The show can still provoke emotional responses from many African Americans. The president of the organization’s Beverly Hills/Hollywood chapter says “Amos ‘n’ Andy” in many respects is more dignified than many black-oriented sitcoms on the air today. It was just a slice of life of who these people are.”Įven the national NAACP, which was instrumental in getting “Amos ‘n’ Andy” off the air, has taken a hands-off position on the series this time around, declining to comment on the show’s resurgence. I go back and look at them and genuinely laugh,” said African American actress-director Anna Maria Horsford, who co-stars in the WB network’s “The Wayans Bros.” “It’s just like ‘I Married Joan’ or any other comedy during that time. “I have ‘Amos ‘n’ Andy’ in my own collection. With quite a bit of historical distance, there is a different approach that we can apply in the 1990s that we could not apply before.” “As time passes, different circumstances arise and context changes. “Most things mellow out over time, and what may have been offensive at one point is now comical,” said Todd Boyd, an African American who is assistant professor of critical studies at USC’s School of Cinema-Television. And with the growing prominence of black writers, producers and directors, as well as a greater variety of roles for blacks, some African Americans and others regard “Amos ‘n’ Andy” with less resistance than they did in the past, when the involvement of blacks in Hollywood was more stereotyped and restricted. But mixed feelings about contemporary African American sitcoms and movies containing what some observers call outrageous characters and situations have prompted more interest in seeking out “Amos ‘n’ Andy” for comparison. Director Robert Altman and entertainer Harry Belafonte have announced plans for a movie about “Amos ‘n’ Andy.” Returning later to acting, he played a projectionist in the 1975 film "The Day of the Locust" and appeared in "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings" in 1976 and "The Main Event" in 1979.But now, a home video distributor has launched an aggressive marketing campaign as it makes episodes more widely available in such major outlets as Tower Records. He went to New York in 1931 and first appeared on Broadway in "Savage Rhythm." He later joined the Federal Theater when it was formed and worked as an instructor with the American Negro Theater.Īfter the cancellation of his series, he was a social worker for Los Angeles County. Childress graduated from high school in Meridian, Miss., and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology at Rust College. Other characters included attorney Algonquin Calhoun, played by Johnny Lee Andy's girlfriend, Madame Queen, played by Lillian Randolph, and the slow-moving janitor, Lightnin', played by Horace Stewart. Two members of the TV cast ensemble also played their parts on radio - Ernestine Wade, who portrayed Kingfish's shrewish wife, Sapphire Stevens, and Amanda (Mama) Randolph, who played her mother. Andy was the most gullible character in the series, and his actions often drew from Kingfish the flabbergasted response, "Holy mackerel, Andy!" That role was rarely at the center of action, but Amos usually served as narrator. He was played by Tim Moore.Īmos was the philosophical, sweet-natured owner and sole operator of the Fresh Air Taxi Co. The program's plot involved the antics of a group of three friends in Harlem - Amos Jones, Andy Brown and George (The Kingfish) Stevens.Īction often centered on the activities of The Kingfish, a conniving character who headed a lodge called the Mystic Knights of the Sea and who usually was looking for a dubious scheme to pursue with the aid of his lodge brothers. Childress and Spencer Williams were the actors chosen after an extensive search to play the title roles on television. Actually, the series had many episodes that showed the Negro with professions and businesses like attorneys, store owners and so on, which they never had in TV or movies before." "I didn't feel it harmed the Negro at all. Childress did not agree with the protesting groups. The racially stereotypical situations depicted in the series drew protests from various groups and contributed to the television series' demise, despite good ratings, in 1953. They were replaced by black actors when the program moved to television. White actors had played all the leading roles on the radio. "Amos 'N' Andy" had been a popular radio program for years before CBS brought it to television in 1951. Erne Sanitarium in suburban Inglewood, Calif. Alvin Childress, 78, the actor who played sweet-natured Amos on the landmark "Amos 'N' Andy" television comedy series in the early 1950s, died April 19 at St.
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