DCS: clara smith
Teenage Clara Smith began performing in tent shows and vaudeville stages in 1910. By the 20s, she was headlining for the Theater Owners Bookers Association circuit, a promoter working exclusively with African-American talent. After appearing all across the United States, Clara settled in New York City, topping the bill at speakeasies and cabarets. She was signed to Columbia Records where she made recordings accompanied by Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong. She also recorded duets with contemporary Bessie Smith, though the two ladies were not related. Although she had a lighter, sweeter vocal style, Clara earned herself the nickname “Queen of the Moaners.” Clara cut 122 songs for Columbia. Her records sold very well, only being topped in sales by Bessie Smith.
During her career, she met 13-year-old budding singer named Josephine Baker. Clara became Josephine’s mentor, hiring the young girl as her dresser. A romantic relationship soon developed between Clara and Josephine.
In 1935, while playing a theatre in Detroit, Clara succumbed to heart disease. She was just shy of 41.
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DCS: avon long
Avon Long was a talented singer and dancer. He appeared as “Sportin’ Life” in the 1942 Broadway revival of Porgy and Bess. He appeared with Lena Horne in Beggar’s Holiday and with Thelma Carpenter in the 1952 revival of Shuffle Along. He originated the role of “John” in Bubbling Brown Sugar and was nominated for a Tony Award for Don’t Play Us Cheap in 1973. He reprised his role of “Brother Dave” in the film version.
Avon was cast in small, but memorable, roles in a number of popular Hollywood films. In Trading Places, he played the recipient of Ralph Bellamy’s meager Christmas bonus. In Harry and Tonto, he played Harry’s (Art Carney) friend, garbage collector “Leroy.” In The Sting, Avon played “Benny Garfield,” the man from whom the bogus betting parlor was rented, uttering the line “Flat rate!” with venomous disdain. He was a favorite for the role of “George Jefferson” on All in the Family, but the role was recast after negative feedback from series star Carroll O’Connor. Avon’s final role was in a science-fiction comedy called Nothing Lasts Forever, which was never released. The film was supposed to star John Belushi, but the comedian died six weeks before production began.
After enjoying two nearly separate careers, Avon passed away in 1984 at the age of 73.
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inktober52: skull (part 2)
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inktober52: skull (part 1)
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DCS: mudcat grant
Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Major League pitcher with 14 seasons under his belt, had a career filled with firsts.
Despite being awarded a scholarship to play football and baseball at Florida A&M University, Mudcat had to drop out in order to help his family through a spell of financial hardship. Ever determined, Mudcat was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Indians just prior to the start of the 1954 season.
After a time in the Minor Leagues, Mudcat made his Major League debut in 1958 with a complete game win against the Kansas City Athletics. He pitched well for Cleveland, but was traded to the Minnesota Twins in 1964. His pitching career blossomed in Minnesota, where he led his team to the World Series in 1965 after finishing the regular season with a 21-7 record. He became the first black pitcher to win 20 games in the American League. In the World Series, Mudcat pitched two complete game wins — becoming the first black pitcher to win a World Series game in the American League. He even hit a three-run home run in Game 6.
After the 1966 season, Mudcat’s role changed and he was assigned to the bullpen as a relief pitcher. In one more starting appearance, he became the first ever pitcher for the new Montreal Expos team in 1969. Although he got shelled — allowing six hits and three runs in just one inning — Mudcat once again made baseball stat history. He retired at the end of the 1971 season.
Mudcat’s post-player career included work as a broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and as publicity director for the North American Softball League. Later, he wrote and published a book entitled 15 Black Aces. This publication honored the exclusive “club” of 15 black pitchers to win 20 in a single season. In 2007, President George W. Bush welcomed Mudcat to the White House, along with fellow 20-game winners Ferguson Jenkins, Dontrelle Willis and Mike Norris. On April 14, 2008, Mudcat was invited to throw out the first pitch at an Indians game to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his major league debut.
On June 12, 2021, Jim “Mudcat” Grant passed away at the age of 85, leaving behind a stellar and honorable career in baseball.
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inktober52: mighty
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DCS: eugene bullard
Eugene Bullard was unhappy as child, as was evidenced by his numerous attempts to run away from home. After each unsuccessful try, he was returned to his father, who proceeded to beat young Eugene. In 1906, at the age of 11, Eugene got far enough away and hoped to experience a happier life. He wandered for years, fending for himself through odd jobs and scrounging.
In 1912, Eugene stowed away on a German freight ship. The ship docked in Scotland and Eugene made his way across the United Kingdom working with an African-American traveling entertainment group, as well as taking opponents as a boxer. He made it to France for a boxing match and decided to make it his home. He loved the customs and culture of France and felt comfortable, noting in a journal: “It seemed to me that French democracy influenced the minds of both black and white Americans there and helped us all act like brothers.”
When World War I broke out, Eugene enlisted in the French Foreign Legion, serving with the 170th Infantry Regiment. He eventually joined the Aéronautique Militaire, the French Air Force. He engaged in many successful air battles and his fierce fighting methods earned him the nickname “Black Swallow of Death.” He was repeatedly decorated by the French government for his efforts.
In 1917, when the United States entered the war, Eugene attempted to join the US Air Force. He was turned down, citing a number of made-up excuses. The real reason, of course, was that the US Air Force did not accept African-Americans. He returned to his unit, but a confrontation with a superior officer relegated him to menial duty until his discharge.
