a new school for black children established in Brevard in 83 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: early nineteen o nine, and a newspaper article about that 84 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: effort noted his involvement and then said, quote, what Jim 85 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: undertakes generally goes. I love that quote. Tragically, though, Jim 86 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,359 Speaker 1: Akin died when Loretta was about twelve. In addition to 87 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,280 Speaker 1: everything we just mentioned, he was a volunteer firefighter. At 88 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: this point, most fire trucks were chemical engines. They carried 89 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: tanks of bicarbonate of soda and acid, which were added 90 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: to water on the scene to produce a stream of 91 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: fire suppressant. Something went wrong while Aiken was responding to 92 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 1: a call in nineteen o nine and the tank exploded 93 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: while he was trying to attach the hose. Jim was 94 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: killed instantly, and multiple other firefighters were seriously injured. Jim 95 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: Achin's death was a profound loss for the entire community 96 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: of Brevard. His funeral was held at the White First 97 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: Baptist Church because that was the biggest church in the area. 98 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: An editorial in the French broad Hustler described him as 99 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: quote one colored man who left the world better than 100 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 1: he found it. The Brevard News wrote, quote, the death 101 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,799 Speaker 1: of James P. Aikin is a distinct loss to our town. 102 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,360 Speaker 1: He was the most widely known colored man in western 103 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 1: North Carolina. He was a successful and enterprising businessman whose 104 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: store on Main Street as well patronized. He was a 105 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: member of the Baptist Church and several benevolent societies. Was 106 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: a member of the fire department, where William E. Breece Jr. 107 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: Was Chief, and was always among the first to respond 108 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 1: to the call of the fire bell, and one of 109 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: the hardest workers at every fire in the history of 110 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: the town. He was in every way a responsible Negro, honest, energetic, industrious, 111 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: and reliable. He had a wide influence among the colored 112 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,479 Speaker 1: race in this mountain section, besides having many friends among 113 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 1: the white people, all of whom will be shocked to 114 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: learn of his death. Obviously, racism is threaded through both 115 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: of these quotes, with the idea that Jim Aikin was 116 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: exceptional considering his race, but they do also speak to 117 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: how prominent he was within the community. Loretta's mother, Mary 118 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: was the executor of her late husband's estate. She also 119 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: took over the store while Loretta's grandmother helps to take 120 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: care of her and her siblings. They did have a 121 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: big family. She was one of at least nine children. 122 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: Mary eventually got married again to a man named George Parton, 123 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: and from that point her name appeared in advertisements for 124 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: the store as Mary Achin Parton. It appears that she 125 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: kept the store going until nineteen twelve or nineteen thirteen, 126 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: at which point she sold the building to Parton and 127 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: the couple moved away from Brevard, first to Washington, d c. 128 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: And then to Cleveland, Ohio. A lot of more recent 129 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,119 Speaker 1: articles about moms maybe say that her mother was killed 130 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: just a couple of years after her father, after being 131 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: hit by a truck while crossing the eat on Christmas Day. 132 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: That's all very sensational, but it does not seem to 133 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: be correct. Mary and George are listed in the nineteen 134 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: forty census as living in Cleveland, with George's occupation at 135 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:15,239 Speaker 1: the time listed as waiter. It is possible that Mary 136 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: was killed after being hit by a truck. Tracy was 137 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: not able to confirm her cause of death, but if 138 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: she was. That happened in nineteen forty six or nineteen 139 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: forty seven, and not when Loretta was still a young girl. However, 140 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: in addition to her father's death, Loretta's life took a 141 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: traumatic turn when she was still quite young. Multiple sources 142 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 1: say that she was raped by two different men before 143 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: she turned fourteen, and that both times she became pregnant 144 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: and arranged adoptions for her children, or someone arranged those 145 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: adoptions for her. Other accounts, though, say that it wasn't 146 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,679 Speaker 1: really the arrangement of a formal adoption. That Loretta had 147 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,560 Speaker 1: left her children in the care of two women who 148 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: later moved away and disappeared, and she didn't get to 149 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: see her children in until they were adults. Yet other 150 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: accounts say that Loretta's father or stepfather either forced her 151 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: to marry a much older man or pressured her to 152 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: do so, and that is why she left home as 153 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: a team. But there's no documentation of a marriage, although 154 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: there is some reporting in Brevard News about a court 155 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: case in nineteen thirteen that was State versus Bunyan Mills. 