605:. In it the Jim Crow character is developed to share similarities with the 'witty servant' of stage tradition. An Englishman fleeing creditors arrives in New York, where on the quayside he meets Jim Crow and hires him as his valet. The plot involves a beautiful young heiress being forced into a loveless marriage by her rascally uncle, and an episode where the astonished Englishman returns to his lodgings (drunk) to find Jim Crow has invited all his friends there to celebrate "the emancipation of the negroes" – presumably a reference to the ending of slavery in the British Caribbean colonies. Eventually, thanks to Jim Crow, the machinations of the uncle and his wicked associate (a "regular calculating Yankee... from Virginia" ) are defeated. The thwarted villain then claims Jim Crow is an escaped slave but the Englishman buys his freedom and the play ends with the heiress marrying her own true love and Jim Crow marrying his.
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a host of imitators, is the hero of these black burlettas. Mr Rice is in his way the most accomplished artist on the boards, his personation is the beau ideal of a negro. There is something in his chuckle which is not to be described, but which is equally rich, veracious, and inimitable. He has the faculty of twisting his limbs in such a manner as to represent the distortions of an ill grown
African, and the very tibia of his legs appear to shape themselves in aid of his endeavours. The novelty of last night is called,
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581:. This is merely a vehicle for the exhibition of the very peculiar talent of the performer, and as such it fully answers its purpose. The plot consists in the loves of the black hero and heroine (Mr. W. Smith) who are made to dance, sing and caper through three or four scenes... There is not much point in the songs or the dialogue, but there are several good hits, and of them Mr. Rice made the most."
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357:, it had apparently been carved by Rice himself in 1833, although a different account in the same paper says it had been carved by a celebrated figurehead carver called Weeden, and yet another article attributes it to Rice's former employer "Charley" Dodge. It had long been used by Rice as an advertising feature and accompanied him on his successful tour of London.
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On one of his stage tours in
England, Rice married Charlotte Bridgett Gladstone in 1837. She died in 1848. They had four children: Frances Gwynne Gladstone Rice born July 31, 1839, and died July 18, 1897, John Joy and Mary Gwynne who both died as babies and Elizabeth Mary Rice born August 31, in the
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of former days has been obliged to give place to the black-faced Susan of the
Transatlantic importations from Boston and New York. Mr. Rice, whose Jim Crow has insured his reputation in every street of the metropolis, and whose admirable representation of the negroes of the United States has raised
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At least initially, blackface could also give voice to an oppositional dynamic that was prohibited by society. As early as 1832, Rice was singing, "An' I caution all white dandies not to come in my way, / For if dey insult me, dey'll in de gutter lay." It also on occasion equated lower-class white
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During the years of his peak popularity, from roughly 1832 to 1844, Rice often encountered sold-out houses, with audiences demanding numerous encores. In 1836 he introduced his blackface performances overseas when he appeared in London, although he and his character were known there by reputation at
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Rice had made the Jim Crow character his signature act by 1832. Rice went from one theater to another, singing his Jim Crow Song. He became known as "Jim Crow Rice". There had been other blackface performers before Rice, however it was Rice who became so indelibly associated with a single character.
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He soon expanded his repertoire, with his most popular routine being his "shadow dance." Rice would appear on stage carrying a sack slung over his shoulder, then sing the song "Me and My Shadow" (not the better-known 1920s song). As Rice began to dance, a child actor in blackface would crawl out of
351:. It was painted and made in four pieces, with both arms and the right leg below the knee being separate parts screwed to the trunk. Prior to at least 1871 it had stood on Broadway outside "a well-known resort of actors and showmen". According to an article in
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Rice claimed to have been inspired by a crippled black stable groom, who sang and danced as he did his work, and even claimed to have bought the man's clothes for "authenticity." The time, place and truth of this claim have been disputed.
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As early as 1840, Rice suffered from a type of paralysis which began to limit his speech and movements, and eventually led to his death on
September 19, 1860. His funeral services were at St. Thomas Church and he is interred at
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the sack, and emulate each of Rice's moves and steps. Rice also performed as the "Yankee" character, an already-established stage stereotype who represented rural
America and dressed in a long blue coat and striped pants.
570:: This theatre, which last year was so prolific in sea pieces, has this season been abundant in a novel species of entertainment. A sort of extravaganzas, called "black operas", has superseded the ancient drama, and the
585:, Wednesday, October 26, 1836; pg. 5; Issue 16244; col G. Rice was so successful he soon transferred to the more upmarket Adelphi Theatre in a play built especially around his Jim Crow character; this was also a hit.
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suggests his death was alcohol-related, and states that although he had made a considerable fortune in his time, his later years were spent in a liquor saloon and his burial was paid for by public subscription.
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Rice enjoyed displaying his wealth, and on his return from London wore a blue dress coat with gold guineas for buttons, and a vest on which each gold button bore a solitaire diamond.
