Word: fetchit
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Obviously, the networks are still caught somewhat nervously between the stereotypes of Supernegro and a campy version of old Stepin Fetchit. Digby Wolfe, a former writer on the Laugh-In and Soul shows, warns that the "here-come-de-judge syndrome can be very dangerous, because it is apt to convince white audiences that Negroes are, after all, just kidding." He misses the point. No matter what the show or how limp the humor, the "Yassuh, boss" jokes are still, basically, satire...
...patronized as they provided employment. "It's been a long journey to this moment," said Sidney Poitier when he received his Oscar for Lilies of the Field in 1963. But his was only the last lap. The first million miles were traveled by Eddie Anderson, Stepin' Fetchit, Willie Best, Butterfly McQueen and other gifted actors whose long ride in the back of the bus can be seen again every week on television...
...solvable in the second reel by any post-Bond youngster of eight. They also rely heavily on antique comic relief as subtle as a pig bladder. Charlie's No. 1 and No. 2 sons incessantly glue up the clues, and a procession of Negro buffoons (Mantan Moreland, Stepin Fetchit, Willie Best) pop their eyes at every corpse. But bad as the films were, they were also an undergraduate school through which passed some able and attractive players, among them Rita Hayworth, Ray Milland and William Holden. For Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), Oscar Levant actually composed an original...
...unbroken, determined to scrub out his color as a bar to reaching the top in show business. He began breaking down the taboos that have long circumscribed Negroes, including the rule that colored entertainers must never imitate white celebrities. "You just stick with Satchmo and Step'n Fetchit," begged his manager. But Davis listened only to Davis, joined forces with his father and "Uncle" to form the Will Mastin Trio, soon had his audiences pounding the tables and begging for more as he imitated Sir Laurence Olivier, tough-talked his way through impersonations of Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart...
When he saw the tape, Cassius had a new story. The punch that flattened Liston, he insisted, was his secret "anchor punch"-so named because it anchors opponents to the floor. The punch was taught to him by a darkface comedian named Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson, first of the great Negro champions. Said Clay: "It's a chop, so fast you can't see it. It's karate. It's got a twist to it. Just one does...