Guide to the Stepin Fetchit Postcard MSS.3378
Fetchit, Stepin
- Publication:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
Mary Harmon Bryant Hall
April 2011
500 Hackberry Lane
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487-0266
205.348.0500
archives@ua.edu
- Creation:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2011-04-20T09:53-0500
- Language Usage:
English
- Description Rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Stepin Fetchit Postcard
- Unit ID:
MSS.3378
- Repository:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
- Quantity:
0.05 Linear feet (1 postcard)
- Dates:
Circa 1931
- Abstract:
The Stepin Fetchit Postcard depicts a scene from the movie The County Chairman. The postcard features an autograph by Fetchit.
- Preferred Citation:
Preferred Citation note
Stepin Fetchit Postcard, W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
- Processing Information:
Processing Information note
Processed by Erin Schmidt 2011
- Access Restrictions:
Restrictions
None
Provenance
Gift of Wade Hall 2008
Scope and Contents note
The Stepin Fetchit Postcard depicts a scene from the movie The County Chairman wherein Fetchit interacts with Will Rogers in an outdoor setting. The postcard features a reproduction of Fetchit's signature as well as an actual autograph by Fetchit.
Biographical/Historical note
Stepin Fetchit was the most well-known character created by African American comedian and film star Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry. Perry was born between 1892 and 1902 in Florida. A literate and intelligent man, Perry began playing the Vaudeville Circuit and became popular with his "Laziest Man in the World" character, a character that would later become known as Stephin Fetchit and fuel heated debate about the negative, stereotypical portrayal of African Americans in popular culture. Perry appeared in fifty-four films between 1925 and 1976.
Perry became the first African American actor to become a millionaire, all the while being denounced by Civil Rights leaders. Despite the anger and protest his movie roles garnered during his career, the Hollywood chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded him a Special Image Award in 1976 for helping to open doors for African Americans in the movie industry. In 1978, Perry was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
Perry died on November 19, 1985.
Stepin Fetchit Postcard Box SC0069 Folder 3378.01