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Rice's greatest prominence came in the 1830s, before the rise of full-blown blackface minstrel shows, when blackface performances were typically part of a variety show or as an
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By 1827, Rice was a traveling actor, appearing not only as a stock player in several New York theaters, but also performing on frontier stages in the coastal South and the
145:" character was based on a folk trickster of that name that was long popular among black slaves. Rice also adapted and popularized a traditional slave song called "
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According to
Broadbent, "T. D. Rice, the celebrated negro comedian, performed "Jump Jim Crow" with witty local allusions" at Ducrow's Royal Amphitheatre (now
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Rice not only performed in more than 100 plays, but also created plays of his own, providing himself slight variants on the Jim Crow persona—as Cuff in
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In the later half of the 19th century, a wooden statue of Rice in his "Jim Crow" character stood in various New York locations, including outside the
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docks. Rice received some formal education in his youth, but ceased in his teenage years when he acquired an apprenticeship with a
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and lower-class black audiences; while parodying
Shakespeare, Rice sang, "Aldough I'm a black man, de white is call'd my broder."
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289:", which predated the playlet. Rice played Cuff, boss of the bootblacks, and he wins the girl, Rose, away from the black
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entertainers of his time. He is considered the "father of
American minstrelsy". His act drew on aspects of
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122:(May 20, 1808 – September 19, 1860) was an American performer and playwright who performed in
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153:" that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States between the 1870s and 1965.
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named Dodge. Despite this occupational training, Rice quickly made a career as a performer.
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Annals of Annals of the
Liverpool Stage, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time
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Amusement for All, University Press of Kentucky, 2006, pg. 17-18
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495:(Philadelphia), September 11, 1832: "Mr. Rice will appear and sing Jim Crow."
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and popularized them with a national, and later international, audience.
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Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class
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Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class
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400:"History of Minstrelsy: From "Jump Jim Crow" to "The Jazz Singer""
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Sambo Johnson, a former bootblack who made money by winning a
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of Isaac Odell, Who Was A Burnt Cork Artist Sixty Years Ago'.
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and the most popular of the time. It is centered on a song "
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speech, song and dance to become one of the most popular
246:(1835). Shortly after making his first hit in London in
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557:followed by Rice performing his 'Jim Crow' act.
254:in London. Moreover, Rice wrote and starred in
258:(1844); he also played the title character in
599:A Flight to America, or Ten Hours in New York
601:(1836), was the vehicle written for Rice by
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643:. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
622:. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
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719:, May 30, 1882: "Carving Wooden Figures".
406:Library Special & Digital Collections
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745:International Index of Black Periodicals
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113:Charlotte Bridgett Gladstone (1837–1847)
21:For other people named Thomas Rice, see
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18:American minstrel performer (1808–1860)
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23:Thomas Rice (disambiguation)
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427:"Blackface! Minstrel Shows"
404:University of South Florida
332:. A reminiscence of him in
242:(1835), and Bone Squash in
128:African American vernacular
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835:Male actors from Manhattan
743:"Keeping Jim Crow Alive".
89:Singer, dancer, playwright
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136:African American culture
312:Personal life and death
304:), Liverpool, England.
302:The Royal Court Theatre
238:(1833), Ginger Blue in
375:"Blackface Minstrelsy"
349:Chatham Garden Theatre
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815:American male dancers
505:Giles Oakley (1997).
433:on September 27, 2014
272:Harriet Beecher Stowe
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120:Thomas Dartmouth Rice
50:Thomas Dartmouth Rice
791:at Wikimedia Commons
270:", loosely based on
210:Edward Williams Clay
326:Green-Wood Cemetery
244:Bone Squash Diavolo
167:Manhattan, New York
716:The New York Times
702:The New York Times
683:The New York Times
603:William Leman Rede
476:The New York Times
462:The New York Times
354:The New York Times
343:In popular culture
335:The New York Times
330:Brooklyn, New York
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204:Thomas D. Rice as
79:Brooklyn, New York
72:September 19, 1860
62:New York, New York
787:Media related to
752:Southern (1983).
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528:978-0-306-80743-5
509:The Devil's Music
493:American Sentinel
260:Uncle Tom's Cabin
227:in another play.
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94:Nationality
799:Categories
517:. p.
361:References
175:woodcarver
171:East River
86:Occupation
55:1808-05-20
651:. p. 133.
630:. p. 211.
607:The Times
587:The Times
583:The Times
547:The Times
268:Tom shows
236:Oh, Hush!
225:entr'acte
157:Biography
126:and used
124:blackface
105:1827–1860
410:July 15,
384:July 15,
248:Oh, Hush
206:Jim Crow
143:Jim Crow
141:Rice's "
97:American
553:at the
295:lottery
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555:Bowery
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256:Otello
196:Career
110:Spouse
102:Period
81:, U.S.
64:, U.S.
481:(sic)
291:dandy
762:ISBN
645:ISBN
624:ISBN
523:ISBN
439:2014
412:2015
386:2015
283:olio
276:book
69:Died
47:Born
328:in
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