203: The Self-Empowered Woman: Whoopi Goldberg/Moms Mabley

I don’t know how many of you watched Whoopi Goldberg‘s amazing HBO special on Moms Mabley, but it was a real eye opener. Mabley was the first successful female comedian, and she paved the way for women to be both financially secure and funny. So today’s blog will take a brief look at both of these talented women.

 Whoopi Goldberg’s real name is Caryn Elaine Johnston, and she and I both share a November 13th birthday. Some records indicate that she was born in 1949, while others say her birth year is 1955. Her mother was a nurse and a teacher whom Whoopi has described as “stern, strong and wise.” Her father was a clergyman, but left the family, which meant that Whoopi was raised by a single mother (1: No Paternal Safety Net).

When her career was in its early stages, she was trained by acting teacher Uta Hagen, and later she was “discovered” by director Steven Speilberg (4: Supportive Someone). During her varied and impressive career she has earned a reputation for creating controversy–especially when it comes to gender, personality or political issues (5: Life Is Not A Popularity Contest).

Whoopi has had a bumpy love life–with three divorces and two high-profile romances–Ted Dansen and Frank Langella (15: Forget About Prince Charming). When she was 18 years old, she and her then-husband had a daughter (Alexandrea), and Whoopi became a grandmother at the age of 34, when her first granddaughter arrived on her November 13th birthday. She has three grandchildren, and has always lived near them (16: Intensive Motherhood).

Whoopi’s amazing career has involved almost every aspect of popular entertainment, and she is one of only a handful of entertainers to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. In 1993, when she made Sister Act 2, she was one of Hollywood’s highest paid movie actresses (13: More Than Meets The Eye). These days, she is best known for her appearances on The View.

Goldberg is the first African American actress to have received Academy Award nominations for both “best” and “best supporting roles.” She has continually pushed herself to excel in almost every aspect of her life from activism (comic relief, LGBT, acting, directing, producing and writing) (10: The Critic Within). Since the age of eleven–When she was supposed to go see The Nutcracker, but she went exploring instead (11: Risk Taking).

Now here’s some information about Moms Mabley, who was born in 1897 and died in 1975.  She was a star at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, and also appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  She was born in North Carolina, had 15 siblings, and her father–who was a volunteer fireman–died when a fire engine exploded when she was only eleven years old (1: No Paternal Safety Net).  When she was 18, her mother was run over by a truck while returning home from church on Christmas day.

By the time she was 14 years old, she had been raped twice and had two children who were given up for adoption (12: Hard Times).  When she was 27, and working as a comedian on the Chitlin’ Circuit of African-American vaudeville, she came out as a lesbian and wore male clothing (11: Risk Addiction).

Her brother, Eddie Parton, helped her polish her routine and become more popular (4: Supportive Someone).  At her most successful, she was making $10,000 a week, and recorded more than 20 albums of comedy routines.  She became famous for her stage persona–where she wore a baggy house dress, a floppy hat, and removed her false teeth (6: Life Is Not A Beauty Contest).

When she was 75 years old, Moms Mabley became the oldest person to ever have a U.S. top 40 hit with her recording of “Abraham, Martin and John” (13: More Than Meets The Eye).  She died in 1975, and is credited as being the first successful female American stand up comic.

Looking forward to your comments…