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The Amos & Andy Blacklist

R

Runrigger

I bought the entire Amos & Andy set a while back & have just now started watching the episodes. Frankly they're right up there with I Love Lucy & The Honeymooners in terms of being downright hilarious. I know the show was blacklisted from TV due to what some felt was stereotyping, but frankly other than the way the characters spoke, there really was very little. Andy was a little slow & gullible & Kingfish always found a way to make money without ever holding a real job, but watching the show, I really wouldn't equate any of this to race.

The performers were among the most talented in the history of TV & in this day & age, the chance of the show offending anyone is probably greatly diminished considering what's on TV & in the movies. I understand Disney is finally going to release Song Of The South on DVD, which they had refused to do for the same reasons as the Amos & Andy controversy.

Isn't it time for these shows to reappear on TV?
 
> I bought the entire Amos & Andy set a while back & have just
> now started watching the episodes. Frankly they're right up
> there with I Love Lucy & The Honeymooners in terms of being
> downright hilarious. I know the show was blacklisted from TV
> due to what some felt was stereotyping, but frankly other
> than the way the characters spoke, there really was very
> little. Andy was a little slow & gullible & Kingfish always
> found a way to make money without ever holding a real job,
> but watching the show, I really wouldn't equate any of this
> to race.
>
> The performers were among the most talented in the history
> of TV & in this day & age, the chance of the show offending
> anyone is probably greatly diminished considering what's on
> TV & in the movies. I understand Disney is finally going to
> release Song Of The South on DVD, which they had refused to
> do for the same reasons as the Amos & Andy controversy.
>
> Isn't it time for these shows to reappear on TV?

I could see it happening, but only if someone like Cedric, DL Hughley, or the Wayans brothers decided to produce and star in a big-budget theatrical remake. Hollywood is running low on classic TV shows to butcher, er, update and I wouldn't be surprised if someone hadn't considered Amos & Andy as a candidate for the treatment.

Sure, it was highly stereotypical, but so is a lot of stuff that comedians get critically praised as "edgy" for doing these days . . .




>
 
IMHO there is no reason to not show "Amos & Andy".

More uncomfortable is that the creators of the original radio series,
Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden, appeared in blackface for a movie using
the characters of "A & A". (1930, "Check and Double Check")

A sidebar:

An "Amos & Andy" inspired cartoon show, "Calvin & the Colonel" featured the voices of Freeman and Gosden in the title roles of Calvin, a cigar-smoking bear
and "The Colonel", a shrewd fox.
This cartoon has not been aired in more than thirty-some-odd years,
not because of the veiled "A & A" references, but because it's not all that funny.

It would be interesting to see "Calvin & the Colonel" again, as well as "Amos & Andy".

A book entitled, "The original Amos 'n' Andy : Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928-1943 radio serial", from Elizabeth McLeod had this information
provided by the publisher about it...

"This reexamination of Amos 'n' Andy presents an unapologetic but balanced view lacking in most treatments. It provides fresh insights and in part refutes the usual blanket condemnations of this groundbreaking show".

I remember watching "Amos & Andy" as a youngster and I've never felt as if anything in it was offensive.

<P ID="signature">______________
"Be seeing you..."</P>
 
One problem: The NAACP still thinks the show is negative and stereotypical. It was one of the reasons why CBS films[the future Viacom] pulled it from syndication while it was still popular in 1966.

Plus you have to remember that the 1960s was a turbulent decade in the Civil Rights movement, which might have also fueled the backlash against the TV series, especially for stations in the Southern states that aired it.

I guarantee you this, if "Amos & Andy" does get revived, don't be surprised if someone from the NAACP or any other minority group make their feelings known. Chances are it'll make headlines.
 
> One problem: The NAACP still thinks the show is negative and
> stereotypical. It was one of the reasons why CBS films[the
> future Viacom] pulled it from syndication while it was still
> popular in 1966.
>
> I guarantee you this, if "Amos & Andy" does get revived,
> don't be surprised if someone from the NAACP or any other
> minority group make their feelings known. Chances are it'll
> make headlines.
>
I though I heard that the NAACP rescinded their opinion against the A&A TV series a few years ago?
 
> I guarantee you this, if "Amos & Andy" does get revived,
> don't be surprised if someone from the NAACP or any other
> minority group make their feelings known. Chances are it'll
> make headlines.

Agreed. In today's "politically correct" world, a lot of history is shoved under the rug whenever it is possible.

Remember a couple of years back when Fox Movie Channel planned to run the old Charlie Chan movies? There was such a backlash from the Asian "anti-discrimination" groups that it got reduced to one movie, followed by a 90-minute discussion of racial stereotyping in the movies back then.

Personally, I think there are a lot of thin-skinned people, of all colors, and they are working a little too hard to sanitize the past.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> Agreed. In today's "politically correct" world, a lot of
> history is shoved under the rug whenever it is possible.

This has nothing to do with "politically correct", since the "Amost & Andy" ban has been in place since the mid-sixties, which is long before anyone ever heard that term.

