Pigmeat Markham

 ( 1904 Births ) 

Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham (April 18, 1904 – December 13, 1981) was an American entertainer. Though best known as a comedian, Markham was also a singer, dancer, and actor. His nickname came from a stage routine, in which he declared himself to be "Sweet Poppa Pigmeat". He was sometimes credited in films as Pigmeat "Alamo" Markham.

He is also known for his 1968 single "Here Comes the Judge", which is often considered to be the earliest hip hop record.

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Early life and career Markham was born in Durham, North Carolina. His family was the most prominent on their street, which came to be called (and later officially named) Markham Street in the Hayti District. Markham began his career in traveling music and burlesque shows. For a time he was a member of Bessie Smith's Traveling Revue in the 1920s. Later, he claimed he originated the Truckin' dance which became nationally popular at the start of the 1930s. In the 1940s he started making film appearances. In 1946 he recorded "Open the Door, Richard".

Markham was a familiar act at New York's famed Apollo Theater where he wore blackface makeup and huge painted white lips, despite complaints the vaudeville tradition was degrading. The book Showtime at the Apollo suggests, "He probably played the Apollo more often than any other performer."

Ted Fox (1983). 9780030605338, Da Capo. . ISBN 9780030605338

Starting in the 1950s Pigmeat Markham began appearing on television, making multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

His boisterous, indecorous "heyeah (here) come da judge" schtick, which made a mockery of formal courtroom etiquette, became his signature routine. Markham would sit at an elevated judge's bench (often in a black graduation cap-and-gown, to look more impressive), and deal with a series of comic miscreants. He would often deliver his "judgments", as well as express frustration with the accused, by leaning over the bench and smacking the accused with an inflated bladder-balloon. He had hit comedy recordings in the 1960s on Chess Records, and saw his routine's entry line become a catchphrase on the Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC television show, as did his phrase "Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls."

Markham's most famous routine was "discovered" by the general public only after Sammy Davis Jr. had performed it as a guest on the March 25, 1968 episode of Laugh-In. Due to the years of racial segregation in the American entertainment industry, he was not widely known by white audiences, and had almost exclusively performed on the "Chitlin' Circuit" of vaudeville, theatres, and night clubs and appeared in several Race movie, including William D. Alexander's 1949 revue film Burlesque in Harlem, which documented the Chitlin' Circuit.

The phenomenal ripple effect of Davis's version of "the judge" led to Markham's opportunity to perform his signature Judge character himself as a Laugh-In regular during the 1968–69 television season. Archie Campbell later adapted Markham's routine, performing as "Justus O'Peace," on the country version of Laugh-In, Hee Haw, which borrowed heavily from the minstrel show tradition.

Thanks to his Heyeah come da judge routine, which originally was accompanied by music with a beat, Pigmeat Markham is regarded as a forerunner of rapping. His song "Here Comes the Judge" peaked at number 19 on the Billboard(click on "Read More" once at the site) and other charts in 1968. He published an autobiography, Here Come the Judge!, in the wake of his Laugh-In success.

The song "Here Comes the Judge" was prominently sampled by Big Audio Dynamite II in the song "Rush".

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Death Markham died of a stroke at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx on December 13, 1981 at the age of 77. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.

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Discography References:

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Albums

• At the Party (1961)
• The Trial (1961)
• Anything Goes with Pigmeat (1962)
• Open the Door Richard (1963)
• The World's Greatest Clown (1963)
• The Best of Moms and Pigmeat Volume One (1964) (with Moms Mabley)
• Mr. Funny Man (1965)
• This'll Kill Ya! (1965)
• One More Time... (1966) (with Moms Mabley)
• If You Can't Be Good, Be Careful! (1966)
• Mr. Vaudeville (1967)
• Save Your Soul, Baby! (1967)
• Here Come the Judge (1968)
• Tune Me In (1968)
• The Hustlers (1968)
• Backstage (1968)
• Pigmeat's Bag (1968)
• Would the Real Pigmeat Markham Please Sit Down (1973)
• The Crap-Shootin' Rev

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Singles

1945	"How Long, How Long Blues"
"Blues Before Sunrise"
1946	"See See Rider"
1961	"My Wife? No, I Ain't Seen Her"
1968	"Here Comes the Judge"	19	4	19	71
	"Sock It to 'Em Judge"	103
1970	"Pig's Popcorn"

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External links

• Pigmeat Markham at Discogs

Categories: 1904 Births, 1981 Deaths, Male Actors From Durham, North Carolina, African-american Male Comedians, African-american Comedians, African-american Male Dancers, African-american Dancers, American Male Dancers, American Male Comedians, American Comedy Musicians, Blackface Minstrel Performers, Burials At Woodlawn Cemetery, Chess Records Artists, American Vaudeville Performers, Musicians From Durham, North Carolina, 20th-century American Memoirists, African-american Non-fiction Writers, American Non-fiction Writers, American Male Stage Actors, 20th-century African-american Male Actors, 20th-century American Male Actors, 20th-century American Singers, 20th-century American Comedians, 20th-century American Dancers, 20th-century American Male Singers, 20th-century African-american Male Singers, Comedians From North Carolina

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