156 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: This was a seduction under promise of marriage case in 157 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: which the prosecuting witness was named Loretta Aiken. This case 158 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: was introduced in August, but dismissed in September when it 159 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,119 Speaker 1: was found that there had been no formal marriage contract. 160 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,839 Speaker 1: In her conversation with Studs, Turkle Moms Maybe also talked 161 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: about working as a wet nurse in Asheville at the 162 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: age of just fourteen and having to deprive her own 163 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: child of milk so that she would have enough to 164 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: feed the baby that she was nursing. This recording is 165 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: truly heartbreaking, with Maybe talking about telling her baby do her, 166 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: who she calls Lucretia, not to cry because she was 167 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 1: stronger than baby Lois, who she was being paid to 168 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: care for, so Lois needed more to eat. Maybe talked 169 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: about loving Lois like her own baby and how much 170 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: it hurt not to know what happened to her after 171 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: her employment had ended. This interview stresses that Lois started 172 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 1: to feel like her own child, but at least to me, 173 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: it doesn't seem to imply that she had also lost 174 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: contact with her daughter. Lucretia. Maybe also talked in multiple 175 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: interviews about being pregnant and having her baby with her 176 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: at the start of her career, but when Mom's Maybe 177 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: died in nine. Obituaries and memorials listed four children among 178 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: her survivors, but none of them are named as Lucretia 179 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: or are old enough to have been born when moms 180 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: was fourteen. Yvonne, the oldest daughter, is described as fifty 181 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: eight at the time of her mother's death. That means 182 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: that her mother would have been about eighteen when she 183 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: was born. Yvonne's younger siblings were listed as Christine, Bonnie, 184 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: and Charles, with some sources noting that Charles was her 185 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: brother's child who she adopted. So some accounts conclude that 186 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: Yvonne and Christine were the children who were reunited with 187 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: maybe as adults, and others conclude that those were just 188 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: two different people. Yeah. There are also a bunch of 189 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: family trees that list Christine's middle name as Lucheria, which 190 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 1: is not the same as Lucretia, but is close enough 191 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: that has made people wonder, like, was was this the 192 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:36,439 Speaker 1: same baby? Was she calling the baby by a middle name? 193 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 1: And like the spelling has gotten garbled somewhere? If so, 194 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: that means the years are also garbled. There's a bunch 195 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: that's unclear, but whatever the exact circumstances are the young 196 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 1: Loretta Mary Aiken left home at the encouragement of her grandmother, 197 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: who thought that she should see the world beyond Brevard. 198 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: And we will get to that after a sponsor brig 199 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: In that nineteen sixty one oral history with Studs Turkle, 200 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: Mom's maybe talked about her family's deep religious faith when 201 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:17,719 Speaker 1: her grandmother. Sometimes this is also she says it was 202 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: her great grandmother, Little Blurred encouraged her to leave Brevard. 203 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 1: She told her to quote, put God in front and 204 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: go ahead, and this became a motto for Mom's Mabley's life. 205 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:32,680 Speaker 1: The timeline for that life is tricky to piece together, though, 206 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,559 Speaker 1: because there are plenty of things like advertisements for her performances, 207 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 1: but otherwise a lot of the time there's not a 208 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: lot of concrete documentation. Sometimes Mabley's interviews contradict each other, 209 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: or they contradict the documentation that does exist, so these 210 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: like census records. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that 211 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: she was intentionally deceptive with any of this. Uh. She 212 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: gave a lot of these interviews in the last couple 213 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: of decades of her life. Uh. And I know I 214 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: don't remember actually when things happened in my childhood versus 215 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: other events, So who knows. It does seem that after 216 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: her mother moved to Cleveland, Moms maybe still known at 217 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,559 Speaker 1: that time as Loretta Aiken, went there to join her. 218 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: She was pregnant at that time as the result of 219 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 1: a rape, and she had planned to go from Cleveland 220 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,719 Speaker 1: to Detroit to terminate that pregnancy, but something told her 221 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 1: not to. She told Studs Turkle that when she was fifteen, 222 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: trying to work out a way to support herself and 223 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,840 