George Christy | |
---|---|
Sheet music cover for songs by Christy's Minstrels, 1844. Christy shown in circle at top. |
|
Born | George Harrington |
Occupation | Stage actor, singer |
George N. Christy (born George Harrington) (November 6, 1827 – May 12, 1868) was one of the leading blackface performers during the early years of the blackface minstrel show in the 1840s.[1]
Born in Palmyra, New York, 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.[2][3] 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.[4]
He died in New York City from cerebral edema in 1868.