The Truth Behind Amos N Andy

[TVJunkie22]

The reason why people were offended by Amos n Andy was because it was originally a movie. Starring white actors in black face. Then the TV show had 2 black actors playing the pivotal roles, but sometimes used white actors in black face. This kind of buffonry was nd is insulting to the black community. For those of you who think Amos N Andy was a "great show" and people need to lighten up, take a look at Spike Lee's film Bamboozled. Maybe that will help you understand the protest behind the Amos N Andy show.

[Adamantium]

None of the actors in the TV verison of Amos 'N' Andy thought there was a problem with the show. So why should anyone else? I've seen the show and it was pretty funny. Keep in mind it's from the 1950's. So no, the show would not be on the air today, since we've come along way since then. This world needs more laughter. So for the people who have a problem with this show, get over it. Maybe actually watch an episode, and laugh. You can buy tapes online.

And I saw a special on TV Land, Eddie Murphy along with some other black actors have Amos 'N' Andy tapes. So it must not offend them.

[Zoneboy]

The Amos & Andy movie called: Check & Double Check had absolutely nothing to do with the tv series. You were right when you said they used white actors in black face in the movie. That was Freeman Gosden & Charles Correll the creators of Amos & Andy. Gosden & Correll searched all over for nearly 2 years to find the actors & actresses that would star in the tv version. Every main character on the show was a negro & was played by a negro, At no time did they ever use a white man in black face. I'm also glad that you're able to speak for the entire black population. I'll bet you that I can find 100 african-americans that enjoyed Amos & Andy before you can find 100 that didn't

[TVJunkie22]

I never said I was speaking for the african american population. I was simply saying for those who do not understand the argument of why AMOS and ANDY was considered offensive by SOME african americans you need to watch the movie <i> Bambozzled </i>.

I am sure many people enjoyed the show, but there are also many that didn't...and there are reasons why.

[Zoneboy]

Heres what you said, This kind of buffonry was and is insulting to the black community.

When you say black community, it sounds to me like you're speaking of the black population. If not, please explain.

Also, I don't need to watch any stupid Spike Lee movie. I know all about Amos & Andy and the controversy surrounding the series. What you don't seem to realize is that this show aired in the early 50's when racial tensions were at an all time high. CBS did bow to the pressures of the NAACP & finally pulled the show from syndication in 1966. The thing I don't understand is why this show has been kept off the air but shows like Sanford & Son, Family Matters & Homeboys In Outer Space are allowed on tv? I love Sanford & Son but Fred made fun of every race on the planet including his own. The N word was used at least 3 times on Sanford & Son but was never uttered once on Amos & Andy. You should try comparing Amos & Andy to Sanford & Son. The similarities in both the characters & the episodes is uncanny.

[W.J. Griffin]

Actually, the main reason "Amos 'n' Andy" is kept off the air has little to do with CBS's sensitivty to minorities and EVERTHING to do with economics. Belive me, if CBS/Viacom thought they would be able to make a buck off of A&A, they would have done it a long time ago.

As for the show's "offensiveness", there is no question that "The Amos 'n' Andy Show" contained various ethnic stereotypes that many African-Americans (and native Africans...Nigeria banned the show when it was offered to thier country for syndication in the early sixties.) found insulting, to say the least. But the show also contained many elements later adapted by sitcom producers, i.e. Devious con men (Sgt. Bilko, Eddie Haskell), bumbling fat men with big ideas (Ralph Kramden, Fred Flintstone, Archie Bunker), fraternal lodges filled with shady characters ("The Honeymooners", "The Flintstones"), and domestic discord (again, "Honeymooners"/"Flintstones", "All In The Family", and especially "Sanford and Son").

One must also remember that A&A, though possessing ethnic stereotypes, was never intended as a racist screed against African-Americans. It just fell into that trap because, at the time of its original broadcasts, it was the only image of Black people on the air...had there been a Black detective series, or western, or medical show airing concurrently, "Amos 'n' Andy" wouldn't have the reputation it does today.

Which is a shame, really, for in viewing the bootleg episodes currently available on VHS, I personally find the show to be quite entertaining, stereotypes notwithstanding...