Speaker 1: her child, she prayed for guidance and heard a voice 224 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: that said quote go on the stage. In Cleveland, Loretta 225 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: lived with a pastor and his family, and the house 226 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: next door was a boarding house that was home to 227 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: a lot of performers. One of them, Bonnie Bell Drew, 228 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: helped her get a start in show business. Mabley's daughter, Bonnie, 229 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: who was born in ninety was named Bonnie after Bonnie 230 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: Bell Drew. Loretta again got a job with the Theater 231 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: Owners Booking Association, which was a vaudeville circuit for black 232 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: performers that was established in the nineteen twenties with venues 233 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: primarily in the southern and Midwestern states. It's performers gave 234 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: it nicknames like tough on Black actors. The schedules were 235 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: very grueling the pay was low, but Maybe later said 236 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: that anyone who got to the end of the circuit 237 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: had a solid foundation in all kinds of fundamentals, including singing, dancing, 238 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: and comedy. This was in part because every performer had 239 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: to learn every part in case somebody got sick or injured, 240 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 1: or just dropped out of the show. Other performers who 241 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: got their start on this circuit included Gertrude Ma Rainey, 242 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: Josephine Baker, and Sammy Davis Jr. When he was still 243 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: a child and her later life Mom's Mayblie told a 244 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: story about being sick while working this circuit and an 245 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: older fellow performer named Lee Roy came into her room 246 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: to check on her. Police rated the hotel after an 247 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: unre related altercation and searched all of the rooms, and 248 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: when Leroy was found in the room of the teenage 249 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: Loretta Aiken, they were forced to get married, but according 250 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: to Mablie, there was no marriage license, no formal paperwork 251 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: associated with this marriage, and Leroy was more like a 252 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: father figure to her than a spouse. Loretta was traveling 253 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: through deeply segregated parts of the US, many of which 254 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: were also well known for racist violence. She was earning 255 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: only about fourteen dollars a week, which was not enough 256 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: to support herself and her child, so her mother was 257 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: sending money to help with food and lodging. But then 258 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: another pair of black performers took notice of her and 259 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: helped her move into higher paying gigs. Those were Jody 260 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: and Susie Edwards a k a. Butter Beans and Susie, 261 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 1: who were a song and dance duo. Their act was 262 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: very comedic with a lot of double entendre. Their best 263 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: known song was I Want a Hot Dog for my role. 264 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:01,560 Speaker 1: You can find recordings for this on the internet if 265 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 1: you want. Honestly, if you've never heard any of Moms 266 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 1: Mabley's comedy, just pause this and go to YouTube. Extremely funny. 267 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: At multiple points while doing research, I stopped what I 268 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: was doing and watched some Moms Maybe anyway, Loretta moved 269 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: from the theater Owner's Booking Association, where most of the 270 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: venues were white owned, to the Chitland Circuit, which was 271 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: kind of its successor. Those theaters were primarily black owned 272 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: and operated, and sometime during this period she started performing 273 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: under the name of Jackie Mablely Maybe herself told multiple 274 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: stories about where this name came from. One was that 275 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 1: jack Mayblee had been a boyfriend and that quote he 276 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: took a lot off me, and the least I could 277 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: do was take his name. Another was that the Jackie 278 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: part was her own invention, but Maybe was the last 279 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: name of a young man she had been engaged to, 280 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 1: but that didn't work out because he was a Canadian 281 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,399 Speaker 1: and neither of them wanted to move to the others country. Regardless, 282 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: her motivation for changing her name seems to have been 283 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: that her oldest brother thought her stage career was disgracing 284 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: the family. Not all of her family shared that opinion, 285 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: though she had a younger brother, Eddie Parton, who helped 286 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,680 Speaker 1: write some of her material. She was being billed as 287 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: Jackie mable by five, and she had established Jackie as 288 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: an onstage character. She was in her twenties, but she 289 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:33,479 Speaker 1: imagined this character as in her sixties, Patterned after her 290 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 1: grandmother Jane. As Jackie Mablee, she would sing, dance, and 291 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: tell jokes and stories. She eventually made her way to 292 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: New York, where she was featured at Connie's Inn in 293 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: Harlem after it opened in ninety three. Like the Cotton Club, 294 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,119 Speaker 1: