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Quiz about Stepin Fetchit
Quiz about Stepin Fetchit

Stepin Fetchit Trivia Quiz


You could perhaps be forgiven for saying "Who?" when Stepin Fetchit is mentioned, but his work in the film industry was both pioneering and controversial.

A multiple-choice quiz by Rowena8482. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Rowena8482
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
328,622
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
287
Question 1 of 10
1. Stepin Fetchit was a stage name; what was his birth name? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Stepin Fetchit is best known for his various film roles, all based on a "stock" character he developed from his first film onwards. Starting in 1925 with his role in "The Mysterious Stranger", and continuing in 1927, with a part in "In Old Kentucky", who was this character who would both make and break Fetchit's film career? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Fetchit once played a character called Snowshoe, who was Charlie Chan's assistant, in a film released in 1935. In which of these films was this? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Stepin Fetchit was friends with the actor Will Rogers, and they made four films together in the 1930s. Which of these is *not* one of them? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Although he was the first black actor to become a millionaire, Stepin Fetchit was eventually declared bankrupt.


Question 6 of 10
6. In 1970, Stepin Fetchit sued for defamation of character. Who did he sue?

Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Which of these honours was *not* awarded to Stepin Fetchit? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In the 1960s, Stepin Fetchit underwent a religious conversion and joined the entourage of which famous person? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In 1969, Stepin Fetchit's son ran amok with a gun on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, shooting three people dead, and injuring over a dozen others, before turning the gun on himself. What was his name? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Which event ended Stepin Fetchit's film career in 1976? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Stepin Fetchit was a stage name; what was his birth name?

Answer: Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry

Lincoln Perry was born in Florida in 1902, to parents who came to the USA from the Caribbean, most likely from The Bahamas and Jamaica. Lincoln left home aged twelve when he literally "ran away to join the carnival" and made a living as a tap dancer and singer. It is uncertain where his stage name came from, although Katz's "The Film Encyclopaedia" (1979) claims it was chosen because "he won some money once, on a horse with that name".
2. Stepin Fetchit is best known for his various film roles, all based on a "stock" character he developed from his first film onwards. Starting in 1925 with his role in "The Mysterious Stranger", and continuing in 1927, with a part in "In Old Kentucky", who was this character who would both make and break Fetchit's film career?

Answer: The Laziest Man in the World

During the late 1920s, the "Laziest Man in the World" character was viewed as a stereotypical black man, and almost all Fetchit's characters were there to add comic relief to his films. He became famous for the character as much as, if not more than, each individual role. People tended to assume that the man himself was also stupid and lazy, and basically true to the stereotype he portrayed, but in fact he was highly intelligent and literate, and also wrote regular articles and columns for the "Chicago Defender" newspaper.

This was founded in 1905, is still in print today, and was one of the very first newspapers specifically for African-American readers.
3. Fetchit once played a character called Snowshoe, who was Charlie Chan's assistant, in a film released in 1935. In which of these films was this?

Answer: Charlie Chan in Egypt

Several other famous film characters are said to have been based on Stepin Fetchit's "Laziest Man in the World", including Birmingham Brown, servant to Charlie Chan, made famous by Mantan Moreland. It was in the 1935 film "Charlie Chan in Egypt" that Fetchit played expedition assistant Snowshoe.

This was before Moreland's first appearance as Brown, which came in 1944, in "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service".
4. Stepin Fetchit was friends with the actor Will Rogers, and they made four films together in the 1930s. Which of these is *not* one of them?

Answer: A Tough Winter

Fetchit and Rogers were both in "David Harum" in 1934, "Judge Priest" also in 1934, and "The County Chairman" in 1935. The other film in which they worked together was "Steamboat 'Round the Bend" in 1935. "A Tough Winter", released in 1930, featured Fetchit. It was one of the "Our Gang" series of short films, and was the 99th one to be made.
5. Although he was the first black actor to become a millionaire, Stepin Fetchit was eventually declared bankrupt.

Answer: True

In 1947, Fetchit was forced to file for bankruptcy, and declared assets of less than $150. The public view of his characterisation of "The Laziest Man in the World" had come to be frowned upon by civil rights leaders, and the advent of the NAACP contributed to the end of his Hollywood heyday.

He also had to battle the studio continuously to get equal billing and pay with his white co-stars, and never managed to do it. Although he continued to make films until the 1970s, his days as a top Hollywood Star were over.
6. In 1970, Stepin Fetchit sued for defamation of character. Who did he sue?

Answer: CBS television company

The law suit was against CBS and the makers of the 1968 documentary "Black History; Lost, Stolen, or Strayed" which was presented by Bill Cosby, and in the then political and social climate, was a very forthright and angry piece of film. In railing against the plight of African-Americans, the programme singled out Stepin Fetchit, in his character "The Laziest Man in the World" for particular vitriol. Newspaper cuttings from the time described Fetchit as "The white man's Negro, the traditional, lazy, stupid, crap shooting, chicken-stealing idiot"; "Hollywood's Uncle Tom"; "an embarrassment to blacks"; "a mockery of upstanding Negro citizens"; and "the willing accomplice to Hollywood's systematic denigration of the black man." [source: "Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry" by Mel Watkins, 2005]
7. Which of these honours was *not* awarded to Stepin Fetchit?

Answer: An Emmy Award

In spite of the controversies surrounding his career over the years, and indeed, the abuse directed at him in particular during the 1960s and early 1970s, Stepin Fetchit was awarded a special NAACP Image Award in 1976. Opinion had swung somewhat and most people now saw his performances as subversive and standing up for the downtrodden black man, rather than putting him down and making him appear slow, sullen, and stupid.

The nature of his work has meant that Fetchit's films are rarely shown nowadays, and those that are tend to have most, if not all, of his scenes cut out. It was in 1978 that he was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, in recognition of the 54 films he made over his 51 year career.

His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 1751 Vine Street.
8. In the 1960s, Stepin Fetchit underwent a religious conversion and joined the entourage of which famous person?

Answer: Muhammad Ali

During the 1960s, Fetchit was often seen with Ali, as one of his entourage of followers and hangers-on, and returned to the public eye somewhat. Both Cat Stevens and Jermaine Jackson also converted to Islam; Stevens took the name Yusuf Islam, and Jackson became known as Muhammad Abdul Aziz.
9. In 1969, Stepin Fetchit's son ran amok with a gun on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, shooting three people dead, and injuring over a dozen others, before turning the gun on himself. What was his name?

Answer: Donald Lambright

Donald was just 31 years old when he snapped that day. Stepin Fetchit and his wife Winifred Johnson Perry had two children; Donald and his sister Jemajo.
10. Which event ended Stepin Fetchit's film career in 1976?

Answer: He had a stroke

In 1976, Fetchit suffered a stroke and could no longer work, or live independently. He moved into the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital retirement home for film and TV industry professionals, and spent his remaining years there until his death from pneumonia, in 1985.

His final ever film role was in "Won Ton Ton, the Dog who Saved Hollywood" which was released in 1976.
Source: Author Rowena8482

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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