This is a list of entertainers known to have performed in blackface makeup, whether in a minstrel show , as satire or historical depiction of such roles, or in a portrayal of a character using makeup as a racial disguise, for whatever reason.
Lew Dockstader
Bert Williams , shown here in blackface, was the highest-paid African-American entertainer of his day.
Roy Acuff , country music singer, performed in blackface in 1930s-40s traveling medicine shows[1]
Scarlet Adams [2]
Anne of Denmark , Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, in The Masque of Blackness [3]
Fred Armisen , impersonating U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday Night Live in 2008 and 2009[4]
Louis Armstrong , as Zulu King during 1949's Mardi Gras in New Orleans [5]
Clarence Ashley , 1910s-1940s singer and blackface comedian in traveling medicine shows[6]
Ant and Dec , in old Saturday Night Takeaway sketches[7]
Fred Astaire , in Swing Time (1936)[8] and in Easter Parade (1948)
Gene Autry [6]
Dan Aykroyd , in Trading Places (1983)[9]
David Baddiel , while portraying Jason Lee on a 1995 episode of Fantasy Football League [10]
Rita Baga [11]
Marcus "Buff" Bagwell , while performing for World Championship Wrestling [12]
Fay Bainter , as Topsy in a 1933 production of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Milt G. Barlow , 19th-century American minstrel[13]
Ethel Barrymore , in the 1930 play Scarlet Sister Mary [14]
Billy Barty , in Roman Scandals (1933)[15] and Rabbit Test (1978)
Jack Black , in Be Kind Rewind (2008)[16]
Sergei Bondarchuk , in Othello (1956)
John Boulter , lead singer of the long-running Black and White Minstrel Show on the BBC[17] : 248
Zach Braff , in the Scrubs episodes "My Friend the Doctor" and "My Chopped Liver"[18]
Frank Brower , 1840s-1860s minstrel performer[19]
David Byrne , in Stop Making Sense (1984)[20]
George Burns [6]
Butterbeans and Susie [21]
John Byner , in season 3, episode 1 of Soap [22] [23]
Eddie Cantor , 1912-1927 performances in vaudeville and Ziegfeld Follies [24]
Judy Carne , in a 1969 episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In [25] [26]
Graham Chapman [27]
Dave Chappelle , in a 2006 episode of Chappelle's Show [28]
George Christy , born George Harrington but became a star with Christy's Minstrels in the 1840s[17] : 8
Charles Correll [21]
Bing Crosby ,[29] in Dream House (1932), Mississippi (1935), Road to Singapore (1940), Holiday Inn (1942), Dixie (1943), and Here Come the Waves (1944)
Billy Crystal , in the "Negro Leagues" skit on Saturday Night Live in 1984 and whenever impersonating Sammy Davis Jr. , including at the 84th Academy Awards .[30]
CatboyKami , Online alias of Tor Gustafsson Brookes. Far-right troll who performs in blackface and an afro wig while brandishing a gun[31]
Ted Danson , at a 1993 Friars Club roast of his then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg [32]
Tommy Davidson in the 2000 film Bamboozled [33]
Marion Davies in Going Hollywood (1933)[34] [35]
Sammy Davis, Jr. [29] in Ocean's Eleven (1960)[36]
Shane Dawson , YouTuber, actor, and comedian[37]
Neil Diamond in The Jazz Singer [38]
Thomas Dilward , 1850s-1870s dwarf minstrel performer[39]
George Washington Dixon , 1820s-1830s stage performer[40]
Lew Dockstader , 1870s-1900s minstrel performer[41]
Roma Downey in an episode of the television series Touched By An Angel entitled “Black Like Monica”, the character is turned black to better empathize with a community dealing with racial tensions.[42]
Robert Downey Jr. in the 2008 film Tropic Thunder [43]
Drake , on the cover of Pusha-T 's single "The Story of Adidon "[44]
Jimmy Durante [29]
Issi Dye singer and Al Jolson impersonator[45] [46]
Harry Enfield , impersonating Nelson Mandela in the television show Harry & Paul .[47]
The Ethiopian Serenaders were a Boston troupe which performed at the White House in 1844 and then toured Britain.[48]
Jimmy Fallon , impersonating Chris Rock on Saturday Night Live [49]
Edwin Forrest [50]
Dai Francis , lead singer of the long-running Black and White Minstrel Show on the BBC[51]
Leigh Francis [52]
Judy Garland in Babes in Arms [53]
George Givot , in the play The Constant Sinner (1931)[54]
Freeman Gosden [21]
Billy Gould (1869-1950)[55]
Savion Glover in the 2000 film Bamboozled [33]
Sam Hague [56]
Masatoshi Hamada , dressed in blackface as Eddie Murphy from the film Beverly Hills Cop for the 2017 New Year's Eve special of Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! [57]
Jon Hamm on an episode of 30 Rock [58]
Goldie Hawn , in a 1969 episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In [25] [26]
Bob Height [56]
Al Herman [59]
Charles Hicks [56]
Ernest Hogan [21]
C. Thomas Howell in the 1986 movie Soul Man [60]
William A. Huntley [61] Starting 1860. Moved to whiteface in mid-1880s.
