[78-L] Racialism, Vitaphones and Obama!

[Spats]

Hi!

How am I my going to link all the topics in my subject line!!!? ;-)

I grew up with a sort of reverse racial prejudice back in the 1950s 
in London. Whenever I saw a black performer on TV, they always seemed 
better than everyone else. Of-course, I didn't realize then that, to 
get on TV or film in those days, black performers HAD to be the best 
around!

Nevertheless, be it Ella Fitzgerald, Nat Cole, Paul Robeson, The 
Nicholas Bros., Marian Anderson or even British West Indian piano 
star, Winifred Atwell, black performers always seemed superior!

Well, last night someone played me and copied for me about a dozen 
early Vitaphone shorts, ranging from the best of white performers, an 
early Al Jolson feature, pre-dating the Jazz Singer I believe, and 
Burns & Allen who were truly wonderful, to a lot of corny and frankly 
pretty awful white performers.

On the other hand, there were black features with fantastic 
performers from my old friend Adelaide Hall in her youth, The 
Nicholas Bros., when still VERY young, Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle (was 
that Buster Bailey on clarinet?), and so on.  They were all, 
of-course, magnificent. Of-course, the plots of these shorts were 
pretty dreadful and really just excuses for the performances.

One, however, featured Ethel Waters (who sang Am I Blue? and Under A 
Harlem Moon) and another fine and very young tap-dancer (not as good 
as the Nicholas Bros., though, I ought to add), Sammy Davis Jr. In 
this film, Ethel Waters dreams of the little boy being elected a 
black president!

This was about 1930 or so. Could they have imagined the election of 
2008? I think not! ;-)

Earl.