Streeter Blair (1 results)

Foxx, Redd. Annotated typescript, owned and marked by Redd Foxx (1922-1991), one of the most influential Black comedians of the twentieth century. Foxx, who emerged from the Chitlin' Circuit nightclub tradition before achieving national fame in the sitcom Sanford and Son, helped carry African American vernacular humor into mainstream American media. The present script, containing short prose meditations and moral-philosophical fragments, is attributed to mid-century American painter Streeter Blair. The script does not have a clear narrative arc, but grapples with themes including morality and hypocrisy ("Who made these rules of the illegals, the immorals? NOT GOD."), gender relations, spiritual self-determination, mortality, and American ambition. Some passages refer directly to Blair's life and childhood, including his time at the University of Kansas and his small town upbringing. The notated passages and red-pencil emphases indicate a working document, offering insight into Foxx's interpretive sensibility and editorial selection. Redd Foxx. Untitled working typescript (internal headings include "Notes from Drawing Books," "Path Up the Mountain," "People Are Clever") by Streeter Blair. 100 pages. Mimeographed leaves, rectos only, secured with brass fasteners at left margin. Numerous red pencil circles and check marks throughout; occasional marginal emphasis marks; evidence of handling consistent with performance or rehearsal use. Edge wear with small chips and closed tears, most notably to upper and lower fore-edge corners; minor damp staining and wormholing on the first few leaves, but the vast majority are clean; fastening holes reinforced by metal brads; overall good to very good condition. A materially revealing artifact of Black performance history, preserving the working textual engagement of a transformative figure in twentieth-century American comedy.