Youtube moms mabley documentary youtube

Moms Mabley was a trailblazing African American 20th century comedian known for warm yet raunchy stand-up routines and hit albums. Moms Mabley was born in Brevard, North Carolina in the s, and went on to establish a career as the top standup comedienne of her time.

Subscribe to the HBO Docs YouTube: Premieres Monday, November 18th at 9PM, only on HBO. HBO Docs on Facebook.

She starred in several films, became a headliner at the Apollo Theater and in the s had hit comedy albums. She was also a top draw for a number of TV variety shows. She died in New York on May 23, Comedian Whoopi Goldberg directed a documentary on Mabley's life. The woman who would become known as famed comedian Moms Mabley was born Loretta Mary Aiken in Brevard, North Carolina, on March 19, some sources say , to a large family.

She experienced a horrifying, traumatic childhood. Her firefighter father was killed in an explosion when she was 11 and her mother was later hit and killed by a truck on Christmas Day. And by the beginning of her teens, Aiken had been raped twice and become pregnant from both encounters, with both children being given away. Aiken left home at the age of 14 and pursued a show business career, joining the African American vaudeville circuit as a comedian under the Theatre Owners Booking Association.

Fellow performer Jack Mabley became her boyfriend for a short time, and she took on his name, becoming Jackie Mabley, with "Moms" coming from her eventual reputation as a mentoring, mothering spirit.

Documentary that pays tribute to the life and legacy of the incomparable Jackie "Moms" Mabley.

Starting in the late s, Mabley became the first woman comedian to be featured at the Apollo, going on to appear on the theater's stage more times than any other performer. Mabley's standup routines were riotous affairs augmented by the aesthetic she presented as being an older, housedress-clad figure who provided sly commentary on racial bigotry to African American audiences.

Her jokes also pointed towards a lusty zest for younger men.