Bob Height was an American 19th century

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

performer. He was a standout talent in the companies with which he performed, although frustrations eventually drove him to pursue a career in Europe. Later writers have compared him to his contemporary,

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. While some sources have ...

.Toll 203. Height joined with Charles Hicks in the late 1860s to form Hicks and Height's Georgia Minstrels. This company proved quite popular among African Americans, particularly in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area. Eventually, both Hicks and Height joined Sam Hague's Slave Troupe of Georgia Minstrels. Height became a featured talent and accompanied the troupe on a European tour in the early 1870s. Upon the troupe's return to the US in 1872,

Charles Callender Charles Callender was the owner of blackface minstrel troupes that featured African-American performers. Although a tavern owner by trade, he entered show business in 1872, when he purchased Sam Hague's Slave Troupe of Georgia Minstrels. Renami ...

purchased it and changed the name to Callender's Original Georgia Minstrels. The new owner helped lead the company to great success, and Height enjoyed high billing alongside

Billy Kersands Billy Kersands (c. 1842 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana – June 30, 1915 in Artesia, New Mexico) was an African-American comedian and dancer. He was the most popular black comedian of his day, best known for his work in blackface minstrelsy. In addit ...

and Pete Devonear. Before long, however, Height and several other performers quit Callender's in a dispute over pay and recognition. They formed a new company, but it saw little success; most of the players soon rejoined Callender's troupe. Height instead emigrated to Europe, where he performed for many years.

Notes

References

*Toll, Robert C. (1974). ''Blacking Up: The Minstrel Show in Nineteenth-century America''. New York: Oxford University Press. *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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Height, Bob Year of birth missing Place of birth missing Year of death missing African-American male comedians African-American comedians American male comedians American male dancers American male singers Blackface minstrel performers African-American male singers