Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry
October 19–20, 2005

Stepin Fetchit (1902–1985) rose from medicine show performer to Hollywood’s highest paid and most popular African American actor of the 1930s. But the actor’s postwar downfall was no less dramatic, as his on-screen portrayals of shuffling, slow-witted minstrel types were increasingly seen as anachronistic and offensive to progressive audiences, while at the same time his defiantly flamboyant lifestyle was an affront to racist sensibilities. Mel Watkins’s new biography Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry (Pantheon Books, 2005) is the first full-scale portrait of one of cinema’s most colorful and complex performers, revealing him to be a masterful satirist with a wily, rebellious nature, and providing a radical reevaluation of his contribution to American culture. Following the 6:00 p.m. program on October 19, Watkins signs copies of his biography.

Organized by Joshua Siegel, Assistant Curator, Department of Film and Media.

Judge Priest. 1934. USA. Directed by John Ford. With Stepin Fetchit, Will Rogers, Hattie McDaniel. "After Fetchit is hauled into court, he and the judge become lie-swapping, angling buddies. The comic portrayal of their leisurely kinship reflects the era’s romanticized perception of Old South racial relations" (Watkins). 81 min.
Richard’s Reply. 1949. USA. With Stepin Fetchit, Dusty Fletcher. A prime example of 1940s musical comedy shorts featuring black entertainers. "Perhaps the best example of Fetchit’s humor or 'audible pantomime'"(Watkins). 12 min.
Wednesday, October 19, 6:00 (introduced by Watkins); Thursday, October 20, 8:15. T2

Miracle in Harlem. 1948. USA. Directed by Jack Kemp. In this combination musical and gangster film, Stepin Fetchit plays a buffoonish handyman in a black-owned candy store. "Here, in an entirely black setting, the negative overtones of his poignant portrayal of the malingering Negro evaporate" (Watkins). 70 min.
Flip Out with Flip. 1968. USA. A featured skit in Flip Wilson’s television variety special, with Stepin Fetchit as the owner of a secondhand shop in Harlem and Wilson as his militant son. 20 min.
Wednesday, October 19, 8:30; Thursday, October 20, 6:00. T2

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