Actors Under The Stars

Auts Newsletter #4
Photo of Gobbler's Knob

February is tooling along, jampacked with holidays, observances, and commemorations - and infused with romance and so much more. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow then, presumably, went back to sleep. The Super Bowl commercials were stuffed with movie and television stars. The lunar Year of the Fire Horse broke out on the same day as Mardi Gras, and we celebrate our various American presidents (though some are far more worthy of celebration than others, wink, wink!!!). It's Valentine's Day, of course, that fills the air with the excitement associated with love through pretty much all of this short month. 
Photo of the sculpture The Kiss by Rodin

African American history also infuses February. A couple of years ago, cherished actor Morgan Freeman publicly asserted that the mere idea of Black History Month, "makes my teeth itch." Further back, in a 2005 interview with Mike Wallace, Freeman quipped, "You're gonna relegate my history to a month?" then left Wallace jaw-dropped and temporarily speechless when he sarcastically questioned, "What do you do with yours? Which month is White History Month?" Whether you rejoice in it, or feel as Freeman expressed, that it's "an insult," concentrated attention in February on the strong black fibers in the American fabric has been with us for 100 years.
Photo of actor Stepin Fetchit

So, Actors Under the Stars has decided to seize this heightened time to tackle the legacy of one of the most controversial figures in all of show business history. Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry has a lot of presidents in his name, but he was professionally known as:  Stepin Fetchit.

Please visit - and enjoy the ponder.

~FW

Photo Credits: Gobbler's Knob / Author Doug Kerr - CC 2.0

Rodin's The Kiss / Author Caeciliusinhorto - CC 4.0

Stepin Fetchit / The Everett Collection

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