Tripti Joshi (Editor)

Pigmeat Markham

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Full Name
  
Dewey Markham

Spouse
  
Bernice Markham

Role
  
Comedian

Name
  
Pigmeat Markham

Years active
  
1917–1981


Pigmeat Markham 1bpblogspotcomyF30c1TNSrwUjiA8KsvbTIAAAAAAA


Born
  
April 18, 1904 (
1904-04-18
)

Occupation
  
Comedian, actor, singer, dancer

Died
  
December 13, 1981, The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States

Albums
  
The Crap-Shootin’ Rev, Here Come the Judge, Would the Real Pigmeat Markham Please Sit Down

Similar People
  
Moms Mabley, Flip Wilson, Gene Barge, Chris Rock, Redd Foxx

Here comes the judge pigmeat markham 1968 hd quality


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 David "Pigmeat" Markham or Pigmeat "Alamo" Markham.

Contents

Pigmeat Markham Who Died Today Pigmeat Markham Celebrity Deaths

Pigmeat markham lovemaking bureau comedy sketch


Early life and career

Pigmeat Markham Vintage Standup Comedy Pigmeat Markham Mr Funny Man 1965

He was born in the community of Hayti, 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 1964 he recorded "Open the Door, Richard".

Pigmeat Markham Pigmeat Markham The CrapShootin39 Rev Amazoncom Music

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. He probably played at the Apollo more frequently than any other performer. Starting in the 1950s Pigmeat Markham began appearing on television, making multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Pigmeat Markham Here Comes The Judge Pigmeat Markham 1968 HD Quality

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 and 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 entertainment world, 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 films, 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 funky beat, Pigmeat Markham is regarded as a forerunner of rap. His song "Here Comes the Judge" peaked at number 19 on the Billboard and other charts in 1968. He published an autobiography, Here Come the Judge!, in the wake of his Laugh-In success.

Death

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

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
  • References

    Pigmeat Markham Wikipedia