Slappy White Movies
Much-loved funnyman Slappy White spent the bulk of his long career performing in nightclubs, particularly those catering to black audiences in Atlantic City, NJ and Las Vegas. He only occasionally appeared in feature films. Born Melvin White in Baltimore, Maryland, he was raised in poverty and started out dancing on the streets for small change. At one time, he partnered with Redd Foxx. Many years later, after both had become famous comics, they would sometimes perform together. White often drew upon the hardships of his early life to create his comedy. The wearing of a white and a black glove on either hand to symbolize the need for racial harmony was one of White's special trademarks. In 1969, White teamed with Steve Ross and they became one of the first successful racially mixed comedy acts. White made his feature-film debut with Ross in the silly sexploitation film The Man from O.R.G.Y. (1970). White sometimes appeared on television. In 1972, White played "Melvin" on Red Foxx's sitcom Sanford and Son. He also had a regular role on the 1995 children's series Fudge. He made his last film appearance in the Billy Crystal vehicle Mr. Saturday Night (1991). White was an honor board member and inductee in the National Comedy Hall of Fame. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Comedian Billy Crystal made his directorial debut with this biography of fictional comedian Buddy Young Jr. (portrayed by Crystal himself), whose self-destructive tendencies prevent him from rising to top of the show business ladder during his five-decade career. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, David Paymer, (more)
The 1987 portmanteau comedy feature Amazon Women on the Moon lampoons several film genres in general and the 1954 sci-fi cheapie Cat Women of the Moon in particular. Other sketches in Amazon Women include an opening bit with Arsenio Hall; a vignette titled "Son of the Invisible Man" wherein a naked Ed Begley Jr. runs around in full view of the nonplussed supporting cast; the It's Alive parody "Hospital", which offers the spectacle of Michelle Pfeiffer giving birth to Mr. Potato Head; and a Siskel & Ebert takeoff, featuring Arche Hahn as a TV viewer whose entire life is given a "thumbs down." Directed by several hands, including Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss, Amazon Women on the Moon also features a satire of the Kroger G. Babb school of "sex hygiene" exploitation cheapies, with syphilis victim Carrie Fisher being counseled by unctuous doctor Paul Bartel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1986
Designed for adult audiences, this roast includes a collection of celebrities as they insult and abuse comedian Tommy Chong. ~ All Movie Guide
Veteran black comedienne Jackie "Mobs" Mabley is featured in her first (and last) starring vehicle, Amazing Grace. Essentially playing herself, Mabley portrays a feisty ghetto dweller who champions the cause of ex-convict Moses Gunn. With the old lady's help, Gunn is elected mayor, then proceeds to clean up his corruption-ridden administration. Amazing Gracealso includes appearances by Slappy White, Butterfly McQueen and Stepin Fetchit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Gregory Sierra makes his first appearance as Puerto Rican junk dealer Julio Fuentes. Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is outraged that Julio, and his pet goat, have moved in next door to the Sanford's junk shop. Before the episode is over, Fred's bigoted anger matches, if not surpasses, that of another Norman Lear creation, Archie Bunker -- with the same boomerang consequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
With All in the Family reaping huge ratings and even huger controversy on CBS, producer Norman Lear was able to sell another "chancy" sitcom project to rival network NBC. Like Family, which was inspired by the British comedy series Till Death Us Do Part, Lear's Sanford and Son was based on a long-running Britcom, Steptoe and Son, the saga of two cockney junk dealers. Also like Family, Sanford debuted as a mid-season replacement, in this case supplanted the failed Jack Webb drama The D.A. Originally, Lear had planned to build his version of Sanford and Son around two Jewish characters, but the upsurge in (and demand for) more African-American faces on television emboldened the producer to change the leading roles from Jewish to black. Veteran nightclub comedian Redd Foxx was cast as the irascible Fred Sanford (Foxx's real name was in fact John Elroy Sanford), a 65-year-old junk dealer living and working in a racially mixed Los Angeles neighborhood. Fred's son and business partner, 25-year-old bachelor Lamont Sanford, was played by Demond Wilson, whom Lear had hired on the strength of a guest appearance on All in the Family. The basic Sanford and Son premise was established from the beginning, with the crotchety Fred comfortably settled in his just-getting-by junk business, commiserating with his buddies in his off hours, occasionally squiring his erstwhile fiancée, nurse Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton), and spewing forth hilarious insults about everyone in general and other minority groups in particular. Although he loved and was devoted to his father, Lamont was forever seeking to better his life by looking beyond the junkyard, but whenever Lamont announced his intention of leaving the family business -- or, for that matter, whenever Lamont disagreed with his father on anything -- Fred would conveniently suffer a "heart attack," invoking the name of his late wife by clutching his chest, looking heavenward and shouting "I'm comin', Elizabeth!" As with any successful sitcom, Sanford and Son boasted a steady stream of supporting characters. In addition to the aforementioned Donna Harris, the series' first season yielded such peripheral personalities as police officers Smith (Hal Williams) and Swanhauser (Noam Pitlik), also known as Smitty and Swanny, and Fred's longtime buddy Melvin, played by Redd Foxx's onetime vaudeville partner Slappy White. Many of the first 14 Sanford and Son episodes were adapted from scripts originally written for its British prototype, Steptoe and Son. These scripts were not exactly word-for-word, given the fact that American television in A.D. 1972 was not quite ready for the frankness of its British counterpart, but the racy and sometimes ribald "flavor" was happily intact. Debuting Friday, January 14, 1972, Sanford and Son immediately "won" its Friday-night time slot, closing out its first season as America's sixth highest-rated program. The series would remain securely in the Top Ten list throughout its six-season run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1970
- R
Steve Victor (Robert Walker Jr.) is the head of a sexual research organization. When a wealthy madame dies, he must locate the three heirs, all prostitutes who have identical tattoos on their posteriors. The thin plot allows for some voyeuristic looks at females in various stages of undress as he searches for the heirs to the 15 million dollar fortune. The MPAA somehow gave this stag film an R rating instead of an X. Comedians Steve Rossi and Slappy White also appear in this flesh feature. The tilte is an obvious spoof on the television spy saga "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Rossi, Slappy White, (more)