where Maybe also went on to perform Connie's in featured 295 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:55,640 Speaker 1: black performers for an all white audience. As her reputation grew, 296 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: Maybe kept getting better and more lucrative bookings. She also 297 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 1: claimed that she discovered Pearl Bailey during these years. She 298 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: said in ninety four interview quote, I taught Pearl Bailey 299 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: everything she knows. She was a blues singer, and I said, girl, 300 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:14,199 Speaker 1: you're funny. You should be a comedian. While mayblee stage 301 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,400 Speaker 1: career initially included a mix of singing, dancing in comedy, 302 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 1: over time she was focused more and more on stand 303 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,879 Speaker 1: up before that term was even coined. In her stage 304 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: persona of Jackie Mablee, she helped establish the conventions of 305 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: stand up comedy as an art form. She was billed 306 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: as Jackie Mabley for several years before other performers gave 307 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: her the name of Moms. In her own words quote, 308 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: even though I was young, they would always bring their 309 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,400 Speaker 1: problems to me to settle. She was a mothering presence. 310 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: She was someone that other performers could turn to for 311 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 1: support and who would help people get money for rant 312 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: or a ticket home when they needed it. Mom's Maybe 313 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,880 Speaker 1: blurred a lot of lines with her gender and sexuality, 314 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: both on and off stage. Her on stage persona, she 315 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,920 Speaker 1: wore a baggy house dress, sagging socks, slippers or beat 316 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: up house shoes, and a floppy hat. Often these clothes 317 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: aggressively did not go together. She had a stooped posture 318 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 1: on the stage, and as she got older and started 319 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: wearing dentures, she would perform with her teeth out. This 320 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: persona wasn't exactly androgynous. The character was a woman who 321 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: went by Moms, but it was blurry enough that various 322 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: people wrote into newspaper question and answer columns over the 323 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 1: course of her career to ask if Mom's Maybe was 324 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: a man or a woman. As far as her appearance 325 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 1: and her demeanor went, Mom's madly stage persona could come 326 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 1: off as almost sexless, but at the same time her 327 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 1: comedy could be very risk gay. She did not swear. 328 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: Nothing was sexually graphic in a way that if somebody 329 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: said that's really risk gay like today, you would imagine 330 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: something quite different. There was a lot of double entendre, though, 331 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: and one of Mom's running themes was about her attraction 332 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: to young men and the uselessness of old men, unless 333 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 1: an old man was bringing her a message from a 334 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: young man off stage. People who performed with Maybe have 335 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: talked about her openly having relationships with other women. In 336 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: some photos she's shown as elegantly attired in address and pearls, 337 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,400 Speaker 1: and in others she's in handsome suits that are more androgynous, 338 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: are almost aggressively masculine. In the documentary Whoopie Goldberg Presents 339 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: Moms Maybe, dancer and comedian Norma Miller said quote, we 340 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 1: never called Moms a homosexual. That word never fit her. 341 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: We never called her gay. We called her Mr. Moms. 342 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: Let's carry it over to her comedy and to the 343 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: venues where she performed as well. For example, in April 344 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,439 Speaker 1: of nineteen thirty four, the Ubangie Club opened on the 345 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 1: former site of Connie's. In One of its frequent headline 346 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 1: acts was Gladys Bentley, who was an openly lesbian performer 347 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:07,159 Speaker 1: who wore men's attire and was sometimes backed up by 348 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: drag queens. You Bangie Club became known for both performers 349 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:16,360 Speaker 1: and clientele who we would probably describe as LGBTQ today, 350 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: and one of its performers was Mom's. Maybe we will 351 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: get into Mom's Mabley's later career after we paused for 352 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:35,960 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. A lot of Mom's. Mabley's comedy career 353 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: was really unique for the time. Most women working in 354 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: comedy or on the stage at all were as part 355 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,879 Speaker 1: of a duo with a man, but Mabley was a 356 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: solo act. In nine she became the first woman's a 357 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:55,440 Speaker 1: headline at the Apollo Theater as a solo comedian. For decades, 358 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,359 Speaker 1: she was really the only black woman doing solo stand up, 359 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 1: and again, this started before that term was even coined. 