- #BlackGirlMagic, E books, Historical fiction, Historical romance, Historical womens fiction, Women's fiction
Funny Lady
There was a time when black comedians were the hottest ticket in town. A comedic renaissance bloomed in the 60s, where a variety of different funny men and women tickled the fancy of American audiences. Let’s see, there was George Kirby (Kirby was also a master vocal impersonator), Nipsey Russell, Flip Wilson, Redd Foxx, Moms Mabley, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Pigmeat Markham, Dick Gregory, Paul Mooney (also wrote for several other comics, like Richard Pryor), Scoey Mitchell, among others.
Female comics I recall watching on The Ed Sullivan Show included Totie Fields, Joan Rivers, Moms Mabley, Anne Meara, of Stiller and Meara (Ben Stiller’s mom), Phyllis Diller, and Carole Burnett. And of course CBS had the number one female comedian, Lucille Ball (who had other sit-coms after I Love Lucy, which co-starred her then real life husband Desi Arnaz).
I must also mention Jackie Gleason, Frank Gorshin (a wonderful impressionist) and especially the late, great George Carlin, talented funny men who were also popular back in the day.
The Queen of Comedy is the tale of a fictional black comedian, from her youth in the 1920’s, until she’s older and recalls the highs and lows of her career. One such highlight is her time at The Moulin Rouge, a real establishment that broke barriers. I’ve included links on The Moulin Rouge that are below the GIF:
It’s Her Time – The Queen of Comedy will be released shortly The Vegas Hotspot That Broke All the Rules
America’s first interracial casino helped end segregation on the Strip and proved that the only color that mattered was green
BySmithsonian Magazine | Subscribe
. . . Then came the Moulin Rouge, in 1955, a neon cathedral dedicated to the proposition that the only color that mattered in Vegas was green.
Link: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-vegas-hotspot-that-broke-all-the-rules-165807434/
A copy of this mag can be purchased here: https://www.oldlifemagazines.com/june-20-1955-life-magazine.html
Dancers from the Moulin Rouge during rehearsals in 1955 
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Gentlemen prefer Bronze
I enjoy during research, and so I thought I’d share more vintage ads and photos portraying the beauty of black women that were produced by us and for us. Black folks reclaimed our image (see the ad below for an example) even during segregation.
There’s still a misconception out there regarding how black folks used to live. Far too many times Hollywood and even books portray us as downtrodden and usually in the position of a domestic.
No matter what (segregated) society may have thought or stated erroneously about black culture, we did our own thing. Part of which meant black women were thought of as sex symbols in our community even though mainstream media ignored beautiful sistas as cover girls.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Cover girl for Bronze Thrills mag 
This publicity photo was used for the cover of the book Vintage Black Glamour by Nichelle Gainer. The book can be purchased on Amazon. Click the photo to be redirected. 
Singer Joyce Bryant and Eartha Kitt, sex symbols of the 1950s -
When Black Comedy was King
There was a time when black comedians were king. From Dick Gregory to Godfrey Cambridge, Jackie “Moms” Mabley, to Red Foxx, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor, the realness and rawness of black comedy took many forms and faces. Whether the jokes touched upon social issues at the time (like inequality), or what it was like to grow up in a diverse neighborhood, the ability to make audiences laugh took a major leap forward during the 1960s.
The Queen of Comedy is about that time period and decades prior to the 1960s. The book was written before I created and released JUKEBOX Volume One. I plan on releasing TQOC shortly, and I’m working on promos for the novel. The story centers on a female comedian’s rise to fame during the late 1930s thru the 1950s, and the complicated relationship she has with a nephew who follows in her footsteps.
David Latimore, doing stand up comedy from the ebook The Queen of Comedy 
Stand up comedian David Latimore headlines in Las Vegas The Queen herself, Honi Hawkins, as she performs at the legendary Moulin Rouge, circa 1955 I’m really looking forward to seeing director/actor Don Cheadle’s film, Miles Ahead
Don Cheadle as Miles Davis in the film “Miles Ahead” Don gives some insight on the behind the scenes reality of getting this film financed, here
I love the cinematography on this film, since I’m getting a chance to work on my own color grading skills (for an independent film).
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The Black Experience in Comedy
Black History Month starts tomorrow, so I thought I’d start publishing some excerpts from The Queen of Comedy. TQOC is a generational and historical novel about a family of entertainers. Their craft is comedy, and while the book does include romance, the focus is more on the black celebrity during segregation, and what they had to go through.
I use the love/hate relationship between a woman who was cast as a maid in a number of films, and her nephew, a man who becomes a stand up comedian during the 60s.
The Queen of Comedy takes center stage Brilliant comic. Flawed woman. One legendary career.
Most people recognize the face, if not the name. That apple cheeked, rich brown face with the inviting smile that adorns baking products worldwide. Older movie goers fondly recall her role as the friendly, wise cracking maid in over one hundred films. But to her family and spurned lovers, the tongue of Honi Hawkins was brutally uncompromising and anything but funny, as she fought to become THE QUEEN OF COMEDY. ©Excerpt:
It was like James Brown sang, “This is a Man’s World.” David even did his own grass. He bought one of those riding lawn mowers, and when he wasn’t at the studio he raced around on it like a cowboy sitting tall in the saddle. He started wearing slouchy cardigan sweaters like Bing Crosby always wore, and carrying a pipe like Bob Hope. He even insisted that Contessa have a martini ready for him when he came home from a long hard day at the studio. They were almost happy, almost content. So when David read in the paper about the growing violence in the Negro community, he found himself agreeing with the intellectuals that blamed the unrest on the poor and uneducated. His people became “those” people, because in his mind he was being treated just fine. The race problem didn’t affect him outright. He was living the American Dream. So this was no time to be trippin’. At the studio he found himself hard pressed to explain the actions of other Negroes. The studio even sent a memo, cautioning him against associating with “troublemakers,” reminding him of the morality clause in his contract. So he suffered in silence, unwilling to explode because if he did, he knew his dream world would come crashing down around him.
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The Queen of Comedy, a tale of Black Hollywood
I wanted to do something special for African American history month, so I think I’ll release The Queen of Comedy. While there is romance in the book, there’s also a lot of history. It’s an epic, generational tale that spans the 1920s until the present day.
I’ve posted a five chapter excerpt of The Queen of Comedy and I’m going to have a free download this week on Amazon with fifteen chapters (this book is long). It’s more for those who enjoy fictional history, especially the history of African Americans who were stars and were wealthy during a time period that had barriers, both visible and invisible. In addition, there’s the rivalry between family members when one becomes a bigger star than the other.
It’s an exploration of family dynamics, and how black women were viewed during that era, especially those who were highly independent.
Brilliant comic. Flawed woman. One legendary career.
Most people recognize the face, if not the name. That apple cheeked, rich brown face with the inviting smile that adorns baking products worldwide. Older movie goers fondly recall her role as the friendly, wise cracking maid in over one hundred films. But to her family and spurned lovers, the tongue of Honi Hawkins was brutally uncompromising and anything but funny, as she strived to become THE QUEEN OF COMEDY. ©