Remembering Tim Moore, the beloved Kingfish
There is an unfortunate stigma attached to the Amos N Andy television series, being dismissed as insulting stereotypes misrepresenting an entire race. Perhaps it is time for the series to receive a re-assessment.
The real star of the series was Tim Moore, who played George Stevens, the Kingfish. Kingfish was a wily con man who was also a henpecked husband. Central to every plot, Kingfish even had a spinoff series that concentrated solely on the character’s home life (when the Amos N Andy show went into reruns, the Kingfish episodes were incorporated under the Amos N Andy Banner).
Tim Moore had a long, illustrious career before the TV series came along. He started performing in vaudeville way back in 1898, subsequently performing comedy in medicine shows, the circus, and carnivals. He became one of the more popular vaudeville stars, writing his own comedy material, and also writing for other comedians (including a sketch called “It Ain’t a Fit Night Out for Man or Beast” for a grateful W.C. Fields).
In 1925, Tim Moore made his Broadway debut, and appeared in a series of popular musicals on stage. He also worked in radio, performing both comedy and dramatic roles. His wife died in 1934 and seven years later he married again. Moore decided to retire from show business, settle down in Baltimore with his second wife, and get a regular job. He was hired to work the night shift at a factory where boots and shoes were made, and relaxed into a comfortable working man’s life.
In 1950, the radio show Amos N Andy was sold to TV. While two white actors performed black dialect on radio, it was obvious that a cast of black actors and comedians was necessary for television. Tim was coaxed out of retirement to play the Kingfish for a good salary, so he and his wife relocated to California.
Alvin Childress and Spencer Williams were hired to play Amos N Andy. Williams was one of the top black filmmakers, creating some truly creative cinema on very low budgets. His film "The Blood of Jesus" (1941) remains a minor classic. But Kingfish was the real star of the series. Although he had enjoyed a successful show business career for over 50 years, television made Moore a household name for the first time At one point in 1951 when he stopped to buy something in a store, he was recognized by the workers and the patrons, who asked for autographs. He later told the local paper that it was the first time that had ever happened to him despite already having had a long, successful show business career. It impressed him how much his television work was connecting with audiences.
Along with Moore, all of the cast of Amos N Andy enjoyed a level of stardom they had heretofore not known. They were the first African American TV stars, and were beloved by all audiences, despite race or background. The show was enormously popular from 1951 until in 1953 when it was cancelled due to complaints of ethnic stereotyping. It was released into reruns until the NAACP had it pulled from syndication in 1966. CBS, who owns the series, has pristine elements in their vault for each of the episodes. All that seems to exist are grainy bootlegs, some of which can be found on old VHS tapes, streaming services, or YouTube.
Tim Moore’s second wife died in 1956 and he remarried for a third time. In the wake of the Amos N Andy series cancellation, Moore capitalized on his TV fame and returned to the stage, performing as Kingfish in an act that also included other performers from the series. When told by CBS they could not use the Amos N Andy name, they took their act to Canada outside the network’s jurisdiction. Apparently, despite the NAACP protests, the performers were perfectly happy with their roles and the series, and saw it more as an opportunity. Moore would state on talk shows that the program was the first to show black actors playing doctors, lawyers, and police, rather than waiters or domestics.
In January of 1958, Moore was involved in what has become known as The Roast Beef Incident. He came home to discover that his stepson, stepdaughter, and her husband had consumed what was left of a New Year’s Eve roast beef. Tired of their freeloading, Moore confronted the three, and they responded in kind. Not wanting to punch anyone (Moore was a successful boxer in his youth), he went upstairs and returned with a pistol, firing it in the air. The police were called, and when they arrived, Moore complained about the “freeloaders” in his residence that “my wife protects.” Moore further stated, "You remember me, I'm the old Kingfish, boys. I'm the one you want. I fired that shot. I didn't want to hit anyone, although I could have. Anyway, you should have seen the relations scatter when I fired that gun." Moore was arrested, and the police stated he was the funniest arrest they ever had! When he was brought before a judge, he was recognized and released. He had to pay a $100 fine, but made up with his wife, and all charges were dropped.
This incident hit the papers, and Tim Moore found himself once again in demand on the talk show circuit. He appeared on the popular Tonight Show, then hosted by Jack Paar, and other programs, discussing his long career and telling some jokes from his act. Tim Moore always performed clean humor, so his jokes were perfectly ok for 50s television. He would sometimes state, "I never told a joke that I couldn't tell to my mother!" He and Mantan Moreland once left a Broadway show because they were asked to add "dirty lines" to their dialog. Along with these TV appearances, Moore was hired for a long engagement at the Mocambo night club and was given a testimonial tribute dinner by the Friar’s Club.
Tim Moore died in December of 1958 four days after his 71st birthday. Although he made good money throughout his career, Moore spent it as quickly as he made it, and left no money for a funeral. Frank Sinatra stepped up and volunteered to pay all funeral expenses, while Redd Foxx later financed a gravestone. Moore’s funeral was attended by such notable names as Groucho Marx, Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Curtis, as well as African American stars like Louis Armstrong, Mantan Moreland, Clarence Muse, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Sammy Davis Jr., and all of Moore's Amos N Andy co-stars, some of whom acted as his pallbearers.
Tim Moore is not only the first African American TV star, he is one of the greatest. It is unfortunate that his very funny and historically significant work is not more accessible to modern day viewers, especially those of us with respect for television's rich history.