Dick Powell performed in blackface while singing Al Jolson 's "Sonny Boy" in Hard to Get (1938)[62] [63]
George Jessel [6]
Al Jolson [29]
Louis Jordan [29]
Buster Keaton , in vaudeville[21] in the short film Neighbors (1920), possibly with satiric intent: he alternates in and out of blackface, receiving a very different reaction from a policeman;[64] also in The Playhouse (1921) and College (1927)
Billy Kersands , 1880s-1900s minstrel performer[65]
Jimmy Kimmel , impersonating Karl Malone and Oprah Winfrey on The Man Show [66] [67]
Jane Krakowski twice on 30 Rock [58]
Wallace King , 1880s minstrel performer[68]
Joey Lawrence , in season 4, episode 11 of Gimme a Break! ,[69] an episode criticizing blackface
Jennie Lee , in the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation [70]
Francis Leon , 1870s-80s minstrel performer[71]
Eddie Leonard , 1890s-1930s minstrel performer, "last of the great minstrels"[21]
Paul Levesque [72]
Chris Lilley as Jonah Takalua and S.mouse [73] [74]
Walter Long , in the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation [75] [76]
Sophia Loren in Aida (1953)[77]
Peter Lorre , in the play Weisse Fracht [78]
Matt Lucas , multiple characters in Little Britain , Precious Little in Come Fly with Me [79]
Sam Lucas , 1870s minstrel performer[80]
Robert Mandan , in season 3, episode 1 of Soap [22]
Jenna Marbles , impersonating Nicki Minaj in a later removed 2011 Youtube video[81]
Pigmeat Markham , performer in 1920s-1950s traveling shows, as well as The Ed Sullivan Show and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In [82]
Rob McElhenney on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , portraying the character of Mac , a white man portraying the character Roger Murtaugh from the Lethal Weapon franchise in a fanmade home movie
Joni Mitchell appeared as black dandy, Art Nouveau, at parties and on the cover of Don Juan's Reckless Daughter [83]
Emmett Miller ,[56] an important influence on early country stars like Jimmie Rodgers , Bob Wills
Flournoy E. Miller [21]
Irvin C. Miller [21]
David Mitchell , in season 1, episode 1 of That Mitchell and Webb Look [84]
Clayton McMichen [1]
Bill Monroe [1]
Moran and Mack [21]
Herbert Wassell Nadal (1873-1957)[85]
Cornelius J. O'Brien (1869-1954)[86]
Laurence Olivier in Othello (1965)[87]
Kaitlin Olson on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , portraying the character of Deandra Reynolds , a white woman portraying a black character in a fanmade home movie based on the Lethal Weapon franchise
Richard Pelham [56]
Arthur Petersen , in season 3, episode 1 of Soap [22]
Larry Parks , in the 1946 film The Jolson Story [88]
Robert Webb [89]
Thomas D. Rice [56]
Jimmie Rodgers [1]
Mickey Rooney in Babes in Arms (1939)[90]
Benny Rubin [56]
Harry Scott of the comedy duo Scott and Whaley , an African American act working in Britain.[91]
Ramblin' Tommy Scott [92]
Sarah Silverman [93]
Frank Sinatra , in the Major Bowes short The Big Minstrel (1935) and Ocean's Eleven (1960)[36]
Grace Slick , The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1968) and Teen Set magazine (1969)[94] [95] [96]
Bessie Smith [29]
Hobart Smith [6]
Mel Smith in season 2, episode 4, of Not the Nine O'Clock News (sketch "Gone With The Wind", April 1980)
Howard Stern in a series of 1991 skits as Clarence Thomas and in a 1993 New Year's Eve special[97]
Bert Swor (1878-1943)[98]
Shirley Temple in The Littlest Rebel [17]
George Siegmann in character as Silas Lynch in The Birth of a Nation (1915)[99]
Frank Tinney , in vaudeville and Broadway musical comedies[100]
The Three Stooges [101]
Sophie Tucker [102]
Tracey Ullman , in a 1989 episode of The Tracey Ullman Show [103]
Ben Vereen , as a part of the 1981 inaugural celebrations for US President Ronald Reagan [104]
Vladimir Vysotsky , as Abram Gannibal in How Czar Peter the Great Married Off His Moor
Glen Vernon Actor who performed in blackface in Hollywood Varieties (1950) with fellow actor Edward Ryan[105]
Ted Waldman , comedy harmonica player[106]
David Walliams , as a minstrel, and as character Desiree Devere in Little Britain [79]
George Walker [21]
Sean Waltman [107]
Betty White , in The Golden Girls [108] [109]
Billy Whitlock [56]
Gene Wilder in Silver Streak [110]
Barney Williams [111]
Bert Williams [56]
Hank Williams [29]
Slim Williams [112]
Bob Wills [1]
Tom Wilson [56]
Jane Withers in Can This Be Dixie?
