Lollypop Jones

Onnie "Lollypop" Jones (November 8, 1897 – August 22, 1954)[1] was an American vaudeville entertainer and movie comedian, popular among African-American audiences in the 1940s.

Born in Madison, Georgia,[1][2] he worked as a singer, dancer and comedian in vaudeville. In 1927, he appeared in a traveling revue, Keep Movin'.[3] He also performed in nightclubs, including the Dew Drop Inn, in New Orleans [4][5] He made commercials for Jax Beer, and took the starring role in several movies including Midnight Menace (also known as The Hidden Menace), Lucky Gamblers, and Chicago After Dark.[6][7] In Midnight Menace (1946), Jones plays a version of himself in a 24-minute all-black musical comedy film.[8] These and many similar films were made on a low budget by the All-American News company in Chicago, and were shown almost exclusively in African-American movie theaters.[9]

Jones died in 1954, following a lengthy illness.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941. Microfilm publication M1916, 134 rolls. ARC ID: 596118. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92. National Archives at Washington, D.C., Ancestry.com
  2. ↑ U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, Ancestry.com
  3. ↑ Bernard L. Peterson Jr., A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African Americans, ABC-CLIO, 1993, p.207
  4. 1 2 The Pittsburgh Courier, September 4, 1954, p.3
  5. ↑ Jeff Hannusch, "The South's Swankiest Night Spot: The Legend of the Dew Drop Inn", IkoIko.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015
  6. ↑ Lollypop Jones search results, eMovie.com
  7. ↑ The Hidden Menace, Norton Herrick Center for Motion Picture Studies, University of Miami
  8. ↑ "Midnight Menace", BlackHorrorMovies.com
  9. ↑ Chicago After Dark, SeparateCinema.com
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