Stepin Fetchit

He was also the first black actor to receive featured screen credit in a film. Perry's film career slowed after 1939 and nearly stopped altogether after 1953. Around that time, Black Americans began to see his Stepin Fetchit persona as an embarrassing and harmful anachronism, echoing negative stereotypes. Writer Mel Watkins has since argued the Stepin Fetchit character is better described as a prankster rather than simply lazy.

• Name — Stepin Fetchit • Birth Name — Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry • Born — 30 May 1902 • Birthplace — Key West, Florida, US • Died — 19 November 1985 • Place of death — Woodland Hills, California, US • Resting Place — Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles • Occupation — * Actor • comedian • vaudevillian • Years Active — 1914–1976 • Spouse — Dorothy Stevenson (1929–1931) Bernice Sims (1951–1984) (her death) • Children — 2 (including Donald)

Little is known about Perry's background other than that he was born in Key West, Florida, to West Indian immigrants. He was the second child of Joseph Perry, a cigar maker from Jamaica (although some sources indicate the Bahamas) and Dora Monroe, a seamstress from Nassau. Both of his parents came to the United States in the 1890s, where they married. By 1910, the family had moved north to Tampa, Florida. Another source says he was adopted when he was 11 years old and taken to live in Montgomery, Alabama. His mother wanted him to be a dentist, so Perry was adopted by a quack dentist, for whom he blacked boots before running away at age 12 to join a carnival. He earned his living for a few years as a singer and tap dancer.

In his teens, Perry became a comic character actor. By the age of 20 he had become a vaudeville artist and the manager of a traveling carnival show. His stage name was a contraction of "step and fetch it". His accounts of how he adopted the name varied, but generally he claimed that it originated when he performed a vaudeville act with a partner. Perry won money betting on a racehorse named "Step and Fetch It", and his partner and he decided to adopt the names "Step" and "Fetchit" for their act. When Perry became a solo act, he combined the two names, which later became his professional name.

• Illustration — Perry and Chubby Johnson in Bend of the River (1952) Perry played comic-relief roles in a number of films, all based on his character known as the "Laziest Man in the World". In his personal life, he was highly literate and had a concurrent career writing for The Chicago Defender. He signed a five-year studio contract following his performance in the film In Old Kentucky (1927). The film's plot included a romantic connection between him and actress Carolynne Snowden, a subplot that was a rarity for black actors appearing in a white film during this era. Perry also starred in Hearts in Dixie (1929), one of the first studio productions to boast a predominantly black cast. Jules Bledsoe provided Perry's singing voice for his role as Joe in the 1929 version of Show Boat. Perry did not sing "Ol' Man River", but he did sing "The Lonesome Road" in the film. In 1930, Hal Roach signed him to a film contract to appear in nine Our Gang episodes in 1930 and 1931. However, his only appearance in the series was in A Tough Winter. Perry's contract was canceled for unknown reasons after its release. Perry was good friends with fellow comic actor Will Rogers. They appeared together in David Harum (1934), Judge Priest (1934), Steamboat 'Round the Bend (1935), and The County Chairman (1935). • Illustration — Perry and Ali in 1964 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 temporarily stopped appearing in films, having been frustrated by his unsuccessful attempt to get equal pay and billing with his white costars. He returned in 1945, in part due to financial need, though he only appeared in eight films between 1945 and 1953. He declared bankruptcy in 1947, stating assets of $146. He returned to vaudeville; he appeared at the Anderson Free Fair in 1949 alongside Singer's Midgets. He became a friend of heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali in the 1960s, allegedly converting to the Nation of Islam shortly before. Other sources have said he was a lifelong Catholic; he was buried at Calvary Cemetery, a Catholic institution in Los Angeles. After 1953, Perry appeared in cameos in the made-for-television movie Cutter (1972) and the feature films Amazing Grace (1974) and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). He found himself in conflict during his career with civil rights leaders who criticized him personally for the film roles that he portrayed. In 1968, CBS aired the hour-long documentary Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed, written by Andy Rooney (for which Rooney received an Emmy Award) and narrated by Bill Cosby, which criticized the depiction of black people in American film, and especially singled out Stepin Fetchit for criticism. After the show aired, Perry unsuccessfully sued CBS and the documentary's producers for defamation of character.

Perry suffered a stroke in 1976, ending his acting career. He then moved into the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital. He died on November 19, 1985, from pneumonia and heart failure, at the age of 83. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles following a Catholic funeral Mass.

