Mabel Ridley (January 1894 – April 18, 1938) was an American mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...

and

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

in the 1920s and 1930s.

Early life

Mabel Ridley was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georg ...

, to Charles and Katherine Ridley in January 1894. Her family were

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Catholics who had been in the area for several generations. Back in 1843, on the occasion of their marriage, Mabel Ridley's grandparents Ulysses Ridley and Antoinette (Dugas) Ridley had been recorded as

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...

. Ridley had two sisters, Julia and Antoinette. Ridley later said that her first language was

Gullah The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cul ...

and her second English. It appears that Ridley may have been married to a man surnamed Edwards.

Career as performer

Mabel Ridley was educated at Augusta's

Haines Institute Lucy Craft Laney (April 13, 1854 – October 23, 1933) was an American educator who in 1883 founded the first school for black children in Augusta, Georgia. She was principal for 50 years of the Haines Institute for Industrial and Normal Ed ...

, which was founded by African-American educator

Lucy Craft Laney Lucy Craft Laney (April 13, 1854 – October 23, 1933) was an American educator who in 1883 founded the first school for black children in Augusta, Georgia. She was principal for 50 years of the Haines Institute for Industrial and Normal Ed ...

. The school nurtured her musical abilities, and after she left she moved to New York. Early on, Ridley appeared in several productions by the

Tutt Brothers Salem Tutt Whitney ( Salem Tutt; 15 November 1875 – 12 February 1934) and J. Homer Tutt ( Jacob Homer Tutt; 31 January 1882 – 10 February 1951), known collectively as the Tutt Brothers, were American vaudeville producers, writers, and performe ...

, including a touring musical, ''Non-Sense'' (1925), and two touring revues, ''Rainbow Chasers'' (1925) and ''Everybody's Talking'' (1925). Also in 1926, she appeared in the musical revue ''Desires of 1927'', which was cowritten by

Andy Razaf Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". Biography Razaf was born in Wash ...

. In 1927, she appeared in the touring vaudeville revue ''Miss Bandanna'', by

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's '' Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...

and starring

Moms Mabley Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), known by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on the theater stage in the 1920s and became a veteran entertainer of th ...

. In 1929, she appeared on Broadway in another Tutt Brothers production, the musical comedy ''Deep Harlem'', which took as its subject black history in America from slavery through the 1920s. It featured music by

Joe Jordan Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish football player, coach and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at AFC Bournemouth. A former striker, he played for Leeds United, Manchester United, and Milan, among others at club ...

, and Ridley played several roles in the show, including Princess Ola. Underfunded, it closed quickly, and Ridley shortly thereafter joined a revue, ''Ebony Show Boat'', that opened in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, toured to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and then returned to New York. A year later, Ridley performed in the first run of

Marc Connelly Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. Biogra ...

's Pulitzer Prize–winning drama ''

The Green Pastures ''The Green Pastures'' is a play written in 1930 by Marc Connelly adapted from ''Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun'' (1928), a collection of stories written by Roark Bradford. The play was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. It had th ...

''. That same year, she performed with the Heaven Gate Singers in ''Scarlet Sister Mary'', a play based on a Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name by South Carolina author

Julia Peterkin Julia Peterkin (October 31, 1880 – August 10, 1961) was an American author from South Carolina. In 1929 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Novel/Literature for her novel ''Scarlet Sister Mary.'' She wrote several novels about the plantation South ...

and starring

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regard ...

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people, Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of ...

. The last role Ridley is known to have performed was Clara in a Charleston, South Carolina, production of

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's opera ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy'', its ...

''. Ridley died in New York on April 18, 1938. Her funeral was attended by an estimated 3,000 people. Students from the Peter Pan Dancing School, where she taught, performed a song. Members of the newly-formed

Negro Actors Guild Negro Actors Guild of America (NAG) was formed in 1936 and began operation in 1937 to create better opportunities for black actors during a period in America where the country was at a crossroads regarding how its citizens of color would be depic ...

also took part. A second funeral was held April 24 at the Immaculate Conception church in Augusta. She was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in that city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Mabel 1894 births 1938 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women opera singers African-American women opera singers