Life

elvagreen123

In REMEMBRANCE

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Old Time Radio Program 1939-1945

During WWII the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) decided to create a program specifically geared toward Black soldiers. Today it is said that some of the best jazz shows came out of this program with greats such as Fletcher Henderson, Lena Horne, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Fats Waller.

Jubilee was conceived and programmed to present African-American artists and their music to the Armed Forces personnel of the United States and allied nations around the world.
During the history of the program, eventually other artists were invited to participate, but Jubilee is remembered as a showcase for African-American talent. In addition to big bands, small jazz groups and singers, many talented dramatic and comedic performers appeared on Jubilee. Aimed as a morale-building service for black troops and aired for military personnel, The show was hosted first by Dooley Wilson, the piano player in the movie Casablanca, then by Ernie “Bubbles” Whitman, a well-known comedian. Most of the shows were recorded before live audiences in Los Angeles.
By 1942 Eddie, my father, was fifty-one years old, too old to be drafted (although the government chose to sign up  “men of a certain age” just in case), however, he was asked to perform his comedy routines along with Lena Horne in 1942,  Ernie Whitman in 1944, and Hattie McDaniel in 1945, on the Jubilee radio program.

Here is one routine Eddie and Ernie did on a Jubilee program for the troops in October, 1944. Ernie introduces Eddie Green from Duffy’s Tavern. Eddie says he is bored and is looking for something exciting to do in his life. Ernie suggests Eddie become a volunteer fireman:

ERNIE: It’s Saturday morning at the station house and the alarm goes off. I can see you now, sound asleep up there in the firehouse.

EDDIE: So far, I like it.

ERNIE: Four in the morning the fire alarm rings, what do you do?

EDDIE: I get up. Then I take a sleeping pill and go right back to bed.

ERNIE: No, you don’t. You grab your fire hat, run to the pole and slide down.

EDDIE: OOOO!!

ERNIE: What’s the matter?

EDDIE: The pole is cold, I forgot my pants!!

Lucky me, someone sent me a CD with this Jubilee program on it, so I get to hear these shows.

In 1942 Memorial Day had become the popular title for a day to acknowledge all of our military personnel who died while in service.

This post is just a glimpse into how other citizens, along with our government, were helping to keep up the morale of our soldiers.

In Remembrance

 

elvagreen123

Laughter, Love and Respect

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In 1936 my father had been in show business for nineteen years. He was forty-five years old. He had done so well that one newspaper wrote: This brings up the subject of Eddie Green, the fine comedian who appears occasionally on the Rudy Vallee hour. Eddie who specializes in burlesques of famous plays and men of history, is one of the few people of color ever to win such radio recognition as a comic.

By 1937 Eddie was appearing on a radio program with Louis Armstrong which was announced in a local New York newspaper: Standard Brands Inc. (Fleischmann Yeast) through J . Walter Thompson Co. yesterday announced the full talent line-up of its all-negro show which will make its debut over 30 NBC-Blue network stations, April 9 at 9-9: 30 p.m. Eddie Green and Gee Gee James, a comedy team, with Louis Armstrong and his orchestra will be the regular talent.

In 1938 the papers reported: Eddie Green, well known Black comedian of the stage and screen, with a long line of appearances to his credit, jumped into screen favor last week when he was given a screen test for the role of ‘Pork’ in the 20th Century Fox production of Gone With The Wind.

In the 1939-1940 Eddie was making, writing, directing, producing and starring in his own movies. (Back then they were called ‘race’ movies, meaning everyone associated with the movie was Black, at least that is what it meant to Eddie.) The Eddie’s Laugh Jamboree poster was from 1947, but the movies were made earlier.

During the time Eddie came to Hollywood for the screen test he met my mom, Norma. In my last post I showcased Norma, as in Norma Amato Green Beasley Washington. Amato was her maiden name and Green was her first married name. For those who have just found my blog and for all of the newcomers in the Green Beasley Washington families I will just share a bit about Eddie and Norma’s marriage, back in the day. They met at Clifton’s Cafeteria in Los Angeles when mom was about seventeen. They were married in 1945. Mom was twenty-two, Eddie was fifty-four. One article in the paper read:

Eddie Green Takes Bride – LOS ANGELES – Coming as a pleasant surprise to even his closest friends, Eddie Green, former New Yorker and one of the Nation’s top-flight comedians, and a member of “Duffy’s Tavern” radio show eloped with attractive Norma Amato, concert vocalist, last Wednesday.  The couple were married at Yuma, Arizona, where they spent a brief honeymoon before motoring back to Los Angeles.