[W.J. Griffin]

Originally posted by TVJunkie22
The reason why people were offended by Amos n Andy was because it was originally a movie. Starring white actors in black face. Then the TV show had 2 black actors playing the pivotal roles, but sometimes used white actors in black face. This kind of buffonry was nd is insulting to the black community. For those of you who think Amos N Andy was a "great show" and people need to lighten up, take a look at Spike Lee's film Bamboozled. Maybe that will help you understand the protest behind the Amos N Andy show.

No, "Amos 'n' Andy" was NOT originally a movie...it was originally a serialized radio comedy that White creators Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll created for station WMAQ, based on an earlier show they had done for station WGN called "Sam 'n' Henry", about two Black Men from the deep south transported to the big city, and the trials and travails they encountered there. In 1929, "Amos 'n' Andy" was picked up by NBC, which turned the already regional hit into a national obsession...EVERYBODY listened to this show in its heyday (late 1920s, early-to-mid 1930s), and it was, indeed, one of the most popular, if not THE most popular radio show of all time.

Of course, this popularity spawned a plethera of merchandising, including a comic strip, a candy bar, toys, games, puzzles, giveaway premiums, and...Hollywood. In 1930, their first (and only) full-length feature..."Check and Double-Check"...was released. By all accounts, Gosden and Correll did not like the way they looked in this film, and a planned movie series was scuttled as a result.(Gosden and Correll made one more film appearance, in an extended segment of "The Big Broadcast Of 1936".) The reason they did not like their film appearances was, although they could SOUND convincing as Black Men on the radio, they couldn't quite pull it off on film.(a subsequent animated series only produced two films, and Gosden and Correll disliked those because of the animator's insistance on racist caricatures, pretty much par-for-the-course in 1930s Hollywood.)

When Gosden and Correll decided to bring their still-popular radio show (now a weekly sitcom, the nightly serial format long abandoned), to television, they initially wanted to play the characters themselves, as they had years earlier in "Check And Double-Check", but thought better of that idea and initiated a widely-publicized nationwide search for Black Talent to play the characters they had created for radio twenty years earlier. After two long years, "The Amos 'N' Andy Show" priemiered on CBS-TV on 12 June 1951...the same night the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had the opening night of the annual national convention. To say the fat hit the fire would be an understatement.

Ultimately, the NAACP's efforts proved to be in vain,as the show remained on the air for two seasons before declining ratings ushered its cancellation...and the show was put into syndication, where it ran for the next twelve years before, in the midsts of the Civil-Rights Movement of the 1960s, it was quietly removed from syndication forever. With few exceptions, that is the status it maintains today. The only way to see "Amos 'n' Andy" today is through bootleg videos and DVDs.

[Zoneboy]

Originally posted by W.J. Griffin Belive me, if CBS/Viacom thought they would be able to make a buck off of A&A, they would have done it a long time ago.

Sorry, theres no truth to that statement whatsoever, They could have easily made just as much money with Amos & Andy as they have with the Honeymooners which has been syndicated since the late 50's as well as I Love Lucy. The Honeymooners only has 39 episodes in the syndication package and there were 78 episodes of A&A. They took the series off the air to satisfy the NAACP, money had nothing to do with it. By the way, the show debuted on june 28th not the 12th and not all of the videos are bootlegs. There are some official releases but only about 60 episodes were included. The Dvd set from amosandy.com is by far the best quality set you can purchase. If anyone is waiting for Columbia House to issue them, you can keep on dreaming.

[W.J. Griffin]

Originally posted by redrocker22
Sorry, theres no truth to that statement whatsoever, They could have easily made just as much money with Amos & Andy as they have with the Honeymooners which has been syndicated since the late 50's as well as I Love Lucy. The Honeymooners only has 39 episodes in the syndication package and there were 78 episodes of A&A. They took the series off the air to satisfy the NAACP, money had nothing to do with it. By the way, the show debuted on june 28th not the 12th and not all of the videos are bootlegs. There are some official releases but only about 60 episodes were included. The Dvd set from amosandy.com is by far the best quality set you can purchase. If anyone is waiting for Columbia House to issue them, you can keep on dreaming.

June 28th. I stand corrected.