To be honest, I suspect that the ban remains in place primarily because it has been around for such a long time. That means that few people remember the show, fewer have actually seen it...and that means that there aren't many people clamoring to see something that they're barely aware of at best.

I did chance to see a couple of episodes in the early eighties, and was never able to understand why "Amos & Andy" was somehow considered to be more stereotyped and offensive that drivel like "What's Happening" or "Good Times".
 
> I though I heard that the NAACP rescinded their opinion
> against the A&A TV series a few years ago?

They haven't. And I haven't found any articles about that in any of the search engines sites.
 
Amos & Andy directly inspired at least one other show. When A&A was cancelled due to protests from the NAACP, the two guys who wrote both this show and the radio put together a show of their own and recycled characters and plots but changed the setting to the White suburbs. The show was called Leave It To Beaver.

Andy = Beaver (or Wally)
Amos = Ward (or Wally)
Kingfish = Eddie Haskell (or Whitey)

> IMHO there is no reason to not show "Amos & Andy".
>
> More uncomfortable is that the creators of the original
> radio series,
> Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden, appeared in blackface
> for a movie using
> the characters of "A & A". (1930, "Check and Double Check")
>
> A sidebar:
>
> An "Amos & Andy" inspired cartoon show, "Calvin & the
> Colonel" featured the voices of Freeman and Gosden in the
> title roles of Calvin, a cigar-smoking bear
> and "The Colonel", a shrewd fox.
> This cartoon has not been aired in more than thirty-some-odd
> years,
> not because of the veiled "A & A" references, but because
> it's not all that funny.
>
> It would be interesting to see "Calvin & the Colonel" again,
> as well as "Amos & Andy".
>
> A book entitled, "The original Amos 'n' Andy : Freeman
> Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928-1943 radio serial",
> from Elizabeth McLeod had this information
> provided by the publisher about it...
>
> "This reexamination of Amos 'n' Andy presents an
> unapologetic but balanced view lacking in most treatments.
> It provides fresh insights and in part refutes the usual
> blanket condemnations of this groundbreaking show".
>
> I remember watching "Amos & Andy" as a youngster and I've
> never felt as if anything in it was offensive.
>
 
The main reason why CBS Films decided to pull Amos and Andy from the public eye in 1966 was because it was planned to be shown in South Africa and other countries and a station in Chicago was going to show reruns of the show again and that's when the NAACP stepped in and decided that Amos and Andy was stereotypical of blacks 13 years after the show went into syndication and the show except for the episodes that are only sold by mail order has not been shown on TV in nearly 40 years.

I don't think that What's Happening or Good Times are drivel like someone said. Neither is Sanford and Son,The Jeffersons,The Cosby Show,Amen or 227. All of these shows are classic shows and were and are fun to watch. I don't think that all of these shows I mention are drivel.
 
> > Agreed. In today's "politically correct" world, a lot of
> > history is shoved under the rug whenever it is possible.
>
> This has nothing to do with "politically correct", since the
> "Amost & Andy" ban has been in place since the mid-sixties,
> which is long before anyone ever heard that term.

I'm sorry, I should have added a clarifying statement.

In today's PC world, any decision such as the one regarding Amos & Andy is not likely to be revisited because someone will object, loudly and strenuously, to it.

I'm curious as to why you didn't reply to my more recent example of the Charlie Chan movies. In thinking about it further, I recall that AMC had run all of those about five years before the backlash against Fox Movie Channel, and no one protested then.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> Amos & Andy directly inspired at least one other show. When
> A&A was cancelled due to protests from the NAACP, the two
> guys who wrote both this show and the radio put together a
> show of their own and recycled characters and plots but
> changed the setting to the White suburbs. The show was
> called Leave It To Beaver.
>
> Andy = Beaver (or Wally)
> Amos = Ward (or Wally)
> Kingfish = Eddie Haskell (or Whitey)

While "Beaver" creators Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher were the principal writers on "A&A", I think this is a bit of a stretch.

For one thing, "Beaver" was on the air (1957) before the NAACP protest (1963-64) took "A&A" out of syndication (1966).<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> To be honest, I suspect that the ban remains in place
> primarily because it has been around for such a long time.
> That means that few people remember the show, fewer have
> actually seen it...and that means that there aren't many
> people clamoring to see something that they're barely aware
> of at best.

You're probably correct there. Many aren't aware of the show & the ones that are not are probably least apt to be offended by it. Ironically if you look at the plot lines & such, the show had nothing to do with being black. It could have been played out by a white cast with Brooklyn accents.
 
The really odd thing is that the majority of UPN's prime time line up is filled with all sorts of negative stereoptypes, yet nobody seems to complain.<P ID="signature">______________
WCBS = We're Crazy Buffoons and Schmucks
<a href=http://chuck.spotteddogs.org/tv/>Spotted Dog TV Talk - for all your non-news TV Talk</a></P>
 
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