Mammy Two Shoes
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"Mammy Two Shoes" is the name incorrectly attributed to a fictional character in
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
's ''
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...
'' cartoons. She is a middle-aged
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. ...
woman based on the mammy stereotype. As a partially-seen character, her head was rarely seen, except in a few cartoons including ''Part Time Pal'' (1947), ''A Mouse in the House'' (1947), '' Mouse Cleaning'' (1948), and '' Saturday Evening Puss'' (1950). Mammy appeared in 19 cartoons, from '' Puss Gets the Boot'' (1940) to '' Push-Button Kitty'' (1952). Her appearances have often been edited out, dubbed, or re-animated in later television showings, since the mammy stereotype is now usually considered
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
. Her creation points to the ubiquity of stereotype in American
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
,Walker-Barnes (2014), p. 86 and the character was removed from the series after 1953 due to protests from the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
.


Theatrical ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons

The housekeeper's debut appearance was in '' Puss Gets the Boot'' (1940), while her last appearance was in '' Push-Button Kitty'' (1952). She was originally voiced by well-known African-American character actress Lillian Randolph.Cohen (2004), p. 57 She was the second prominent
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
character of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, following
Bosko Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series and was the star of thirty-nine ''Looney Tunes'' shorts released by Warn ...
. She appeared in 19 ''
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...
'' animated shorts between 1940 and 1952. One of her roles in the films was to set up the plot by warning Tom that she will toss him out of the house if he failed to act according to her wishes. She invariably catches Tom acting against her orders, and there are grave consequences. Naturally, it is Jerry who sabotages Tom to get him in trouble.Cohen (2004), p. 56-57 She always called Tom by his full name ''Thomas'' (originally ''Jasper''), and frequently used
African-American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban communities, by most working- and middle-class African Americans and some Black Canadians. Having its own unique grammatical, voc ...
with a Southern accent. Her signature quotes are "Land Sakes!" and "What in the world is going on in here?"—the latter of which is usually delivered upon rushing in to investigate the commotion being caused by Tom and Jerry. Cultural norms at the time led viewers to believe she was the maid due to her apron and ethnicity.
Housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...
,
financial Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
, and
residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...
segregation of Black Americans was the norm before the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
. Later, through dialogue and occasional behavior, it was suggested that the house was her own. One example is that, because she has her own bedroom in the short ''Sleepy-Time Tom'' (1951), it raises the possibility of her being the owner of the house, as no other human is present in the house in shorts she appears. She refers to it as "my house" in ''Saturday Evening Puss''. Nevertheless, the cutting continuity filed with each short at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
always referred to the character as "Maid".Lehman (2007), p. 96 "Mammy Two-Shoes" was never the name of the housekeeper in any of the classic ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons. In a 1975 article in ''
Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film ...
'', she was incorrectly identified as "Mammy Two-Shoes", a moniker that has been inaccurately attributed to the character ever since. The name "Mammy Two-Shoes" originated on the Disney model sheets for a character in a ''
Silly Symphony ''Silly Symphony'' (also known as ''Silly Symphonies'') is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Si ...
'' cartoon, though the name was never spoken in the cartoon. A similar housekeeper then appeared in MGM Bosko cartoons by Harman and Ising, also without a name. At no time was the name ever used in any ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoon. The author of the 1975 article later apologized, but by then, the incorrect information had become widely accepted, including on the DVD releases of the cartoons. In the script read by
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
on the '' Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 2'' DVD set—while explaining the importance of African-American representation in the cartoon series, however stereotyped—the incorrect name is mentioned numerous times. The housekeeper character was retired from the ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons by
William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...
and
Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known as the co-founder of the animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian Americans, Italian immigrants in New York City, Bar ...
following several years of protests and condemnations from the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
. A 1949 reissue of the 1943 short '' The Lonesome Mouse'' prompted the start of the NAACP's campaign against ''Tom and Jerry''.Lehman (2007), p. 97-99 In this short, she is scared by Jerry onto a stool and shakes with fear as a diamond ring, false teeth, a pair of dice, and a straight razor fall from beneath her dress. In response to the NAACP's campaign and angry about the potential loss of acting roles, Lillian Randolph questioned the authority of then-NAACP president Walter White, stating that the light-complexioned White was "only one-eighth
Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...
and not qualified to speak for Negroes". When Randolph departed from ''Tom and Jerry'' to appear on television, Hanna and Barbera declined to recast the voice role and the character ceased to appear in the cartoons.


