Amos and andy alvin childress1/16/2024 In 1951, he was cast as the level-headed, hard-working and honest Amos Jones in the popular television series, The Amos 'n' Andy Show, which ran for two years on CBS. He was hired a year before the show went on the air. When he learned about casting for the Amos 'n' Andy television series, Childress decided to audition for a role. Childress also operated his own radio and record store in New York City. He also worked at Teachers College of Columbia University. His greatest success on the stage was his performance as Noah in the popular drama, Anna Lucasta, which ran for 957 performances. Soon, he was engaged as an actor in the Federal Theater Project, the American Negro Theater, and in all-black race film productions such as Keep Punching (1939). Childress and Rex Ingram in the Federal Theatre Project production of Haiti (1938)Ĭhildress moved to New York City and became an actor with Harlem's Lafayette Players, a troupe of stock players associated with the Lafayette Theatre. He had no thoughts of becoming involved in acting, but became involved in theater outside of classes. When he initially entered college, Childress intended to become a doctor, enrolling in typical pre-med courses. He was educated at Rust College, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. Not to mention the fact that the show was an extremely popular American phenomenon demonstrating the enduring appeal of the minstrel shows even though the format of the it changed.Alvin Childress (Septem– April 19, 1986) was an American actor, who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series Amos 'n' Andy.īiography Childress as Jacques in the Federal Theatre Project production of Haiti at the Lafayette Theatre (1938)Īlvin Childress was born in Meridian, Mississippi. The ambiguity of the minstrel show is left behind too because like you can see in the picture at the top, the actors would appear in blackface as their characters like the minstrel shows but would later go on to comment that they felt their show did not a negative depictions of African Americans. Yet, while the TV show was protested against and cancelled, the radio show continued to play in the background. It also reflected the shifting dynamics of the country because of the way the NAACP was able to successfully protest against the TV show and get the network to cancel it. 3Īmos ‘n Andy was a good example of the legacy minstrelsy has left behind in this country. This is direct evidence of the changing role and acceptance outlined in our readings and seen in the culture as mentioned by Stephen Johnson when he talks about the blackface appearance of Pat Paulsen that never aired. The show was short lived because of a formal protest by the NAACP who felt the show was a series of racist portrayals that were contributing to a negative opinion of African Americans. The TV show that was on air from 1951-1953 featured an African American cast who, although they may not have been using actual blackface but were instructed to keep to the dialect and voices of the original actors thus creating a form of virtual blackface. Alvin Childress as Amos Jones (left), Tim Moore as George “Kingfish” Stevens (center), and Spencer Williams as Andrew Hogg Brown (right) They were both naive bumpkins who were prone to mishaps and general buffoonery.Ĭast of Amos ’n’ Andy. The clearest example of the legacy of minstrelsy in the show was the way humor was manufactured: the actors used dialect and slapstick comedy for laughs, the two main characters were two forms of the stereotypical characters that had appeared on so many minstrel shows. ![]() In fact, the two actors on the show were two of the highest people paid in the years of the Depression. It was an immensely popular show that ran for years, even through the Great Depression. ![]() It was a direct legacy of minstrel shows in more ways than one. There were a number of other plays and even at least one movie that I found inspired by those characters along with a number of commercial items like toys and buttons.Īmos ‘n’ Andy relied on the humor and formula that had worked in the not-so-distant past in minstrel shows. All told, the radio show ran in some form (nightly or weekly) for a total of 32 years from 1928 to 1960. 2 which should give a hint to the idea that these shows were the offspring of the minstrel tradition. ![]() Other shows were called Burnt Cork Review, Aunt Jemima and Plantation Party. Within a few years and a name change the show was broadcasted nationally and eventually became the most popular show of its kind. Written and performed by two white actors, Amos ‘n’ Andy started as a regional Chicago radio show named Sam ‘n’ Henry. Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden in blackface as “Amos” and “Andy”.
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