Blackface!

Tim Moore
1887-1958
"George 'Kingfish' Stevens"

Born Harry Roscoe "Tim" Moore in Rock Island, Illinois on December 9, 1887, the son of Harry and Cynthia Moore.

Although Tim Moore will forever be known as "The Kingfish" in the pioneering series "The Amos 'n Andy Show" (1951), he was actually far better known for his career on the stage and as a comedian in vaudeville than he was for his film and television work. In fact, he had only made (as far as is known) three films before "Amos 'n' Andy", and he had to be coaxed out of retirement to play in that show.

Moore was born into a family of 15 children in Illinois. He left school at age 11 to join a traveling vaudeville act called "Cora Miskel and Her Gold Dust Twins", which was such a hit in the U.S. that it toured Europe. He had a long and successful career in vaudeville and another successful run on Broadway in "Blackbirds". He also did much work on radio. The "Amos 'n' Andy" TV series was a major hit and made Moore--or, rather, "The Kingfish"--a household word. After the show's run he retired again, except for an occasional appearance on TV talk shows to reminisce about the series. He died of tuberculosis in 1958.

Works in Progress
Blackface Origins in Clowning
Blackface History Prior to Minstrel Shows
 Excerpts from Monarchs of Minstrelsy (1911)

Racial and Racist Stereotypes in Media