Tim Moore (comedian)
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Tim Moore (December 9, 1887, Rock Island, Illinois-December 13, 1958, Los Angeles) was a celebrated African-American vaudevillian and comic actor of the 1910s-1950s period. He achieved his greatest popularity in the starring role of George "Kingfish" Stevens in the CBS television series, Amos 'n' Andy.
Tim Moore was born Harry Roscoe Moore, one of thirteen children of Harry and Cynthia Moore. The elder Moore was a night watchman at a brewery. Tim dropped out of school to work at various odd jobs in town and also danced for pennies in the streets with his friend, Romeo Washburn.
[edit] Career
In 1900, the two went into vaudeville with Miss Cora Miskel in an act called "Cora Miskel and Her Gold Dust Twins." The act found favor with booking agents and travelled through the Midwest and the Northeast, and the British Isles. As the boys grew older, the act became less effective and Miss Miskel returned them to their parents in Rock Island (c. 1902). Shortly after this, Tim joined a medicine show headed by Doctor Mick, a charlatan who sold a quack remedy called "Puritia." The show travelled throughout the Midwestern states and included songs and dances provided by Tim and four Kickapoo Indians.
Tim left Doctor Mick and became a stableboy and then a jockey in Iowa. This was followed by a stint as a prizefighter. Around 1906, he returned to show business, this time with a troupe of minstrels known as "The Rabbit's Foot Company." By 1908, he had returned to vaudeville and met and married his first wife, Hester. They performed as a team for several years, appearing in the United States and several foreign countries. They performed together in "Tim Moore's Georgia Sunflowers," a minstrel show featured in southern vaudeville circuits. Their marriage ended around 1915 and he married another vaudeville actress named Gertrude. Tim returned to pugilism under the name of Young Klondike and trained in New Zealand. He had bouts in that country as well as in Australia, England and Scotland.
With the money he had earned, he and his wife went back into vaudeville. Moore formed his Chicago Follies troupe and gained considerable popularity as a favorite on the Theater Owners Bookers Association (or T.O.B.A.), vaudeville circuit throughout the Roaring Twenties. In 1923, Tim and Gertie co-starred with Sandy Burns in the silent film comedy, His Great Chance (North State Films). Next year, in vaudeville, they toured in "Aces and Queens," which proved a lucrative venture. On the strength of this, in June 1925, Tim Moore made his Broadway debut as the star of Lucky Sambo (based on "Aces and Queens'); however it came a cropper after a few performances. 1926 brought the Moores success on burlesque's Columbia Wheel with the hit show Rarin' to Go and next year on the T.O.B.A. circuit with The Southland Revue.
In 1928, Moore left vaudeville altogether for another fling at Broadway. This time he met with enormous success as the star comedian of Lew Leslie's hit musical comedy revue, the Blackbirds of 1928. Moore's co-stars were singers Adelaide Hall and Aida Ward and renowned tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. The hit musical scored high in Paris and London as well as on the road throughout the states. After a disagreement with Lew Leslie, Moore starred in a few unsuccessful Broadway revues, Fast and Furious (1931), and The Blackberries of 1932. In the former production, Moore wrote some of the skits along with his friend and co-star Zora Neale Hurston. But, needing each other, he and Leslie patched up their differences and Moore resumed his position as star comedian in the Blackbirds revues of 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1939. In this last edition, the principal singing star of the show was Lena Horne. Moore's last Broadway show was Harlem Scandals (1942), produced by Ed Sullivan and Noble Sissle. During the period, ca. 1938-1946, Tim Moore was one of the top comedians headlining at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Gertrude Moore died sometime after 1930; Moore was certainly a widower by 1935.
In 1946, he starred as Bumpsie in the musical comedy race film, Boy! What a Girl. He then retired from show business and with his third wife, Benzonia Davis Moore (1889-1956) settled down in his old home town of Rock Island (Moore's second wife Gertie died in the 1930s). In 1951, Moore was called out of retirement by the Columbia Broadcasting System to star as the Kingfish in the television series, Amos 'n' Andy. The series was no longer based upon the exploits of Amos and Andy but rather on those of its most popular character George "Kingfish" Stevens. Moore was very popular in the show and for the first time in his career became a national celebrity as well as the first African American to win stardom on television. which aired on primetime TV from 1951 to 1953. Although quite popular, the series was eventually cancelled due to complaints about the amount of ethnic stereotyping in it.
After the series was cancelled, it was shown in syndication until 1966. Moore married his last wife, Vivian (1912-1988) after Benzonia's death and this marriage won him considerably publicity thanks to the "Roast Beef Scandal" (January-March 1958). "The Old Kingfish" as the press dubbed him fired a gunshot at his "mooching in-laws" when he found that the last of the New Year's roast beef had been eaten by them. Thanks to the "Roast Beef Scandal," Moore was once more in demand and even received a testimonial tribute dinner from the Friar's Club in Beverly Hills The publicity also won him an extended performance engagement at the Mocambo Club.
Moore died of pulmonary tuberculosis in Los Angeles, four days after his seventy-first birthday. After a large funeral, (attendees included George Jessel, Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Ronald Reagan, George Burns, Eddie Cantor, Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Richman et al), he was buried at Rosedale Cemetery.
[edit] References
Bogle, Donald. Blacks in American Films and Television: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Simon and Schuster, 1988.
Ely, Melvin Patrick. The Adventures of Amos 'n' Andy: A Social History of an American Phenomenon, The Free Press, 1991