Back in civilian life, Eugene ran an athletic club, then worked in and eventually owned a nightclub — an establishment that was frequented by Louis Armstrong and Josephine Baker. In the months before the start of World War II, Eugene was employed as a spy, looking for Nazis among the nightclub patrons. Fearing for his safety and the safety of his family, he headed for Spain, then Portugal with the United States his eventual destination. His military settlement from the French government was enough to buy an apartment in Harlem.
An activist for civil rights, Eugene was involved in the notorious Peekskill Riot. A protest at an appearance by singer and fellow activist Paul Robeson escalated to violence when a local VFW chapter accused Robeson of being a communist. Eugene and others were severely beaten by a mob which included law enforcement.
The treatment Eugene received in the United States was jarring as compared to the accolades he experienced in France. Each morning he would look at his 15 French war medals as he left his apartment for his job as an elevator operator at New York’s Rockefeller Center. On December 22, 1959, Eugene was interviewed by Today Show host Dave Garroway about his war exploits. He wore his elevator operator uniform during the interview.
Eugene developed stomach cancer and passed away in 1961 at the age of 66. He is remembered as the first African-American military pilot — but for a different country than his own.
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DCS: cindy williams
No, that’s not Natalie Portman, although Cindy Williams thought it was.
I met Cindy Williams at a collector show in Gaithersburg, Maryland. A two-plus hour drive from my house, this particular show offered something for both Mrs. Pincus and myself. It boasted a large variety of vendors selling antiques and assorted collectibles, something my wife loves to peruse, eventually wheeling and dealing on the final prices. For me, there was the appeal of several celebrity guests, brought in by the show’s organizer to entice folks (like me) to attend.
Set up at long tables among the vendors, celebrities would display glossy photos of scenes spanning their careers, available with a personalized inscription for a nominal fee. I collected autographed photos for years and the prices were pretty reasonable when I started. Now, things have gotten way out of hand, with different prices for each additional ala carte service. An autographed picture? Sure! Forty dollars. A color picture? Add ten to that. Oh, you brought something to be signed? That’ll be sixty dollars. Wait, that item you brought is pretty big. Make that a hundred dollars. You want to take a picture with me? That’s another twenty.
At this show, the special guests were Cindy Williams and her friend, actress Lynne Marie Stewart. Cindy, of course, is best remembered as the perky eternal optimist “Shirley Feeney” on the popular 70s sitcom Laverne & Shirley. Lynne played “Miss Yvonne, the most beautiful woman in Puppet Land” on the Saturday morning kids show send-up Pee Wee’s Playhouse. She also appeared in George Lucas’s 1973 love letter to his youth American Graffiti with Cindy Williams.
The two ladies were seated at a long folding table laden with shiny stills highlighting their career accomplishments and they were chatting. While my wife was deep in price negotiations with a nearby vendor, I approached the two actresses with my then teenage son, who was not exactly thrilled to be there. He was wearing a long, almost floor-length, black overcoat with silver clasps down the front. Cindy turned towards us, smiled and began to make a fuss over my son’s jacket. I mean she stood up and leaned over to examine it, narrowing her eyes and delivering a stream of compliments. I told them both that I was a devoted fan and I selected a photo from each of their respective inventory to be autographed and eventually added to my collection. Let me tell you… Cindy was adorable! She was friendly and talkative and engaging and very sweet. Lynne was charming, as well. I thanked the two ladies for their time and we began to walk away from their table, with Cindy still going on about my son’s coat. My son’s demeanor changed a bit, after his taste in wardrobe was given such praise and validation by that woman who lives in a Milwaukee basement apartment on that TV show and caps beer bottles for a living.
Many years later, Mrs. Pincus and I found ourselves at another Maryland collector show, this one a mere 14 miles from Gaithersburg in the tiny municipality of Cockeyville (I am not making that up). This little hamlet is the home of the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention (MANC), a three- day gathering of vendors, lecturers, fans and, of course, celebrities. I’ve been to MANC and I have even written about several adventures there. On this day in 2017, Cindy Williams was in attendance. Since I had already obtained Cindy’s autograph, I decided to present her with an original Josh Pincus portrait… of her, not of me. (It’s the one at the top of this page that you and Cindy thought was Natalie Portman.)
MANC was set up in a similar fashion to other shows. Aisle after aisle of books, toys and novelties informally illustrating a history of pop culture from the Golden Days of Radio right through present day. In the center of a large hotel ballroom was a corral of tables, behind which sat the likes of Larry Storch, Dawn Wells and a number of other names from television’s formable years. Among these folks was Cindy Williams in a maroon blazer and still looking great. I waited behind a couple who were wrapping up their little chat with Cindy and when they moved away, I sidled up to her table. I explained that we had met years earlier and that I just wanted to give her something. I withdrew the color drawing from a manila envelope and handed it across the table to Cindy. She kvelled (as “my people” say). I had heard her kvell before when she went on about my son’s jacket. This was very similar. She laughed a little, pointing out that my drawing made her look like Natalie Portman, adding that was not a bad thing, as she explained that Natalie Portman was beautiful in her opinion. Cindy asked me about my artwork and about being an artist. She seemed genuinely interested. We spoke for a few minutes and Laverne & Shirley or television or movies or show business never breached the conversation.
Then, to my surprise, she said: “Please! Let me give you a picture! I insist!”
She picked up a color shot of herself and co-star Penny Marshall in character from Laverne & Shirley and wrote the following to my wife and me:
Love & Thanks
to
Josh & Susan
XXOO
Cindy (Natalie P.) Williams
AKA Shirley F.
She thanked me again for the drawing and for coming by to say “Hello.”
Cindy was truly a sweetheart and one of the nicest, most genuine and down-to-earth celebrities I have met. Her passing was unexpected… and sad.
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inktober52: angel
