Tess Gardella facts for kids

Tess Gardella (born December 19, 1894 – died January 3, 1950) was an American performer. She acted on stage and in movies. Her most famous stage character was named Aunt Jemima.

Tess was from an Italian family. The well-known Aunt Jemima brand of pancake mix was named after her stage character. Tess often performed in blackface. This was a type of makeup used by white performers to look like Black people. It was a common part of entertainment at the time.

Tess Gardella was born in Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania. Her parents were John and Louisa Gardella. In 1918, she moved to New York City. There, she sang in dance halls, nightclubs, and even at political events.

She passed away in Brooklyn, New York, on January 3, 1950. She had diabetes.

Her Stage Career

Vaudeville Shows

Tess Gardella started performing in vaudeville shows. Vaudeville was a popular type of entertainment with many different acts. A man named Lew Leslie helped her get started. He also gave her the stage name "Aunt Jemima."

She performed at famous theaters like the Palace and the New York Hippodrome. Her performances received great reviews from Variety magazine.

Her very last performance was back in vaudeville. She played at the Palace Theatre again in 1949.

Theater Plays

Tess Gardella first acted in a play called George White's Scandals in 1921.

But she became most famous for her role in the musical Show Boat in 1927. She was the first person to play the character Queenie. She was the only original cast member to wear blackface for her role. The show also featured an African-American chorus. Jules Bledsoe, who played Joe and sang "Ol' Man River" in the same show, was African-American.

Tess performed in Show Boat for its entire first run, which ended in May 1929. She even came back for a new version of the show in 1932. Most of the original 1927 cast returned for this show. After Show Boat, she went back to performing in vaudeville.

Her Movie Roles

In the 1930s, Tess Gardella appeared in some short movies filmed in New York. These included the Vitaphone series Rambling 'Round Radio Row (1932–34).

She also appeared in the movie Stand Up and Cheer! (1934). This film helped make Shirley Temple a big star. In most of her movie roles, Tess was known as "Aunt Jemima."

In 1938, the Vitaphone studio made a two-reel musical short film called A Swing Opera. Tess Gardella was the main star, billed as "Tess Gardella (Aunt Jemima)." This film was a shorter, updated version of the famous operetta The Bohemian Girl. It had new song lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin. In this movie, Tess played the gypsy queen and did not wear blackface.

Billboard magazine once said that her appeal was how she represented the "colored mammy" character.

See also

• Nancy Green