Rudy Ray Moore
| Rudy Ray Moore | |
|---|---|
Moore in 2007
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| Born |
Rudolph Frank Moore March 17, 1927 Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | October 19, 2008 (aged 81) Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, singer, comic, film producer |
| Years active | 1950s–2008 |
| Website | www.ShockingImages.com |
Rudolph Frank Moore (March 17, 1927 – October 19, 2008), known as Rudy Ray Moore, was an American comedian, musician, singer, film actor, and film producer. He was perhaps best known as Dolemite (the name derived from the mineral dolomite), the uniquely articulate pimp from the 1975 film Dolemite, and its sequels, The Human Tornado and The Return of Dolemite. The persona was developed during his earlier comedy records, for which Moore has been called "the Godfather of Rap".
Moore was born and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and then Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Milwaukee, he preached in churches and worked as a nightclub dancer. He returned to Cleveland, working in clubs as a singer, dancer, and comedian, often appearing in character as Prince DuMarr. He joined the US Army and served in an entertainment unit in Germany, where he was nicknamed the Harlem Hillbilly for singing country songs in R&B style. He developed an interest in comedy in the Army after expanding on a singing performance for other servicemen.
After his discharge he lived in Seattle, Washington and then Los Angeles, where he continued to work in clubs and was discovered by record producer Dootsie Williams. He recorded rhythm and blues songs for the Federal, Cash, Ball, Kent and Imperial labels between 1955 and 1962, and released his first comedy albums, Below the Belt (1959), The Beatnik Scene (1962), and A Comedian Is Born (1964).
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