Moms Mabley later recorded comedy albums and appeared in films and on television programs including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
18 Facts About Moms Mabley
2.
Moms Mabley was one of 16 children born to James Aiken and Mary Smith, who had married in 1891.
3.
Moms Mabley's father owned and operated several successful businesses, while her mother kept house and took in boarders.
4.
Moms Mabley's mother took over the family's primary business, a general store.
5.
Moms Mabley was killed a few years later, run over by a truck while returning home from church on Christmas Day.
6.
Aiken adopted the stage name Jackie Moms Mabley, borrowing the name of an early boyfriend, Jack Moms Mabley, who was a performer.
7.
Moms Mabley remarked in a 1970 Ebony interview that he had taken so much from her, the least she could do was take his name from him.
8.
Moms Mabley quickly became one of the most successful entertainers of the Chitlin' Circuit, although, as a black woman, her wages were meager.
9.
Moms Mabley made her New York City debut at Connie's Inn in Harlem.
10.
Moms Mabley came out as a lesbian in 1921 at the age of twenty-seven, becoming one of the first openly gay comedians.
11.
Moms Mabley credited the name to her grandmother, who had been a driving force in the pursuit of her dreams.
12.
Moms Mabley played the Harlem Cultural Festival during this time.
13.
Moms Mabley returned to work three weeks later, after receiving a pacemaker.
14.
Moms Mabley died from heart failure in White Plains, New York, on May 23,1975.
15.
Moms Mabley is interred at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.
16.
Moms Mabley was the inspiration for the character of Grandma Klump in the 1996 movie The Nutty Professor.
17.
Moms Mabley was featured during the "HerStory" video tribute to notable women on U2's tour in 2017 for the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree during a performance of "Ultraviolet " from the band's 1991 album Achtung Baby.
18.
Moms Mabley, portrayed by Wanda Sykes, appears in the final episode of the third season of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, performing a full stand-up routine on the Apollo Theater stage.