George Christy
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George Christy (born George Harrington) was one of the leading blackface performers during the early years of the blackface minstrel show in the 1840s. (Lott, 1993, 174) His career began as a star performer with his stepfather E.P. Christy's troupe Christy's Minstrels; in two and a half years with them he earned $19,680, a fortune for those times. (Lott, 1993, 267; Belcher) Jim Comer credits him with inventing "the line", the structured grouping that constituted the first act of the standardized 3-act minstrel show, with the Interlocutor in the middle and "Mr. Tambo" and "Mr. Bones" on the ends. (It is possible that he has him confused with E.P. Christy.)
[edit] References
- Belcher, W.H., Interesting Career of Judge John W. Rea, originally from Passaic County Historical Publication, Vol. II, No. 1, September 1, 1931. Accessed 6 Sept 2005.
- Comer, Jim, Time I Turn Around: Rite, Reversal, and the end of blackface minstrelsy. Accessed 6 Sept 2005.
- Lott, Eric. Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-19-507832-2.
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