They were married a little short of five years because Eddie died in September of 1950. Mom married two more times. The book I have written will introduce Eddie to all the members of all the branches of my family who have been born since 1950. My hope is that they can find Eddie’s life story of success relevant today, because as a Black man coming up in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s Eddie’s life is a good example of personal achievement that I hope resonates with anyone, no matter what color,  who thinks because of this or that obstacle they will never be able to fulfill their dream.

One piece of knowledge that Eddie found in regard to dealing with one’s colleagues and achieving success was, “you get respect if you know your business.”

Thank you so much, for stopping by.

 

elvagreen123

A Truly Inspiring Mom

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Norma Anne Amato Green Beasley Washington – MOM

Hi there! Well I finally figured out how to get a more recent picture of my mom into one of my posts. Here she is dressed up for my niece’s black and white themed wedding. Knowing mom if she were still here she would probably laugh at me for taking so long. Mom died in 2010 but she made it to age 87. She is still an inspiration for me because before mom got sick this last time, she was an eight year breast cancer survivor.  After the eight years, in 2007 she went into her first hospice  after having an embolism, we were told that she would not survive if we took her off oxygen and that she would die either way.  She survived. She told the hospice nurse that she had to go to the Laguna Hills Art Festival, and she went. I won’t go into her early health issues. Just know she was a survivor. This last illness was just too much but mom never complained. She did her crosswords and watched Jeopardy till the end. Mom had a full life.

In about 1998, mom was at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles and she was looking at a book titled “Blacks in Blackface” by Henry T. Sampson, and she found a picture of my father, Eddie Green, standing on a stage in front of a microphone with the cast members of the Amos n Andy radio program from about 1946. She made a copy of the photo and brought it to me. Mom had lost most of her mementos from her life with Eddie in a fire back in the early 1970s, so she was happy to find the photo. This was the first picture that began my search for more information about my father’s show business career. This weekend I will be sending the manuscript with photos to my publisher for them to edit.

Finding info and more photos of Eddie and also finding photos and finding additional info about mom that I was unaware of, has helped fill the void that was left when she died. It is what I would call a true blessing.

 

Thanks very much, for stopping by.

elvagreen123

ANTICIPATION

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Eddie and his secretary signing talent

 

Hi. So I have posted a picture of my father, Eddie in his office back in 1939 greeting young ladies who showed up for a chance to appear in one of his movies, produced by his Sepia Art Pictures Company movie studio. Eddie’s office was located on 7th Avenue in New York, which is where a good part of his career took place. He spent some time in Hollywood during 1936-38 appearing on various radio programs, but he did not have a home in California until 1945. Sepia Art Pictures had gone out of business by 1945, but that did not mean his movie making days were over.

Eddie was signed on to play “Eddie, the waiter” in a new radio program titled Duffy’s Tavern in 1941, and when Paramount decided to produce a movie version of the radio program in 1945, Eddie was signed for the role in the movie. Eddie’s movie making money had run out, but I do believe financial difficulties took a turn because he married my mom in 1945, bought his house in Los Angeles and started a new movie/television studio on Western Avenue in 1946.

Today I decided to make this a short post about Eddie because I want to write about me and my book writing journey.  I have a writer friend who is well versed in the etiquette of book writing. Meaning this friend has offered to help make sure I have not printed material that might show someone in a bad light. So my friend is reading my book. The book about my father is the first book I have ever written so I take all the help I can get. But……..the waiting is difficult. Even though I am perfectly aware of the time frame called for. My book is approximately 48,000 words in length. And people have other things to do. My friend has a family, a job, book signings. I am blessed to have this help. I am sharing this because maybe someone else is having the same issue. Learning how to wait with anticipation.