Jo Anne Worley , in a 1969 episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In [25] [26]
Magda Szubanski , in various sketches for the Australian TV series, Fast Forward , most notably as the housemaid in a parody of Gone With the Wind .[113]
Bugs Bunny , in the 1942 cartoon Fresh Hare [114]
Mickey Mouse , in the 1933 cartoon Mickey's Mellerdrammer [115]
Tom and Jerry (Van Beuren) , Not to be confused with the cat and mouse duo . appeared in blackface in 'Plane Dumb' (1932)[116]
Smith Family Stan , Steve , Hayley and Francine Smith appeared in blackface in 2007 American Dad! episode 'An Apocalypse to Remember'[117]
Eric Cartman , Depicted in blackface in 1999 movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut [118] and in episodes of South Park [119]
Tom and Jerry , appeared in blackface in 'The Yankee Doodle Mouse ' (1943)[120] 'The Milky Waif' (1946)[121] 'Mouse Cleaning' (1948) and 'Casanova Cat' (1951)[122]
Dirty Dick , Used blackface in a recreation of The Black and White Minstrel Show in the 1972 Dandy Annual
Sylvester the Cat , appeared in blackface in 'I Taw a Putty Tat ' (1948)[123]
Lyons Tea Minstrels mascots of Lyons Tea. Discontinued sometime in the 1990s[124]
Ling-Ling , In Foxxy Vs. The Board Of Education (2005)[125] [126]
Cockrell, Dale (1988). "Blackface Minstrelsy" . The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music . New York: Oxford University Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0195395631 . Retrieved 26 June 2020 . Sweet, Frank W. A History of the Minstrel Show , p25 . Rice, Edward Le Roy - Monarchs of Minstrelsy from ‘Daddy Rice’ to Date (1911)
Tim Brooks (2019), The Blackface Minstrel Show in Mass Media: 20th Century Performances on Radio, Records, Film and Television , McFarland , ISBN 9781476676760 Mahar, William J. (1999). Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early Blackface Minstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture . Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252066962 . Arnold Shaw (1986), Black Popular Music in America From the Spirituals, Minstrels, and Ragtime to Soul, Disco, and Hip-hop , Schirmer Books, p. 21, ISBN 9780028723105 Primarily a blackface performer
Anthony Slide, "Al Herman", The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville , University Press of Mississippi, 2012, p.238
Schreyer, Lowell H. (2007). The Banjo Entertainers: Roots to Ragtime, A Banjo History . Mankato, Minnesota: Minnesota Heritage Publishing. pp. 152–154, 229–230. ISBN 978-0-9713168-9-8 . Enright, Ray (5 November 1938), Hard to Get (Comedy, Romance), Dick Powell, Olivia de Havilland, Charles Winninger, Warner Bros., retrieved 9 October 2023 Callahan, Dan, "Buster Keaton ", on Senses of Cinema . Retrieved 11 July 2005. Watkins, Mel (1994). On the Real Side: Laughing, Lying, and Signifying — The Underground Tradition of African-American Humor That Transformed American Culture, from Slavery to Richard Pryor . New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-0671689827 . Toll, Robert C. (1974). Blacking Up: The Minstrel Show in Nineteenth-Century America . New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195021721 . Bordman, Gerald Martin; Hischak, Thomas S. (2004), The Oxford Companion to American Theatre , Oxford University Press, p. 221, ISBN 0-19-516986-7 Robin Elliott (2015), "Blacks and Blackface at the Opera", Opera in a Multicultural World , Routledge, p. 43, ISBN 9781317444831 Youngkin, Stephen (2005). The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre . The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2360-8 . Peterson, Bernard L (2001). Profiles of African American Stage Performers and Theatre People, 1816–1960 . Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 170.
Frank Tinney. The New York Times, 29 November 1940, p.26
Lott, Eric (1993). Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class . Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-509641-5 . Landres, Paul (15 January 1950), Hollywood Varieties (Music), Robert Alda, The Hoosier Hotshots, Ken Trietsch, Lippert Pictures, retrieved 9 October 2023 Anthony Slide, "Ted Waldman", The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville , University Press of Mississippi, 2012, pp.531-532
Derby, George, White, James Terry - The National Cyclopedia of American Biography , Vol. 5, 1897, p. 440
Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons . Henry Holt and Co. pp. 132–133. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2 . Aoshima, John; Hughart, Ron; Lioi, Anthony (25 March 2007), An Apocalypse to Remember , American Dad!, Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, retrieved 9 October 2023