The best birthday present a blaxploitation fan could ever get. I had no idea that Rudy Ray Moore was even coming to town until my fiance showed up at my place of work sporting two tickets to an evening of film and comedy at Ferndale's Magic Bag Theater.
The Magic Bag is known for bringing hard-to-find entertainment to Metro Detroit. Everything from live music to great films like Godzilla vs. Ghidrah (in wide screen!), Freaked (its only Michigan appearance, to my knowledge), and... Dolemite!!!
Dolemite—a beautiful 35mm print straight out of James Wheeler's private black cinema collection (any prints of Black Shampoo?). And, if that wasn't enough—and believe me, I'd have been more than satisfied just to have that alone, my cup runneth over!—the one and only Rudy Ray Moore—live and in-person doing his act.
So there we were, the original triumvirate of Black Shampoo watchers: Leon, Steve, and me, sitting right there on the aisle, Steve so close he could put his feet on the stage, waiting for a dream of a lifetime to come true.
I could hardly contain myself!
It's strange that I had seen all of Rudy's films except for Dolemite. Sure, it was difficult watching the sequel—Human Tornado—without seeing the original, but I managed. Lemme tell you, it was worth the wait to see Dolemite in such splendor.
Directed by and co-starring D'Urville Martin, Dolemite is the story of one man's wrongful conviction, his attempt to redeem himself, and his pursuit of some good poontang while vexing The Man. Like Human Tornado (see CdC #2 for review), there's a bevy of buxom kung-fu killers and plenty of opportunities for Rudy to do bits of his act throughout the film. My favorite being when he is confronted by a group of non-believers to whom he has to prove he is Dolemite and he does this by going into his famous "Signifying Monkey" routine.
After the movie I was spent and just couldn't believe that the best was still yet to come.
It was a mystical experience.
The spotlight came on, the music came up (Also Sprach Zarathustra, fittingly enough) and out came Rudy Ray Moore, down the aisle, passing out flowers to ladies in the audience (who were giving him a standing-o).
Rudy spent a lot of the show sitting on the edge of the stage—not more than seven feet away from me the whole night, as his microphone cord limited his range. This put me in the fabled cat-bird seat as far as being abused went.
The score card ended up that I was made fun of three times (all short-penis jokes—"You might go long, but you'll never go deep!"), Leon twice ("Do you know how to make a pussy pop?") and Steve got direct attention from Rudy just once (I think he might have been scared to do more). I felt so proud.
It was no surprise that I had heard all the jokes before but I didn't care. Just to hear them live made them all sound completely fresh in all sense of the word.
"Man's in a barn fucking a cow..."
The audience was great! You could tell that just about everyone there knew what they were in for, especially towards the end when there were shouts attempting to inspire Rudy to do some of the bits he hadn't done. "How do you stand on free love?" Rudy was more than ready to comply and even did the "Signifying Monkey" again.
After the show the lobby was packed with people trying to buy t-shirts, autographed photos, CDs, and porn tapes (I don't know if they were from Rudy's own collection or what). Rudy signed Leon's personal copy of Rude and my "Rudy Ray Moore Christmas Album." And while I didn't get the full-fledged interview I was hoping for (could you imagine it?) I did get to ask Mr. Moore a few questions after the crowds thinned.
MW: Is Cliff Roquemore still around?
RRM: Yes, he's actually from Detroit and was supposed to be here.
(Note: There are over thirty Roquemores just in Detroit—not to mention more in the rest of the area—so it might take a while to track him down.)
MW: What was up with the mayor's name in Dolemite—I noticed it was cut out.
RRM: We named the character Mayor Dailey but didn't want trouble when it played in Chicago so we went back and just clipped out the audio part whenever anyone said his name.
MW: I was watching Human Tornado the other day and there was a guy in it who looked a lot like Ernie Hudson --
RRM: That was Ernie Hudson.
MW: Really? I looked for his name in the credits but only saw a guy named Louis Hudson.
RRM: Ernie was in the SAG (Screen Actors Guild—ed.) and couldn't use his real name since it was a non-union film so he went under an alias.
MW: Any new films in the works?
RRM: Yes, we should have one out next spring.
When I asked him the name I don't know if he told me. It was hard to understand him since he didn't even look at me when he spoke. Not that he was being rude—he actually seemed totally shy! Crazy, huh? He was really quiet and polite. I believe the description "genteel" has been the best I've heard.
After pledging his undying loyalty, Leon found out that "Close Encounters of the Sexual Kind" should be available on CD soon. So, if you've been like we have, tearing our hair out searching for the album plugged in Rude, your worries should soon be over.
I tried to find out other tour dates so that all of our readers might be able to have the earth-shaking experience that I did, but Rudy didn't have anything lined up. That means he's free, folks, so give him a call and invite him to your town. For a RRM catalogue and/or bookings, write to Comedian International Enterprise, P.O. Box 11591, Los Angeles, CA 90011.
RR Moore Update: His new film is called The Comedy Club—the good news is Rudy's appearing as the Dolemite character. But here's his plot synopsis: Dolemite is running a comedy club and is instructing several young comics on how to ply their trade. This doesn't seem conducive to many kung-fu battles! Maybe a Willie Green type guy will stir up trouble, in which case, bring Rudy's stunt double out of retirement, and let's get it on!—RO
Dole-Might!
Reprinted w/o Permission from "Orbit" magazine.
"Without Dolemite, Big Chief would be vaguely less lovable. He inspired us with his ability to be a lover, fighter and hero to all. He's the überman."—Barry Henssler
"As a lifelong student of astrological love, I found Mr. Moore's LP, The Sensuous Blackman, highly instructional. Without it there would be no Lovemasters."—Bootsey X
To call Rudy Ray Moore an influence on today's music is to say a DUIL is just another traffic ticket.
Moore, a triple-X comedian and movie star in such classic black action films as Disco Godfather and Human Tornado (usually as alter-ego Dolemite), has been credited with being a seminal rap music influence. But few know that Moore has been a guiding force to rock as we know it. Big Chief has name-checked Moore on almost every record. Bootsey X credits Moore as an inspiration on "Hot Pants Power," and there wouldn't be an Orbit Magazine without Dolemite.
On being first: I was rapping back in the '70s. Then in the late '70s and early '80s the youngsters come out doing this type of thing with more of a beat and hip-hop behind it. They start picking up my records and became influenced by them.
Sampling: I've been sampled 52 times. They've been cutting little parts out of my records and putting it on theirs. As a result, a lot of the young rappers call me and ask me to play live with them.
Influence: People such as 2 Live Crew, and the late Easy E. I also did a video with Snoop Doggy Dogg when I did the album The Chronic with Dr. Dre. I'm on it five times. And numerous NWA albums. I rapped live with Big Daddy Kane. And I just did a rap with a popular new rapper, HI-C. And I've been asked to join Ice Cube in one of his new ventures. This is why my popularity has increased lately, for being associated with the rappers of today.
Innovation: I'm the first expressive language comic. I'm the first comedian to ever use a four-letter word on a record that charted on Billboard's selling charts. I also coined the term "Biiiiittttcchhhh!" A lot of comedians and rappers have copied it, especially one called Too Short. He does it exactly like I do it. I would say that I am the originator of hard rap comedy.
On Dolemite: Dolemite means strength. Vitamins give you strength. So this is what I credit it to, but I don't spell it like the vitamin.
Favorite filmmakers: I can't say I have favorite filmmakers because none of the other filmmakers who have come out in recent years have ever called on me to give me any kind of break.
On Detroit: I can't even count the times I played Detroit, including Henry's Palace. You think the black people will come?