360 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: She was also appearing on Broadway in the nineteen thirties, 361 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 1: at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. At this point, 362 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,679 Speaker 1: there were several Broadway productions with all black casts, but 363 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: they often had white directors and producers, and they were 364 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: tailored for a white audience, but the show's mainly appeared 365 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,239 Speaker 1: in were developed and directed by black people, or they 366 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 1: were otherwise focused on the black experience. In general, these 367 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,159 Speaker 1: shows did not run for long. They're often described as 368 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:34,760 Speaker 1: not appealing to white audiences and critics. In nineteen thirty one, 369 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: she was in Fast and Furious, a colored review in 370 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: thirty seven scenes at the New Yorker Theater. In addition 371 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,479 Speaker 1: to being part of the casts, Maybe worked with author 372 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: and anthropologists Orneil Hurston to develop some of the sketches, 373 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,480 Speaker 1: and Hurston appeared in this show as well. Then she 374 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: was in Max Rednecks Blackberries of nineteen thirty two, a 375 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 1: CPIA musical review. This ran at Liberty Theater west of 376 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: odd Way on forty two Street, and it ran for 377 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,359 Speaker 1: twenty five performances. Then there was Swinging the Dream in 378 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 1: ninety nine, which I am just desperately curious about. This 379 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:15,360 Speaker 1: was a swing musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, 380 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: with a cast that included Butterfly McQueen and Louis Armstrong. 381 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: It ran for thirteen performances. Uh. Reviews of it were 382 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,879 Speaker 1: not great. And I cannot imagine why this sounds incredible 383 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: to me. I mean, I can't imagine why. The answer 384 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:35,960 Speaker 1: wise racism, but I'm still it's this sounds incredible to me. Uh. 385 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,200 Speaker 1: Most of the script has been lost, which is one 386 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: of the reasons I'm just desperately curious about it. We'll 387 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:43,879 Speaker 1: put it on the time machine list. It's one of 388 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: the stops will make mainly had some small film roles 389 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: during these same years. Like her Broadway rules, these were 390 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: in films that were made by and four black people, 391 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: a genre that became known as race films. One of 392 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: these was Emperor Jones, which came out in three starring musician, actor, 393 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: and activist Paul Robeson. Her film work continued into the 394 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,960 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, including playing her comedic persona in Killer Diller, 395 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: which came out in nine. In Night, she played a 396 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,199 Speaker 1: boarding house matron in boarding House Blues, in which the 397 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: boarding houses residents who are all performers, put on a 398 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 1: show to save moms and her boarding house from bankruptcy. 399 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: The thing that she became the most known for during 400 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: these years was her comedy. On stage, she booked longer 401 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: and longer contracts at the Apollo, ultimately appearing there more 402 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: than any other entertainer and earning as much as ten 403 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:42,479 Speaker 1: thousand dollars a week. She constantly changed up her acts 404 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 1: that would continue to appeal to returning members of the audience, 405 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: and soon she was nicknamed the funniest woman in the world. 406 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: As the civil rights movement evolved in the nineteen fifties 407 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 1: and sixties, Mabley's comedy started to include more and more 408 00:24:55,680 --> 00:25:00,399 Speaker 1: social satire and commentary about racism, sexism, and Paula ticks. 409 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 1: This continued as white audiences became more aware of her 410 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: with the evolution of comedy albums. Maybe recorded her first album, 411 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: Funniest Woman Alive, before a live audience in Chicago in 412 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,639 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty and it was released by Chess Records. It 413 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,320 Speaker 1: was a hit, and she went on to record ninety 414 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 1: more comedy albums during her career, many of which made 415 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 1: the Billboard two hundred. Her nineteen sixty one Moms Maybe 416 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: at the u N hit number sixteen on the Billboard charts, 417 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: which was the highest ranking comedy album by a woman, 418 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: and that record stood for the next decade. As Maybe 419 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 1: became more well known to white audiences, she used her 420 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,960 Speaker 1: disarming stage persona to make social and political commentary that 421 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,360 Speaker 1: probably would have been impossible without it. Her sets included 422 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: fictional conversations with world leaders where she set them straight 423 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: on various wrongs. She made pointed observations about the realities 424 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: of racism and segregation. For a example, on her nineteen 425 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:04,520 Speaker 1: sixty three album I Got Something to tell You, she said, quote, 426 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:06,119 Speaker 1: you know the first thing I would do if I 427 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,439 Speaker 1: was president, I would give a certain Southern governor a 428 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 1: job as ambassador to the Congo and let him go 429 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:14,879 Speaker 1: crazy looking for a men's restroom with white on it. 430 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,960 Speaker 1: Throughout the nineteen sixties, she also did benefit performances to 431 