Ask me anything about Moms Mabley

[RationalLunacy]

He's probably looking for loopholes.

I found it:

Now, to answer all your questions......

 

[RationalLunacy]

Who is she and what significance does she hold to you?

"Jackie "Moms" Mabley (1894-1975) was born Loretta Mary Aiken and changed her name after her brother was embarrased to have a sister in show business. The name Jackie Mabley came from her first boyfriend whom she said took so much from her that the least she could do was take his name. This example showcases her skill of comically inverting structures: whereas nowadays for a woman to take a man's last name in marriage is often viewed as a sacrifice of her identity, Moms's move is more like a theft; she is driven by one man to appropriate another man's identity and make it notorious in the showbusiness world.

Moms grew adept at adapting the hardships of her life into comic routines. After her father forced her to marry a much older man whom she hated, she created her signature joke cycle of putting down older men.

She also remakes fairy tales, claiming that she is helping children.

Other themes of her comedy include black-white relations and political commentating--Moms casts herself as advisor to President Johnson on civil rights issues.

Her physical presence was absurd, and she played off of it. She looked frumpy onstage, yet she belittled old men and boasted of dates with young ones (at least one of which actually took place). As Trudier Harris observes, "On stage, she played out the romantic side of Mom, not the realistic; the adventurous, not the settled" (768). The disparity between her appearance and the content of her jokes epitomizes Malcolm Muggeridge's definition of humor as "the enormous disparity between human aspirations and human performances."

Moms's peformances include appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. She recorded nine very popular albums for Chess Records."

[source]
As a kid, I used to watch Moms Mabley on the Steve Allen Show, Merv Griffin, and Mike Douglas. I always thought she was a riot!

 

[RationalLunacy]

What is she staring and smiling at?

She is staring and smiling at my avatar, waiting for it to change back to Moms Mabley.

 

[RationalLunacy]

Why is her name "Moms" when its clear there is only one of her?

That's not true. She was a firm believer in quantum physics, and this was her way of recognizing her coexistence in alternate universes.

 

[RationalLunacy]

did she ever have sex with zachary smith?

just asking

No. She was a real person, and Zachary Smith was a character.

 

[PreTTy PeTe]

are we going to be here all day waiting for your answers?

hurry up
i have nothing to do

gotta go get those timbits..............

 

[RationalLunacy]

Whats the punch line to her story about falling down the steps after church?

"Let's all knock this place down!"

 

[RationalLunacy]

Do you have a colored photograph?
If so why didnt you use it?
If not why not?

All of Moms Mabley's photographs show her colored.

 

[RationalLunacy]

Would Moms Mabley ever have Starbucks coffee at the opera with an organ-playing gargoyle?

Lex

Only with you and Peto.

 

[RationalLunacy]

is it true that she started a revolutionist movement acting against synaptophysin during the peak of the depression?

No. Once she found out that the pathology of synaptic components is investigated by measuring the expression of synaptophysin that is mainly concentrated in synaptic terminals, she abandoned the movement for comedy.

 

[RationalLunacy]

What is the best record she made with Pigmeat Markham?

I personally like "The Best of Moms and Pigmeat"

tasty

 

[RationalLunacy]

Is it true that Moms Mabley and Jonathan Harris had a love child
which they left on the doorstep of an Amish couple...?

Yes, but not the baby in that picture. The baby pictured there is the love child of Sebastian Cabot and Minnie Pearl.

 

[RationalLunacy]

RL Do you know of anywhere that her
records are available. I heard some of
them years ago. She was one of a kind
to say the least.
shea

Yeppers.....

You can buy Moms CDs here.

 

[RationalLunacy]

What did she say about parents sending their kids off to school and saying, "Go ahead to school, baby, be careful, watch the light!"

????

" The bonds of marriage are so heavy that it takes two to carry them, sometimes three."

[actual Moms Mabley quote from The Johnny Carson Show]

 

[RationalLunacy]

Why haven't you answered any of these questions yet?

Because I was trying to catch up on my sleep. A man's gotta have energy for raking leaves, you know!

 

[RationalLunacy]

Never seen her in her younger years. but here she is...and as I remember her. I also see her real name in Loretta mary Aiken and was born in 1894 and dies in 1975..

**wonders if Clay Aiken is her grandson**

 

[RationalLunacy]

Why does she continually refer to gay men as "fairies" on her albums?

Because fairies are pretty.

....and because Clay Aiken is her grandson.....

 

[RationalLunacy]

Should JUB have a sub-forum devoted to Moms Mabley?

No, but an "Ask me anything about...." subforum wouldn't be a half-bad idea.

 

[RationalLunacy]

or just move this thread to fun and games

go eat some poutine......

 

[RationalLunacy]

ok why is moms so damn funny?

Watch her movie Amazing Grace and you'll find out why.