Stepin Fetchit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stepin Fetchit
Fetchit in 1959
Born	Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (1902-05-30)May 30, 1902 Key West, Florida
Died	November 19, 1985(1985-11-19) (aged 83) Woodland Hills, California
Resting place	Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1925–1976
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Stevenson (1929–1931) Bernice Sims (1951–1984) (her death)
Children	2

Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (born May 30, 1902 – died November 19, 1985) was an American actor and comedian. He was better known by his stage name, Stepin Fetchit. He was one of the first black actors to have a very successful career in movies.

Stepin Fetchit was famous in the 1930s. He often played a character known as the "Laziest Man in the World." This character helped him become the first black actor to earn $1 million. He was also the first black actor to get special credit for his roles in films.

After 1939, his film career slowed down. By the 1950s, many black Americans felt his character showed negative stereotypes. However, some experts today see his character differently. They think he might have been like a "trickster" who cleverly fooled others.

Early Life and Beginnings

Lincoln Perry was born in Key West, Florida. His parents were immigrants from the West Indies. His father, Joseph Perry, was a cigar maker from Jamaica. His mother, Dora Monroe, was a seamstress from Nassau, The Bahamas. They moved to the United States in the 1890s and got married.

By 1910, his family moved to Tampa. Some stories say he was adopted at age 11 and lived in Montgomery, Alabama. His mother hoped he would become a dentist. But at age 12, he ran away to join a carnival. For several years, he worked as a singer and tap dancer.

Vaudeville Performances

As a teenager, Perry became a funny character actor. By age 20, he was a vaudeville performer. He also managed a traveling carnival show. His stage name, "Stepin Fetchit," came from a horse he bet on. He and his partner used "Step" and "Fetchit" for their act. When Perry performed alone, he combined the names. This became his famous stage name.

Film Career Highlights

Stepin Fetchit and Chubby Johnson in Bend of the River (1952)

Perry often played funny characters in movies. These roles were based on his "Laziest Man in the World" persona. He also wrote for The Chicago Defender, a newspaper. After his role in In Old Kentucky (1927), he signed a five-year movie contract. This film even showed a romantic link between Perry and actress Carolynne Snowden. This was rare for black actors in white films back then.

Perry also starred in Hearts in Dixie (1929). This was one of the first major studio films with mostly black actors. For his role in Show Boat (1929), Jules Bledsoe sang for him. Perry sang "The Lonesome Road" in the film. In 1930, he signed with Hal Roach to appear in Our Gang episodes. However, he only appeared in A Tough Winter before his contract ended.

Perry was good friends with actor Will Rogers. They acted together in several movies. These included David Harum (1934) and Judge Priest (1934). By the mid-1930s, Perry was the first black actor to become a millionaire. He appeared in 44 films between 1927 and 1939.

In 1940, Perry stopped making films for a while. He wanted equal pay and billing with his white co-stars. He returned to acting in 1945, partly because he needed money. He appeared in eight more films until 1953. In 1947, he declared bankruptcy. He then went back to performing in vaudeville shows. In the 1960s, he became friends with boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

After 1953, Perry made a few cameo appearances. These included the TV movie Cutter (1972) and films like Amazing Grace (1974). During his career, some civil rights leaders criticized his film roles. In 1968, a documentary called Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed criticized his portrayal of black people. Perry sued CBS for defamation but did not win.

Later Life and Death

In 1976, Perry had a stroke. This ended his acting career. He then moved into a special home for actors. He passed away on November 19, 1985, at age 83. The cause was pneumonia and heart failure. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.

Legacy and Influence

Stepin Fetchit inspired other actors. These included Willie Best and Mantan Moreland. Perry had even played a manservant in the Charlie Chan series before Moreland.

Perry appeared in one Our Gang short film, A Tough Winter, in 1930. He was supposed to be in more, but the contract did not work out. Our Gang had other black child actors like Allen Hoskins and Ernest Morrison. Later, Matthew Beard and Billie Thomas were featured. These characters were often very different from Perry's persona.

In a 2005 book, critic Mel Watkins suggested that the Stepin Fetchit character was not truly lazy. Instead, he might have been a clever trickster. This character would deliberately trick white employers into doing the work themselves. This "putting on old massa" technique was a type of con art. Black audiences at the time would have understood this clever act.

Awards and Honors

Stepin Fetchit has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1976, the Hollywood chapter of the NAACP gave Perry a special NAACP Image Award. Two years later, he was added to the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

Personal Life Overview

In 1929, Perry married Dorothy Stevenson. They had a son named Jemajo. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1931. Dorothy later passed away in 1934 from tuberculosis.

Perry reportedly married Winifred Johnson in 1937. They had a son, Donald Martin Perry, in 1938. Their relationship ended soon after. In 1941, Perry was arrested for child support. He claimed they were never legally married. The court ruled he had to pay child support. Donald later took his stepfather's last name, Lambright.

Perry married Bernice Sims on October 15, 1951. They stayed married until Bernice's death in 1985, even though they separated earlier. For most of his life, Perry was a Catholic. Some sources say he joined the Nation of Islam in the 1960s, like his friends Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.

Filmography

See also

• Amos 'n' Andy
• Jar Jar Binks
• Blackface
• Buckwheat, a character played by Billie Thomas in the 1930s U.S. short film series Our Gang
• Dudley Dickerson
• Billy Kersands
• "Old Aunt Jemima"
• Pickaninny
• Fred Toones
• Uncle Tom