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 1: raise money for causes like Southern Students Freedom Fund, which 432 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,120 Speaker 1: provided aid for students who had been arrested for their 433 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:28,440 Speaker 1: civil rights activism. She did a show at the Apollo 434 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,159 Speaker 1: Theater to raise money for the March on Washington, and 435 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,160 Speaker 1: she sold photographs during some of her shows to raise 436 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: money for the Selma to Montgomery March. She was also 437 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: a member of the n double A CP, and she 438 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 1: attended the White House Conference on Civil Rights in nineteen 439 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 1: sixty six that inspired her album Mom's Maybe at the 440 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,800 Speaker 1: White House. She also gave multiple performances at prisons all 441 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: over New York, including Sing Sing and Riker's Island. Mabley's 442 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,639 Speaker 1: television debut was also connected to all of this. In 443 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,399 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty seven, Harry Belafonte produced A Time for Laughter, 444 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: a look at Negro humor in America. Bellefonte described this 445 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,240 Speaker 1: as an effort to both demonstrate black people's humanity for 446 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:14,160 Speaker 1: the white world and to inspire joy and laughter within 447 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: the black community. That was the first time Mom's made 448 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 1: Lee was on TV. Maybe had long talked about seeing 449 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: her audiences as her children, and when she started doing television, 450 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 1: she said, quote, the only difference I found when I 451 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,960 Speaker 1: started doing TV was that instead of looking at the 452 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: audience as my children, I looked at the world as 453 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: my children. She appeared on multiple televised comedy programs and 454 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,680 Speaker 1: variety shows, including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Carol 455 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,440 Speaker 1: Burnett Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Flip Wilson Show. 456 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: These television appearances introduced her to a larger white audience 457 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 1: than her albums had, and that fed into bookings at 458 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,120 Speaker 1: venues like the Kennedy Center. But at that point she'd 459 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,919 Speaker 1: been performing and famous among black audiences for fifty years. 460 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty nine, Mom's Mayblee's cover of Abraham, Martin 461 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: and John, which is the song about the assassinations of 462 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln Martin, Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy, and 463 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 1: Bobby Kennedy, hit number thirty five on the Billboard Charts. 464 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 1: She performed this song as Moms, but it was a 465 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: completely serious and audibly grief stricken performance. In the nineteen seventies, 466 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: Maybley's comedy included her opposition to US involvement in the 467 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 1: Vietnam War, and in the nineteen seventy two interviews she 468 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,119 Speaker 1: said quote, I've shed many a tear over those boys. 469 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:35,560 Speaker 1: I wanted to go over there, but the government said 470 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: I was too old. But if I'd gone over there, 471 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: I'd have said, come on, children, let's go home. Also 472 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:45,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy two, she supported past podcast subjects Shirley 473 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 1: Chisholm's election campaign and appeared at a Stars for Shirley fundraiser. 474 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,840 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy four, Moms Mayblie made her last TV 475 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: appearance as a presenter at the Grammy Awards with Chris Christopherson. 476 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: At the time, Stofferson was thirty eight, and the two 477 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: of them played up Mom's attraction to young men. Made 478 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: asked him the name of the song he wrote, and 479 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: after he replied, help me make it through the night, 480 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: answering quote, if you can make it for half an hour, 481 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: It'll be all right with me. Their banter went on 482 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: for a full five minutes before announcing the award that 483 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,600 Speaker 1: went to Gladys Night In the pips and Maybley took 484 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: her teeth out in the middle of it. It's amazing. 485 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 1: You can see this on YouTube. Also good also in vour. 486 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: Maybe had her first lead in a feature film. This 487 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: was called Amazing Grace and she played Grace Teasdale Grimes. 488 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 1: It's about a woman who goes up against a corrupt 489 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: politician and it's posters read quote, Who's coming to put 490 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: an end to dirty tricks, crooked politicians and lion mayors? 