Slappy White
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Slappy White (born Melvin White, September 20, 1921, Baltimore, MD, died November 7, 1995, Brigantine, NJ) was an American comedian and actor. He worked with Redd Foxx on the Chitlin' circuit of stand-up comedy during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared on the television shows Sanford and Son, That's My Mama, Blossom, and Cybill and in the films Mr. Saturday Night and Amazon Women on the Moon.
[edit] Biography
Slappy White's official biography reported that he "ran away to join the circus" as a child. White was best known in later years for the Friars' Club roasts, where he routinely appeared along with other comedians like Milton Berle, Jackie Vernon, Pat Buttram and Dick Shawn.
In contrast to the off-color humor of the Friars' roasts, White also wrote and performed a more conservative comedy routine using one black and one white glove while reciting his poem about equality between men. White performed the routine many times during the civil rights movement in America, and he said that President John F. Kennedy once gave it a standing ovation.
White enjoyed a minor renaissance after his death owing to bootleg recordings of Friars' Club roasts which became available through comedy record outlets.
[edit] Partial filmography
- 1974 Amazing Grace
- 1986 PLAYBOY Comedy Roast for Tommy Chong
- 1987 Amazon Women on the Moon
- TV series Sanford & Son, as an old friend of Fred's named Melvin White