I was reminded today of the last opera I saw with my mom. It was Madama Butterfly. In one scene Madam Butterfly is waiting for her love to come back from the sea. She sits on the floor and waits.waiting 3And waits. And waits. Pretty soon some of the people in the audience at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion start getting a little fidgety. Madame Butterfly hasn’t moved. She’s waiting. After a while we, the audience, begin to understand that we have been invited to participate in order to understand how long Madama Butterfly waited for this man. We were waiting too. By the time her wait was over I had begun to question whether the producer of this play was a genius or a nut for making the audience wait so long. And when I thought of this today while I was standing on the bus stop, I laughed out loud. Which relieved some of the pressure that had begun to build up in me.

After all, judging by the past few years of this endeavor, everything I have needed I have received. I have no complaints. My grandson told me to remember, that no matter how things turn out, to remember that I said I was going to write a book and I did. I just need to sit back, relax and be prepared for the next phase of marketing this bad boy. Thank you, Jeremy.

Hey, thanks, for stopping by.

elvagreen123

Sepia Pride

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The above is a picture taken of the letterhead my father used during his 1939-41 movie making period. Eddie had two studios during his lifetime, the second studio he had was in Los Angeles in 1946-1950. As you can see, Eddie was very proud of his achievement and he was a man who was intent on furthering the African-American community.

Now that I have written the biography of my father, the manuscript has been sent for editing after which I will get to make any revisions deemed necessary and then the publisher will take over. So, the focus of this blog will eventually shift from writing about Eddie’s life to writing about how the book is received. Whether it will attract readers and whether it will hopefully provide inspiration. I will also write about how this book writing journey has helped to increase my understanding of the struggles that still exist for black independent film makers today.

I have become almost painfully aware of the lack of movies being made by African-Americans, of African-Americans and with African-Americans. Movies written by, produced by, and directed by African-Americans with an all-black cast.

Before 1950 there was The Lincoln Motion Picture Company of George and Noble Johnson. This company is considered to be the first all-black movie production company. The company made and distributed only five films. These films were limited to African American audiences in churches, schools, and “Colored Only” theaters, despite the Johnson brothers wanting a wider audience. Unfortunately production expenses and low sales halted future films to be made and distributed. There was Spencer Williams (he of Amos n Andy television fame), Williams along with a partner formed a movie and newsreel company, the Lincoln Talking Pictures Company. There was Oscar Micheaux of the Micheaux Book & Film Company (probably the most well-known early black film maker, who directed and produced over 40 films.) And there was Eddie Green, who owned two studios, Sepia-Art Pictures and Sepia Production Co. Like the Lincoln Motion Picture Company Eddie produced only five movies, four in 1939-1941 and one in 1949. Eddie directed, wrote, produced and acted in each movie.

Eddie died in 1950. Oscar Micheaux died in 1951. By then black owned studios were becoming a thing of the past, mostly due to production expenses.  White movie producers began producing the so-called “race” movies and were able to woo black actors with bigger paychecks.

Once Hollywood took off, black actors became famous through these mainstream “Hollywood” made movies, movies like  St. Louis Blues (1958) with Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Ruby Dee, Ella Fitzgerald. Superfly (1972) which was produced by Warner Bros.

Then along came Spike Lee in the early 1980s, with his 40 Acres and a Mule Productions. I could be wrong, but from what I have researched he wrote, produced, directed and starred in She’s Gotta Have It, and the movie had an all-black cast in a black neighborhood. Hello!

Now, of course, there are more independent black owned film companies, but you have to stumble upon them. Well, maybe not Harpo, which produced the movie Beloved, which had a white director.

The integration of blacks into movies made by the major movie studios contributed to the decline of all black cast movies. Lack of money was a major factor. The deaths of our pioneers was another major factor. The early independent pioneers struggled. Blacks, whites, women.   Blacks have blended into the movie industry very well on the screen. The so-called “race” movies that were produced, directed, written, and photographed and starred in by only blacks, seem to no longer exist. There are how many black-owned film studios? Few. There is still a struggle going on.

Going forward with this blog, I want to research and write about more people who are working to achieve recognition. Who deserve recognition. There is room at the top and I would like to put some effort into pushing someone up. My book is about my father who happens to be black which gives me a good reason to focus on black progress. But my major desire is to be able to contribute some positivity to anyone’s ability to rise.

