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Stepin Fetchit

Stepin Fetchit (May 30, 1902 - November 19, 1985) (real name Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry) was a comedy actor whose name has become synonymous with degrading racial stereotypes in Hollywood movies of the first half of the 20th Century.

He played a "comedy relief" role in a number of motion pictures, and his character epitomized the African American stereotype of a shiftless, lazy servant of low intelligence who bowed and scraped at the feet of white actors at every opportunity.

Though he did not invent this stereotype, his image was used to popularize it, and many black characters in the movies (such as Buckwheat in the Our Gang comedies) were based upon the image of Stepin Fetchit.

Because of the degrading image of African Americans portrayed by Stepin Fetchit, his movies are rarely screened today, and they have not seen a wide release on video. Nonetheless, film historians state that he was a talented comedian, and his career was so successful that he is cited as the first black actor to become a millionaire. He did not manage his fortune well, however, and he declared bankruptcy in 1947.

He converted to Islam in the 1960s.

Filmography