In 1929, Perry married Dorothy Stevenson. She gave birth to their son, Jemajo, on September 12, 1930. In 1931, Dorothy filed for divorce, stating that Perry had broken her nose, jaw, and arm with "his fists and a broomstick." A few weeks after their divorce was granted, Dorothy told a reporter she hoped someone would "just beat the devil out of him," as he had done to her. In spite of the bitter divorce, they remained in contact. When Dorothy contracted tuberculosis in 1933, Perry moved her to Arizona for treatment. She died in September 1934; Perry paid for a 'lavish' funeral, reckoned at the time to embody 'a touch of the Hollywood spectacular' given the presence of persistent Fox newsreel photographers. Perry reportedly married Winifred Johnson in 1937, but no record of their union has been found. On May 21, 1938, Winifred gave birth to a son, Donald Martin Perry. Their relationship ended soon after Donald's birth. According to Winifred's brother, Stretch Johnson, their father intervened after Perry knocked Winifred down the stairs and broke her nose. In 1941, Perry was arrested after Winifred filed a suit for child support. When he was released from jail, he told reporters, "Winnie and I were never married. It was all a publicity stunt. I want you and everybody else to know that that is not my baby. Winnie knows the baby isn't mine but she's trying to be smart." Winifred admitted that they were not legally married, but she insisted Perry was her son's father. The court ruled in her favor and ordered Perry to pay $12 a week for the child's support. Donald later took his stepfather's surname, Lambright. Perry married Bernice Sims on October 15, 1951. Although they separated by the mid-1950s, they remained married for the rest of their lives. Bernice died on January 9, 1985. For at least the great majority of his life, Perry was an observant Roman Catholic. He allegedly became a member of the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s, following the footsteps of his close friends Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, even appearing in the 1977 movie Muhammad Ali, the Greatest. Other sources say he was a lifelong Catholic. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery, a Catholic institution in Los Angeles.

• The Mysterious Stranger (1925) • In Old Kentucky (1927) – Highpockets • The Devil's Skipper (1928) – Slave's Husband • Nameless Men (1928) • The Tragedy of Youth (1928) – Porter • The Kid's Clever (1929) – Negro Man • The Ghost Talks (1929) – Christopher Lee • Hearts in Dixie (1929) – Gummy • Show Boat (1929) – Joe • Thru Different Eyes (1929) – Janitor • Innocents of Paris (1929) – Bit Role (uncredited) • Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (1929) – Swifty • Salute (1929) – Smoke Screen • Big Time (1929) – Eli • Cameo Kirby (1930) – Croup • The Big Fight (1930) – Spot • Swing High (1930) – Sam • La Fuerza del Querer (1930) – Spot • A Tough Winter (1930, Short) – Stepin • The Prodigal (1931) – Hokey • Wild Horse (1931) – Stepin • The Galloping Ghost (1931) – Baxter College Locker Room Attendant • Neck and Neck (1931) – The Hustler • Carolina (1934) – Scipio • David Harum (1934) – Sylvester Swifty • Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) – Stepin Fetchit • The World Moves On (1934) – Dixie • Judge Priest (1934) – Jeff Poindexter • Marie Galante (1934) – 'Pacific Gardens' Waiter (uncredited) • Bachelor of Arts (1934) – Bulga • The Littlest Rebel (1935) • Helldorado (1935) – Ulysses • The County Chairman (1935) – Sass • One More Spring (1935) – Zoo Attendant • Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) – Snowshoes • Hot Tip (1935) – Cook • Steamboat Round the Bend (1935) – Jonah • The Virginia Judge (1935) – Spasm Johnson • 36 Hours to Kill (1936) – Flash • Dimples (1936) – Cicero • On the Avenue (1937) – Herman • Love Is News (1937) – Penrod • Fifty Roads to Town (1937) – Percy • Super-Sleuth (1937) – (uncredited) • His Exciting Night (1938) – Casper, the Baker Butler • Zenobia (1939) – Zero • Open the Door Richard (1945) • Big Timers (1945, Short) – Porter / Specialty Act • Swingtime Jamboree (1946) • I Ain't Gonna Open That Door (1947, Short) – Richard • Miracle in Harlem (1948) – 'Swifty', the Handyman • Harlem Follies of 1949 (1950) • Bend of the River (1952) – Adam • The Sun Shines Bright (1953) – Jeff Poindexter • Inquiring Nuns (1968, interviewee) • Cutter (1972, TV movie) – Shoeshine Man • Muhammad Ali, the Greatest (1974) • Amazing Grace (1974, cameo appearance) – Cousin Lincoln • Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975, archival footage) • Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976, cameo appearance) – Dancing Butler (final film role)