 

 

 

 

elvagreen123

Untitled Post

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Hello there. If you are new to my blog Welcome and if you are a follower Welcome Back. I wrote early on in 2014 that I had been procrastinating in writing this book and that I needed to either start writing or get off the pot.  My sister-in-law, Christal, sent me a message: Write the book!! Well, once I got started it was full steam ahead, and now today I am working on setting up the cover page for the book. So, I have actually made a decision on which photo of my father to use for the cover of my book. Eddie’s photo in white tux will be the main photo. I still have to order the photo (when I get the $50), which will be soon.

new eddie

The stage picture of Duffy’s Tavern radio program and one or two poster’s of  movies that Eddie produced and starred in will be featured also. Duffy’s Tavern radio program is where Eddie rise took him on his journey from the alley house he lived in as a child in Baltimore. On his way to Duffy’s though he made movies, wrote songs (A Good Man is Hard to Find) owned a string of Barbecue restaurants, and even performed on the very first demonstration of television in 1936. In 1940 Eddie’s movie Dress Rehearsal was the first all-black cast movie to be shown on television, a short (20 mins) which came on right after a film about the World’s Fair.

courtesy live auctioneers
courtesy live auctioneers

I have put these elements together as a book cover, but I can’t figure out how to paste it into this post.  Of course, when the whole thing is put together, I will announce it here with pictures.

My father’s life is a true inspiration to me, especially as he started out in the early 1900’s when it was a truly difficult world for people of color, but Eddie took the bull by the horns and ran with it. Eddie’s faith in himself and his process secured him his break into burlesque theater in New York.  He was in Tampa, Florida in 1920 touring with his company when he noticed an advertisement in the Billboard for a comedian.  Eddie had an engraver make him a letterhead with a fancy border and big letters that read “De Luxe Players”. There were 18 players in his company so he listed himself as “Eddie Green, owner-comedian-manager-director-organizer”.   He got the job.  He also got the job because he was truly funny. He put in the work to get where he got. Eddie was quoted as saying “You get respect, if you know your business.”

Have faith in yourself, know your business and do the work, and great things will happen in your life.

Thanks, for stopping by.

elvagreen123

It has been eleven days since my last post. Now that I have finished writing the biography of my father’s (Eddie Green) life and signed with a publisher I have been concentrating on the book cover design. Actually, I have been obsessing over it. Morning, noon, and night. Today I went out to the dentist and I was so anxious to get back home to my computer, I forgot to bring home something for dinner. I have been wracking my brain over what pictures to use.

Eddie’s forte was comedy, but he also sang, wrote songs, ran a string of restaurants, owned a movie picture/television station and was a government licensed ham radio operator. In the early 1900s Eddie was what Bob Hope called “a man of all trades, master of fun.” He was present before, during and after the Harlem Renaissance. So there are photos that I can use on the cover page, but in most of them Eddie was either acting silly, as in the picture from his movie “One Round Jones” (1941), or he is making a funny face in character. Anyhow, what I want to use is a picture that showed Eddie as the business man that he was because even as a comedian he was all business.

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EDDIE GREEN IN ONE ROUND JONES

So, I have chosen the only photo that I have – a head shot of Eddie in his usual attire when he wasn’t in character – a sharp suit and a snazzy hat. Back east in the 40s and 50s men wore snazzy hats. Once the design is done, I will post it here. I think I will place small images of one or two of the comedies he made on the cover also.

I have realized recently that when I post to this blog I post as if I am sending my stuff out to the whole world, worrying that if I put too much in the blog who will buy this book? But, hello, silly me, the whole world is not following my blog! I have realized that I think of my blog followers as the whole world which is a good thing. Because that means I am pleased and satisfied with the progress of this endeavor.

Once my book publishes of course, I will be making a serious effort to see that it gets out to as many people as possible.

Hey, thanks, for stopping by.

elvagreen123

The Size of Success

eddieandhattieThough this picture is very small, I wanted to lead this post with it because in more ways than one it signifies success. From left to right are my mom Norma, my father Eddie, actress Louise Beavers, Louise Beavers’ father, Academy Award Winner Hattie McDaniel, and unfortunately I have not identified the woman on the far right. This photo was taken about 1939.  Eddie, Ms. Beavers and Ms. McDaniel were role models of success in the entertainment business, especially in the African-American community. My mom had begun to achieve success as an opera singer. My daughter, Melony (a success in more eyes than just mine), loves this picture.

