Young Freeman's solace was his interest in the theatre, nurtured by numerous visits to the local vaudeville shows. Freeman's father died at age 66 in 1911, and Freeman's mother and sister were both killed in an automobile accident in 1918. Brother Willie Gosden died in 1902 at age 19. Tragedy seemed to grip the Gosden family. Reversals in the family's finances prompted sixteen-year-old Freeman to quit high school and seek employment as a shipping clerk. The elder Gosden held the modest position of bookkeeper, and the family lived in a rented home near Richmond's black district. He was the youngest of five children and the son of Walter Gosden, who served with Mosby's Rangers in the Confederate Cavalry during the Civil War. Freeman Fisher Gosden was a true son of the old South, born in Richmond, Virginia, on May 5, 1899. The two personalities complemented each other, and "Gos" and Charlie would remain friends and partners for over 50 years.ġ. Possibly the most widely-published "Amos 'n' Andy" publicity photo, this image was taken by theatrical photographer, Maurice Seymour, at the Bloom Studio in Chicago in early 1928 and was widely reproduced on various items of merchandise, both licensed and unlicensed, at the peak of the "Amos 'n' Andy" craze.Ĭonrell, however was more easy going and made people around him feel at ease. Gosden was goal oriented and highly motivated with a shy streak around new acquaintances. ![]() In addition to their physical differences, the two men were also opposites in temperament. The lanky Gosden was teamed up with the short and stocky Charles Correll and was instructed to teach him how to direct shows. His experience, however, was almost all at the amateur level. Gosden could sing, dance, and was well versed in black dialects of the South. In 1920 an eager young man named Freeman Gosden joined the Bren Company. Although the shows were more sophisticated than in previous times, blacks were still portrayed insensitively as one-dimensional buffoons without the normal range of human emotions. The white entertainers, however, still appeared in blackface with exaggerated white lips, and the interlocutor and "end men" still pattered jokes in black dialect. The shows of this later era featured songs and humor of the day and often spoofed classics such as the works of Shakespeare. Although highly racist by modern standards, the shows had evolved greatly from the low comedy of around 1900 when all blackface comics seemed to be associated with stealing chickens, shooting craps, drinking, and frequent brushes with the law. Also Amos' wife Ruby (Jane Adams) was added for the TV version.(The program) has all the pathos, humor, vanity, glory, problems and solutions that beset ordinary mortals-and therein lies its universal appeal."-Roy Wilkins quoted from the Baltimore Afro-American, MaThe Joe Bren Minstrel Company was definitely "small time." The Joe Bren staff traveled the predominately small town, post World War I United States helping local "wannabes" star in minstrel shows to raise funds for such fraternal orders as the Elks, Masons, Knights of Pythias, and Shrine. And I have to mention that Charles Correll-who played Andy on radio-died in my birthtown of Chicago, Illinois on September 26, 1972. By the way, the Paul Taylor Chrous provided the "The Lord's Prayer" song and "Silent Night" on the radio version from December 22, 1944. All in all, both the radio and TV version of "The Christmas Story" are very worthy tales for the holiday season. Both Lightnin' and Kingfish provide their own brief amusements. Andy himself is more of a sympathetic character here then his usual more slightly naive portrayal. ![]() ![]() I'll stop there and mention that Alvin Childress as Amos really shines here especially when he explains to daughter Arbadella what "The Lord's Prayer" really means. There he encounters kids both kind and bratty. Her uncle Andy, despite being broke, resolves to get it for her by becoming a Santa's helper in the Globe department store. Well, actually, the TV version has an additional scene of the birth of Amos' child Arbadella (Patti Marie Ellis) who nine years later wants a talking doll for Christmas. Both are pretty much the same story word for word and scene for scene. Today, I decided to listen to the radio version and watch on Google Video the TV version of "The Christmas Story" episode of "The Amos 'n' Andy Show".
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