Bambi Haggins (Film and Media Studies, UC Irvine) joins Patrice Petro (Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) for a conversation about the 2013 documentary "Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley." Haggins, who served as a historical consultant to the film, reflects on the five-decade career of Moms Mabley, the raucous, pioneering African-American vaudeville performer and comedian. Haggins discusses the timelessness of Mabley’s material, her popularity and ability to command an audience, and her influence on contemporary comedy, as well as the broader significance of race, gender, sexuality, and cultural respectability in the reception of comedians and their work during different historical moments.

Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33753]