Monday, October 20, 2008
Wow A Moment of Silence for Dolemite, Mutha F*ckas!
Posted by Sean Maloney on Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 1:16 PM
I'm sad to inform you that the incredible Rudy Ray Moore has passed from this mortal coil. Moore had an amazing career, ranging from R&B singer to comedian to full-fledged cultural icon. Best known for his role as Dolemite in the films Dolemite and The Human Tornado, Moore pushed the envelope of obscenity over the course of, well, a shit ton of comedy albums and a fuck load of movies, not to mention the fact that the entire "jive talking pimp" archetype in hip-hop sprung from his loins. I, personally, rank him as one of the all-time Great American Writers, alongside Mark Twain and Lenny Bruce—but he coulda whooped both of 'em with one hand tied behind his back. He was a monumental talent and he will be sorely missed. If anyone wants to join in a memorial viewing The Disco Godfather, you know where to find me....
Oh, and since this is a music blog you should all run out and buy the soundtrack to Petey Wheatstraw, The Devil's Son-In-Law, it's some hella bad ass funk.
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sad fucking news.
in related news: i read last week that Julius Carry - Rudy Ray's co-star in Disco Godfather, who played nephew "Bucky" who lost his shit after ingesting "the whack", and perhaps better known as "Sho 'Nuff: The Shogun of Harlem" from the Last Dragon - died two months ago.
I don't have the aforementioned soundtracks, but i do have The Last Dragon on vinyl. It's worth it for the DeBarge cut alone.
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The Human Tornado may have the greatest opening credits in movie history. Along with undisputedly the cinema's greatest man-rolling-butt-nekkid-down-a-hill scene (which even rewinds so you can watch it again!).
Petey Wheatstraw, we hardly knew ye.
Oh, the memories! I was a wee white boy of 15 in the early 90's and my first job was at a video rental store with the typical fare. The store exchanged hands and for some reason the new owner started buying all these blaxpolitation and B-movies (and a little porn) even though our renters were 90% white dumbass suburban republicans. I happened upon the cover of The Human Tornado and thought "that is the baddest mutherfucker I've ever seen with a gut" and took it home. After having my mind blown I introduced it to my friends and we had "Rudy Ray Moore" parties every six-months (we also had Basketcase movie parties, but that's another story).
If you are unfamilary with RRM start with by far the best - The Human Tornado. Then Dolemite (the original) and for the hardcore - The Disco Godfather (not that funny or badass, but he still has some great moves and is fighting PCP!)
- In The Human Tornado I always found it humerous, being from the South, that there was a very racist redneck sheriff in what appeared to be the valley of Los Angeles.
- I also loved the breaks in the movie with him doing stand-up.
After the video store job I worked at a record store where you could purchase about 10 of his best comedy cassettes. The brilliant thing was every cassette cover had him sitting on some sort of throne with 10-20 naked women around him. Every one of them!
God Rest Your Badass Soul Rudy Ray Moore!
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