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| Reconstructing Ben Vereen's 1981 blackface performance at the Ronald Reagan inauguration | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 03:21 pm EST 02/14/21 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 03:19 pm EST 02/14/21 | |
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| Vereen did a performance in blackface at the Reagan inauguration that was part tribute to Bert Williams and part critique of the legacy of the minstrel show. ABC edited out the critique and only kept the tribute. Artist Edgar Arceneaux has reinterpreted the performance in a piece of his own. Video in linked article. | |
| Link | ‘I Was Brought to Tears’: Watch Artist Edgar Arceneaux Reinterpret a Tragically Misunderstood 1980s Performance |
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| The 1975 Tony Awards | |
| Posted by: writerkev 06:28 am EST 02/15/21 | |
| In reply to: Reconstructing Ben Vereen's 1981 blackface performance at the Ronald Reagan inauguration - singleticket 03:19 pm EST 02/14/21 | |
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| 1975 seems pretty late in the day for people to have thought a blackface impersonation of Al Jolson singing “Swanee” would be appropriate, no? The audience at the Tony Awards were eating it up. See it at about the 10:30 minute mark. | |
| Link | 1975 Tony Awards |
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| re: The 1975 Tony Awards | |
| Posted by: dbdbdb 11:22 am EST 02/15/21 | |
| In reply to: The 1975 Tony Awards - writerkev 06:28 am EST 02/15/21 | |
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| I believe that is Larry Kert doing Jolson in the video. He was avid to play Jolson in a bio-musical. He tried out one such show, titled Joley, at a theatre on Long Island, but it went nowhere. That was in 1979. Right after that, another show, Al Jolson Tonight, was announced, with a book by Nicholas Dante, again starring Kert. It appears to have been canceled. But if memory serves, Kert continued to pursue the idea. You can find on YouTube a 1983 ABC special titled Parade of Stars, featuring Kert as Jolson, although not in blackface. The fact that two sets of producers felt that a Jolson musical was commercially viable even in1979 tells you something. According to the Times, as late as 2000, a guy named Clive Baldwin was still performing as Jolson, in blackface., albeit for small audiences of older Jolson fans. | |
| Link | https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/25/archives/news-of-the-theater-kert-determined-jolson-on-broadway-miss-shange.html |
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| re: The 1975 Tony Awards | |
| Posted by: kenstart 10:41 am EST 02/16/21 | |
| In reply to: re: The 1975 Tony Awards - dbdbdb 11:22 am EST 02/15/21 | |
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| In the opening credits of the 1975 Tony Awards the announcer states "and Clive Baldwin as Al Jolson." | |
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| re: The 1975 Tony Awards | |
| Posted by: dbdbdb 11:55 am EST 02/16/21 | |
| In reply to: re: The 1975 Tony Awards - kenstart 10:41 am EST 02/16/21 | |
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| Interesting. I didn't realize that Baldwin had ever gotten such a prominent platform. Attached is a link to a Times story about him which continues some startling comments. "Mr. Baldwin sees blackface as a remnant of an idyllic world that existed before baby boomers and the counterculture of the 60's. Indeed, he regards blackface as an act of ''brotherly affection toward the black man'' and that performers like Jolson humanized blacks for white audiences, thereby laying the groundwork for racial equality. Then ''along comes this new generation to call it a day on all that I believe,'' he said. ''I'm preserving something. That makes me a conservative'.'' The story was published 20 years ago. But still. |
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| Link | https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/22/arts/music-an-incorrect-artifact-with-aging-fans.html |
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| re: The 1975 Tony Awards | |
| Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 08:18 pm EST 02/16/21 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 08:12 pm EST 02/16/21 | |
| In reply to: re: The 1975 Tony Awards - dbdbdb 11:55 am EST 02/16/21 | |
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| Wow. And Roger Stone helped him book gigs. Honestly, if it wasn't dated 2000, I would absolutely believe it was written today. What I find more intriguing is that this article was written to accompany another, longer article assessing and defending Al Jolson's place in the culture, which was the front page story of the Sunday Arts Part 2 section. In 2000. Which was not that long ago, and was not the dark ages in terms of racial consciousness. |
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| re: The 1975 Tony Awards | |
| Posted by: dbdbdb 11:08 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: The 1975 Tony Awards - Singapore/Fling 08:12 pm EST 02/16/21 | |
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| He is such a forgotten figure today that it's hard to grapple with what a major star he was. And as the Times coverage indicates, he continued to be fondly remembered long after his death. I grew up seeing some of his films on TV and even then I could never see the appeal. It's probably worth noting that, two years after the Times coverage, the bio-musical Jolson & Co. was produced at York Theatre Company. (I didn't see it, but I don't think blackface was employed.) A biography was published in 2007. Because of his outsized stardom and his place in film history, I imagine that there will be further attempts at reckoning with him. It would be interesting if a Black writer with a specialty in theatre history would tackle the subject. | |
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| Fascinating! | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 10:54 pm EST 02/14/21 | |
| In reply to: Reconstructing Ben Vereen's 1981 blackface performance at the Ronald Reagan inauguration - singleticket 03:19 pm EST 02/14/21 | |
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| I'd never heard of this incident before. For those of you were around then (I was born the year after the inauguration) do you have any memories of this and of the fallout Vereen experienced? I can't imagine how terrible that would have been for him. There are countless issues with social media, but one of its best qualities is the ability to change the narrative and to have your voice heard even if you aren't in a position of power. It seems like Vereen had a little recourse back then over ABC's decision to edit out the context of his performance. Of course, it's worth acknowledging, as Edgar Arceneaux does, that even if the full performance had been seen, it may have still been questionable in that setting. In front of that particular audience. |
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| re: Fascinating! | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 12:57 pm EST 02/15/21 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 12:53 pm EST 02/15/21 | |
| In reply to: Fascinating! - DistantDrumming 10:54 pm EST 02/14/21 | |
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| Of course, it's worth acknowledging, as Edgar Arceneaux does, that even if the full performance had been seen, it may have still been questionable in that setting. In front of that particular audience. Agreed. A critique of blackface was prevelant at that time so Vereen's performance in its second half wasn't completely without context. I don't remember the inauguration but I do remember seeing a 1977 TV movie "Minstrel Man" which I believe was both directed and written by white people. A lot of leftish and avant-garde theater of the '60's included critiques or what the largely white creators saw as critical usages of blackface. |
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