I
was thinking yesterday about the great, pionering black comic
Timmie Rogers. He came up through vaudeville, he was one of (if
not the) first black comedians to appear without blackface
makeup in the 1940s. Yes, even the 'negro' comics had to wear blackface back in the day!
I
'discovered' him when he appeared as a guest on a number of TV variety
shows in the 1960s & 1970s. Timmie Rogers
gained TV popularity as a favorite guest of The Jackie Gleason
Show and his summer replacement series for 1968, The
Dom DeLuise Show.
Here are a couple of his 1960's appearances
on those shows:
Timmie Rogers was a regular on The Melba Moore Clifton Davis
Show, the summer replacement for Carol Burnett's show in
1972.
The
set resembled a colorful ghetto apartment building (think Sesame
Street only grittier) with the skits and musical numbers
taking place in various exposed units, on the steps, and up on
the roof. Guests "checking into" the building included
the immortal Moms Mabley, Jean Stapleton, and Arte Johnson.
Of
course, there was lots of Sonny and Cher style squabbling
between the couple and old-school
nightclub comedian Timmie
Rogers ("Oh Yeeaaah!") gained a forum for
his hilarious bits. If I'm not mistaken, this clip is from that
series -
Also
featured were regulars Liz Torres, Ron Carrey, and Dick Libertini.
It was widely reported that CBS was going bring this show back
as a mid-season replacement in 1973, but it was not to be.
The
couple split soon after but Clifton Davis turned up in a sitcom
called That's My Mama in 1974. Melba
Moore went on to star in Melba, a sitcom that was cancelled
after the first episode in 1986 just as her ex began a long run
with Amen that same year.
Here's
another of Roger's routines that he did variations on for years
- 'Everything's Going Up' from the same show. This is timeless
comedy, it works perfectly for today.
You
may remember Timmie Rogers from this hilarious bit from Sanford
& Son:
His
last appearance was on an episode of Martin in 1993.
Timmie
Rogers died in 2006 - it makes me feel pretty lousy that I didn't
think of him while he was still alive and could be interviewed.
He was a singular, ground-breaking, hilarious entertainer who
remains largely forgotten today and that's a real shame.
I came so close to meeting Timmie Rogers when I was in New Jersey at a bar where another great talent who is largely unknown had called his home to have him join us. That man was Jazz great Bobby Scott who wrote such hits as "A Taste Of Honey" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." Now they are both gone and we are all unfortunate for their loss. Thank you for making it possible for me to see Timmie Rogers work again and laugh. - Sincerely, John Wayne Peel
Timmie Rogers was a regular on The Melba Moore Clifton Davis
Show, the summer replacement for Carol Burnett's show in
1972.
