Who Were Some Black Comedians in the 60's?
Racism was, unfortunately, very much still alive during the 60's; therefore, some people who could have been great comedians might have been stifled.
Just because there were issues in the 60's does not mean that some black comedians were not able to rise above and really make a name for themselves. Some of these famous funny men and women include:
- Isabel Sanford
- Slappy White
- Nipsey Russell
Isabel Sanford
Born in Harlem, New York, Sanford was the youngest of seven children and the only one of them to live past infancy. She was brought up in poverty, but she found joy in making other people laugh. When she was young, she often performed at amateur night at the Apollo with great success. However, her mother fell ill and she had to care for her for quite awhile.
Later, she would return to the world of entertainment. She is very well known for her role as Louise or "Weezy" on the famous sitcom of the 1970's entitled "The Jeffersons." In the 1960's, she appeared in "Here Today" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."
Slappy White
He was born as Melvin White in Baltimore, Maryland. Like Sanford, he was raised in poverty but he turned to entertainment in order to lift his spirits. He was most well known for performing roasts at the Friar's Club, where he was extremely well received and loved.
Despite the fact that he was well known as a comedian - and after his death, some tapes of his work started to resurface - he was also a major advocate for racial equality. In fact, he would often engage in some performances with a white glove on one hand and a black glove on the other hand. One of these performances entitled the recitation of a poem about racial equality, which White said once received a genuine standing ovation from President John F. Kennedy.
White was also a major force in paving the way for future black comedic performers.
Nipsey Russell
Russell had a bit of a different upbringing than our other two subjects of study. He attended the College Conservatory of Music, which is now associated with the University of Cincinnati. He also had an affection for classical literature and foreign languages, and he served in World War II.
When he returned, he started engaging in some rather risque stand up shows at places such as Harlem's Baby Grand Club. He was dubbed "Harlem's Son of Fun" and one of his trademarks was to wear a white straw hat while he was performing.
By the late 1960's, Nipsey started to receive some criticism because people felt that his comedy was not with the times. However, he continued to pursue his dreams. In fact, in 1990, he appeared in a production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
From reading some of the information about these black comedians of the 1960's, certainly you are able to see the ways in which comedy and culture are intertwined. In fact, you are probably able to get a better idea of the entire sense of how media in general and the culture and politics of the time are intrinsically linked together.