Censorship, discontinuation, and callbacks

Rembrandt Films produced 13 ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts and they were released from 1961 to 1962. Director
Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...
stated in an interview that he opted not to use the character in the 13 shorts, as he felt a "stereotypical black housekeeper" character "didn't work in a modern context".
MGM Animation/Visual Arts MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an American animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman and executive Walter Bien as Sib Tower 12 Productions. Its productions include the last series of ''T ...
, under the supervision of
Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...
, created replacement characters for the ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons featuring her for television. These versions used
rotoscoping Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, live-action film images were projected onto a glass panel and traced onto paper. This pr ...
techniques to replace the housekeeper on-screen with a similarly stocky white woman (in most shorts) or a thin white woman (in ''Saturday Evening Puss''); Randolph's voice on the soundtracks was replaced by an Irish-accented (or, in ''Puss'', generic young adult) voice performed by actress
June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...
.Cohen (2004), p. 57 After
Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its asse ...
acquired ''Tom and Jerry'' from MGM in 1986, the cartoons featuring this character were edited again. This time, Lillian Randolph's voice was replaced with that of
Thea Vidale Thea R. Vidale (born November 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. Vidale is perhaps best known for her role as Thea Armstrong-Turrell in the ABC sitcom '' Thea'', which originally aired from 1993 until 1994. Vidale is noted a ...
, who re-recorded the dialogue to remove the
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
from 1989 to 2001. These re-recorded versions of the cartoons would air on Turner's
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
–related cable channels, and have at times turned up on DVD as well. However, some European TV showings of these cartoons, especially the UK, as well as the US DVD release of '' Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection'', '' Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection'', and '' Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection'' and the US DVD and Blu-ray releases of '' Tom and Jerry Golden Collection'', retain Randolph's original voice. The Region 2 ''Complete Collectors Edition'' DVD boxset has Vidale's voice on the first DVD and Randolph in a number of the episodes after that (such as '' A Mouse in the House'' and '' Mouse Cleaning''). A white woman named " Mrs. Two-Shoes" appeared in some episodes of '' Tom and Jerry Tales,'' which marks the first time the "Two-Shoes" name was used''.'' She had most aspects of the original character's personality with a similar name.


Name

Within the animated canon of ''Tom and Jerry'', the character is never referred to by any name. In the known written publications of the period by the studio, she is referred to by generic terms such as "the housekeeper" or "the maid". The first known official name given to the character was Dinah, which originated in the comic book series ''Our Gang Comics''. A very similar character, who was also played by Lillian Randolph, had appeared previously in Disney's ''
Silly Symphony ''Silly Symphony'' (also known as ''Silly Symphonies'') is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Si ...
'' series, most notably '' Three Orphan Kittens'' (1935). This is the character that originated the name Mammy Two-Shoes, but only on the model sheets, not in the finished cartoon. In the context of the book, "Mammy Twoshoes" is a nickname playfully given to her by the kittens, due to the fact that her big shoes is what stands out about her in their perspective. The similarity between the two characters would cause the conflation of their identities. In a 1975 article in ''
Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film ...
'', animator Mark Kausler referred to the ''Tom and Jerry'' character as Mammy Two-Shoes, elaborating that she was "so named because her face was never shown; only shots from the mid-shoulders down". The name would then establish its usage in official material. For example, the 2005 DVD '' Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 2'' includes an introduction featuring
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
explaining the racial stereotyping in the cartoons, where she explicitly refers to the character as "Mammy Two Shoes". However, Kausler later recented and apologized for the error and recanted it later. The article stood unchanged and was used as reference, which was followed by more articles and features with the inaccuracy.


Featured shorts


References


References


External references

* * * {{Tom and Jerry African-American-related controversies Animated human characters Black characters in animation Female characters in animation American female characters in television African-American characters in television Film characters introduced in 1940 Fictional maids Self-censorship Ethnic humour Stereotypes of African Americans Tom and Jerry characters Television censorship MGM cartoon characters Unseen characters Animated film controversies African-American-related controversies in film Race-related controversies in animation Race-related controversies in television Race-related controversies in film Animated characters introduced in 1940 African-American characters in films