Stepin Fetchit Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry

Lincoln Perry was born in Florida in 1902, to parents who came to the USA from the Caribbean, most likely from The Bahamas and Jamaica. Lincoln left home aged twelve when he literally "ran away to join the carnival" and made a living as a tap dancer and singer. It is uncertain where his stage name came from, although Katz's "The Film Encyclopaedia" (1979) claims it was chosen because "he won some money once, on a horse with that name".

Answer: The Laziest Man in the World

During the late 1920s, the "Laziest Man in the World" character was viewed as a stereotypical black man, and almost all Fetchit's characters were there to add comic relief to his films. He became famous for the character as much as, if not more than, each individual role. People tended to assume that the man himself was also stupid and lazy, and basically true to the stereotype he portrayed, but in fact he was highly intelligent and literate, and also wrote regular articles and columns for the "Chicago Defender" newspaper.

This was founded in 1905, is still in print today, and was one of the very first newspapers specifically for African-American readers.

Answer: Charlie Chan in Egypt

Several other famous film characters are said to have been based on Stepin Fetchit's "Laziest Man in the World", including Birmingham Brown, servant to Charlie Chan, made famous by Mantan Moreland. It was in the 1935 film "Charlie Chan in Egypt" that Fetchit played expedition assistant Snowshoe.

This was before Moreland's first appearance as Brown, which came in 1944, in "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service".

Answer: A Tough Winter

Fetchit and Rogers were both in "David Harum" in 1934, "Judge Priest" also in 1934, and "The County Chairman" in 1935. The other film in which they worked together was "Steamboat 'Round the Bend" in 1935. "A Tough Winter", released in 1930, featured Fetchit. It was one of the "Our Gang" series of short films, and was the 99th one to be made.

Answer: True

In 1947, Fetchit was forced to file for bankruptcy, and declared assets of less than $150. The public view of his characterisation of "The Laziest Man in the World" had come to be frowned upon by civil rights leaders, and the advent of the NAACP contributed to the end of his Hollywood heyday.

He also had to battle the studio continuously to get equal billing and pay with his white co-stars, and never managed to do it. Although he continued to make films until the 1970s, his days as a top Hollywood Star were over.

Answer: CBS television company

The law suit was against CBS and the makers of the 1968 documentary "Black History; Lost, Stolen, or Strayed" which was presented by Bill Cosby, and in the then political and social climate, was a very forthright and angry piece of film. In railing against the plight of African-Americans, the programme singled out Stepin Fetchit, in his character "The Laziest Man in the World" for particular vitriol. Newspaper cuttings from the time described Fetchit as "The white man's Negro, the traditional, lazy, stupid, crap shooting, chicken-stealing idiot"; "Hollywood's Uncle Tom"; "an embarrassment to blacks"; "a mockery of upstanding Negro citizens"; and "the willing accomplice to Hollywood's systematic denigration of the black man." [source: "Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry" by Mel Watkins, 2005]

Answer: An Emmy Award

In spite of the controversies surrounding his career over the years, and indeed, the abuse directed at him in particular during the 1960s and early 1970s, Stepin Fetchit was awarded a special NAACP Image Award in 1976. Opinion had swung somewhat and most people now saw his performances as subversive and standing up for the downtrodden black man, rather than putting him down and making him appear slow, sullen, and stupid.

The nature of his work has meant that Fetchit's films are rarely shown nowadays, and those that are tend to have most, if not all, of his scenes cut out. It was in 1978 that he was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, in recognition of the 54 films he made over his 51 year career.

His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 1751 Vine Street.

Answer: Muhammad Ali

During the 1960s, Fetchit was often seen with Ali, as one of his entourage of followers and hangers-on, and returned to the public eye somewhat. Both Cat Stevens and Jermaine Jackson also converted to Islam; Stevens took the name Yusuf Islam, and Jackson became known as Muhammad Abdul Aziz.

Answer: Donald Lambright

Donald was just 31 years old when he snapped that day. Stepin Fetchit and his wife Winifred Johnson Perry had two children; Donald and his sister Jemajo.

Answer: He had a stroke

In 1976, Fetchit suffered a stroke and could no longer work, or live independently. He moved into the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital retirement home for film and TV industry professionals, and spent his remaining years there until his death from pneumonia, in 1985.

His final ever film role was in "Won Ton Ton, the Dog who Saved Hollywood" which was released in 1976.