I have realized over the past few days that success for me is finishing the book about my father’s life.  Relatively speaking, it’s a small thing. Thousands of people have written books. But today I actually felt successful. I had the motivation and the ability to search out information and put it down on paper. My skills with a laptop grew along with my need to use a laptop. Every person has the ability to succeed in life, whether it be on a grand scale or on a less than grand scale.

I have learned that success is achieved with the help of others. I never thought that I would receive as much help as I have during this process. From the beginning of my research for my book, through the writing, the proofing, until today, I have received support and encouragement from people I have met along the way.

Of course, it’s not finished yet. I am working on a Book Cover design (with help). And I have to get a picture taken of myself for marketing purposes (which means I need a new outfit, a manicure, hahaha). By the way, the title of the book is: Eddie Green – The Rise of an Early African-American Entertainment Pioneer.

I started my very first blog post back in 2014 with this sentence:  Best-selling author, Dean Koontz said, “I really believe that everyone has a talent, ability or skill that he can mine to support himself and to succeed in life.” I wanted this blog to help others determine the skills or abilities they possessed. I hoped to be able to help determine what motivates each individual person, and what it means to succeed in life. Hey, if I can do it………..

Thanks, for stopping by.

 

 

 

elvagreen123

APPRECIATION IS THE KEY

3rd set with new pictures 168
my father and mother 1945

The book I have written (yay!) on my father, Eddie Green includes a chapter donated specifically to my mom, Norma Anne Amato Green Beasley Washington. As this blog is basically about inspiring folks through the life story of my father’s success in the early 1900s in the entertainment industry I haven’t written a lot about my mom. For instance, Norma is not just “my” mom. As a Beasley she had four more children, Lance, Brad, Donna and Brian. Lancie-pants is no longer with us. Mom died in 2010. She was 87. If Eddie had lived until 2010 he would have been 119 years old. Yea, he was a lot older than Norma when they married.

When I was about ten or twelve, Mom told me that Eddie had written a song titled, A Good Man Is Hard To Find. She also told me that he said he had written it for her.  I always thought that was really sweet, until I grew up and found out that the song was written in 1917 and Mom wasn’t even born until 1923. I guess Mom knew that Eddie hadn’t really written that song for her as they didn’t meet until 1939 or so, but the fact that he told her it was written for her shows us that how we want to be treated as significant others never really changes.

Lately, it seems to me that a lot of comments have been placed on a certain social media site regarding how men need to learn how to treat their women. Appreciation is a big deal. Well, these types of issues were relevant back in 1917 also. Only in Eddie’s case it was about how  women need to treat their men. Eddie’s song was a major hit and was recorded many times by well-known and little-known artists, check out Bessie Smith’s version.

Thanks, for stopping by.

Elva D. Green

 

 

 

elvagreen123

I HAVE A PUBLISHER!

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When questioned about his recipe for success, my father Eddie Green said the best recipe that he has for success, is to find what you like to do and do it the best you know how.

I decided to write a biography of my father. Once I got into the process of researching this gentleman who died when I was three years old, I found that I liked doing the research. I have the patience needed for this type of project, of course, I have an interest in the subject, and as time went on the information I discovered gave me the impetus to keep searching. I was amazed at how much my father had accomplished in his lifetime that I never knew about. I began to like what I was doing. The book writing idea began back in about 1998, but the serious work began in 2010. I like it and I have done it the best I know how. This week I am signing a contract with a publisher. The very publisher I had planned to contact when I was ready (meaning when I got over being afraid of certain rejection).

I have a PUBLISHER. The cover photo is on my previous post and the title is: Eddie Green – The Rise of an Early 1900s African-American Pioneer.

And just in case here is another picture of Eddie:(Hopefully, WordPress places it here)

duffy'stavernPerino

Eddie is the little short dude standing next to Mr. Ed Gardner, his boss in the Duffy’s Tavern 1945 movie. I have to point out here, that Eddie and Ed became good friends and I have had the pleasure of being in contact with Ed Gardner’s son.

This week I am addressing the proofreading “those wonderful people out there” did for me, and beginning my photo scanning.

I am now in a new phase of my book writing project and I will continue to post about it here because, after all, this is why I bought this, my very first laptop. I wanted this blog to be an inspiration to others. I believe it has been judging by my friendly followers. So, stay tuned for more good news!

And Thanks! For stopping by.