Blondie Robinson

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Blondie Robinson, also sometimes written as Blondi Robinson, was an African American renowned vaudeville comedic act performer. [1]

Contents

Biography

Details around his birth and early life are unknown but Blondie Robinson is thought to have been born in the late 19th-century in California. [2]

He was lauded in a 1909 Indianapolis Freeman review for his skilled comedy routine. [3] The Boston Globe described him as a comedian and described his performing role as a "man about town". [4] His performances included various song and dance routines, costumes, contortions, and blackface. [5] [6] He partnered with fellow vaudeville performers including Bisette, Henry Jines, and Billie McCarver. [5] [7] In 1926, he toured Australia with the minstrel-revival troupe, Ye Olde Nigger Minstrel, in which he wore blackface. [2]

The Brown University Library has a collection of photographs of him and fellow performers of the vaudeville era. [8]

Theater

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References

  1. Sampson, Henry T. (October 30, 2013). Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   9780810883512 via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Blondie Robinson collection of African-American Minstrel and Vaudeville photographs (MS.2015.018), Biographical/Historical note". riamco.org.
  3. Sampson, Henry T. (October 30, 2013). Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   9780810883512 via Google Books.
  4. "Federal Theatre show in Rockland tomorrow". The Boston Globe. 20 January 1937. p. 19. Retrieved 31 March 2021. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. 1 2 "Blondie Robinson collection of African-American Minstrel and Vaudeville photographs (MS.2015.018), Scope & content". riamco.org.
  6. "Minstrels Play" . Newspapers.com. Santa Ana Register. November 24, 1906. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  7. Detweiler, Frederick German (1922). The Negro Press in the United States. ISBN   9780742642652.
  8. "Brown Digital Repository | Collection | Blondie Robinson …". repository.library.brown.edu.
  9. "At The Theaters, "The Isle of Insects"" . Newspapers.com. Bakersfield Morning Echo. December 15, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  10. "A Big Show" . Newspapers.com. The Santa Maria Times. November 10, 1906. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  11. "Unique" . Newspapers.com. Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. March 5, 1907. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  12. Peterson, Bernard L. Jr. (October 25, 1993). A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African Americans: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African Americans. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9780313064548 via Google Books.