491 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:52,960 Speaker 1: Who America's most glamorous, sexiest female superstar moms. Maybe It's 492 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: about time. Maybe had a heart attack during the production 493 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: for this film. She returned to the set after having 494 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: a casemaker implanted, and she used her publicity for the 495 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 1: film to promote voting. But this was her last appearance 496 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:11,040 Speaker 1: on screen. She died on May five in White Plains, 497 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: New York, at the age of about seventy eight. She 498 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: was survived by four children, five grandchildren, two sisters, and 499 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 1: three brothers, including her brother Eddie Parton, who had helped 500 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,520 Speaker 1: write some of her material. She had spent her last 501 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:29,680 Speaker 1: years living with her daughter Bonnie. At least five hundred 502 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,640 Speaker 1: people attended her funeral, and the marquis at the Apollo 503 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: Theater was changed to read Harlem mourns Moms Maybe. Comedian 504 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 1: Dick Gregory gave a eulogy in which he said that 505 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: if she had been white, she would have been known 506 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:45,960 Speaker 1: fifty years before today. Mom's Maybe is known as one 507 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: of the founders of American stand up comedy. A lot 508 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 1: of later comedians have cited her as an inspiration, including 509 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Wanda Pyke's, Arsenio Hall, and Whoopie Goldberg, who, 510 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:02,360 Speaker 1: as we said, made a documentary about Moms in originally 511 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 1: called I Got Something to Tell You before it was 512 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 1: picked up by HBO. In the nineteen eighties, Clary's Taylor 513 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: worked with playwright Alice Childress to write a play called Moms, 514 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 1: which debuted at the Astor Place Theater in the character 515 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 1: of Granny Clump and Eddie Murphy's The Nuttie Professor is 516 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 1: also a tribute to her man in Mom's Mable his 517 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,120 Speaker 1: own words, her influence was more pervasive than all of 518 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: that quote. There's not a comedian in show business that 519 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: hasn't stolen material from moms, not white or black, as 520 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:36,480 Speaker 1: fast as they steal them. God gives me some more. 521 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: I love her genius. Uh and, as I said, I 522 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 1: had multiple times just stops what I was doing and 523 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:49,080 Speaker 1: watched some I watched Mom's mainly on YouTube, and I 524 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:53,600 Speaker 1: also watched a Wanda Psyke's appearance as her on Marvelous 525 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: Mrs Maisel. I watched that three or four additional more 526 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: times working on So yeah, I think a lot of 527 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: her comedy definitely holds up. I have not listened every 528 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: to every single album she has ever done, so I 529 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: don't think I can make a blanket statement that every 530 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: Mom's mainly joke has weathered the years well, but a 531 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:23,320 Speaker 1: lot of it is still hilarious. UM. I have listener mail. 532 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: It's from Christine and it's it's actually an Instagram message. 533 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 1: Christine said, I just had to send this to you 534 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,000 Speaker 1: considering you just said an episode on the history of 535 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:35,440 Speaker 1: unicorns and I don't remember this being mentioned. Have a 536 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:40,200 Speaker 1: great day. Several folks have sent us this video and 537 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:42,960 Speaker 1: the video just went up yesterday, I think as of 538 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:45,600 Speaker 1: when we are recording this, and it is a video 539 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: called did Unicorns Exist? And it is talking about the 540 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:57,120 Speaker 1: extinct animal Elastmotherium sibericum also called the Siberian unicorn. What 541 00:32:57,320 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 1: one of the things that the video talks about is 542 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,000 Speaker 1: that it is believed to have gone extinct at least 543 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 1: a hundred thousand years ago, but there's radio carbon dating 544 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 1: that suggests it was more like thirty nine thousand years ago, 545 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:13,920 Speaker 1: so this animal would have existed alongside prehistoric humans. Maybe 546 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:17,520 Speaker 1: this is the origin of unicorn myths. Here's the thing though, 547 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 1: this video has like the most horse like illustration of 548 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,280 Speaker 1: this animal most of them, it looks much much more 549 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 1: like a rhinoceros with an almost buffalo like hump um 550 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,080 Speaker 1: very rhinocerosy, and also they were twice as big as 551 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: rhinoceroses are. Um, it's not impossible that people in Eastern 552 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:47,560 Speaker 1: Europe and Central Asia, where the where these lived um 553 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 1: had some kind of oral tradition relating to them. But 554 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 1: there's a way clearer progression from the Indian subcontinent through 555 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,120 Speaker 1: Greece and Rome into Europe, which is what we we 556 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:03,320 Speaker 1: traced on that episode. So thanks to everyone who has 557 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:06,560 Speaker 1: sent us that video. If you would like to write 558 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:08,840 Speaker 1: to us, we're a history podcast at i heeart radio 559 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,439 Speaker 1: dot com and we're all over social media at miss 560 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:15,160 Speaker 1: in History's where you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, 561 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:17,600 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on the I 562 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:20,320 Speaker 1: heart Radio app and anywhere else that you like to 563 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:28,239 Speaker 1: get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class is 564 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from 565 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,839 Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 566 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,000 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.