Two Black Crows

The Two Black Crows (also called The Black Crows and Moran and Mack) was a blackface comedy act popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The duo appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio, comedy records, and in film features and shorts.

History

The act was originated by Charles Sellers (1888–1934), who hired actor John Swor as his partner. "Swor & Mack" enjoyed moderate success until Swor left the act. He was replaced by George Moran. The team of Moran and Mack caught on and became major recording stars. ''The Two Black Crows'' became a weekly radio show in 1928; Moran and Mack also guest-starred on Fred Waring's radio show in 1933.

Although Moran and Mack's gags were mostly corny and the characters were stereotypical (one practical but naive, the other seemingly slow and lazy yet quick with a quip and a certain skewed logic), the relationship depicted plus their laconic delivery made them one of the most successful of comedy teams.

The team was known for two catchphrases. Moran would remind Mack of some unfortunate event, causing Mack to say, "Why bring up?" Mack frequently would interrupt Moran's description of something with a drawling "What that?"

The duo of Moran and Mack appeared in vaudeville with W.C. Fields, on Broadway in the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' of 1920 and in '' Earl Carroll's Vanities'' in the mid-1920s. They also appeared in ''George White's Scandals'' and ''The Greenwich Village Follies''.

At the height of their popularity, after completing their first talking feature film, Moran had a salary dispute with Mack and sued him in 1930. A judge ruled that Mack legally owned the act and could pay whatever salary he wanted. Moran quit.

He was replaced by John Swor's brother, Bert Swor, who adopted the name Moran. The second "Moran and Mack" talkie (without George Moran) faltered at the box office, and the team made no further films until 1933, when the low-budget Educational Pictures studio hired them for a feature film and a series of "Two Black Crows" short subjects.

Charles Mack died in an automobile accident on January 11, 1934. This ended the act, although George Moran did try to revive it with other partners.

Moran would later appear in three W. C. Fields films, '' The Fatal Glass of Beer'', '' My Little Chickadee'', and '' The Bank Dick''.

Moran died on August 1, 1949.

Legacy

Their catch phrase, "Who wants a worm, anyhow?", was the punchline to a lengthy dialogue that Moran initiated by telling Mack that, "The early bird catches the worm". Mack had never heard the expression, so he took it literally, and frustrated Moran by repeatedly asking inane questions about the saying. "Who wants a worm, anyhow?" was the closing statement by the crow in a Warner Bros. cartoon called '' The Wacky Worm'', and parts of the routine appeared in other Warner cartoons.

Jokes

Typical joke:
:MACK: On our farm, we had a thousand , an' 999 o'em laid eggs.
:MORAN: What was wrong with de udder one?
:MACK: Uh, he was de head man.

Once Moran played a blast on his kazoo.

:MACK (annoyed): Boy, even if dat was , I wouldn't like it!
:MORAN: I can play on dis!
:MACK: You caint play on dat!

Another gag was:

:MACK: I'll meet you down by de pig-pen. You better keep yo hat on so's I'll know ya!

Even a watermelon joke, the essence of racial stereotyping, took on a certain surrealist air in their hands:
:MACK: Wish I had an ice-cold .
:MORAN: Oh lawdy. Me too.
:MACK: Wish I had a thousand ice-cold .
:MORAN: Glory be. I bet if you had a thousand ice-cold , you'd give me one.
:MACK: No, no siree! If you are too lazy to wish for your own , you ain't gon' git none o' mine.

Films

Recordings

* Early Bird Catches the Worm (3/14/1927)
* All About the Lions (7/18/1927)
* Curiosities on the Farm (11/14/1927)
* No Matter How Hungry the Horse Is, He Can't Eat a Bit (11/25/1927; 12/23/1927)
* B Our Child (12/22/1927) (as Charles E. Mack)
* Elder Eatmore's Sermon on Throwing Stones (12/23/1927)
* Two Black Crows Part 1/Part 2 (Columbia #935-D) (1928) (78 RPM)
* Two Black Crows Part 3/Part 4 (Columbia #1094-D) (1928) (78 RPM)
* Two Black Crows Part 5/Part 6 (Columbia #1198-D) (1928) (78 RPM)
* Two Black Crows Part 7/Part 8 (Columbia #1350-D) (1928) (78 RPM)
* Two Black Crows in the Jailhouse Part 1/Part 2 (Columbia #1560-D) (9/8/1928) (78 RPM)
* Two Black Crows in Hades Part 1/Part 2 (Columbia #1652-D) (11/14/1928)
* Courthouse Bump - Jelly Roll Morton's Orchestra (7/9/1929)
* Foolishments (6/5/1929)
* Esau Buck (6/4/1929)
* Drag 'Em - Mary Lou Williams (piano) (12/1930)

References

External links

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American comedy duos
American comedy troupes
Blackface minstrel performers
Columbia Records artists
Educational Pictures
American vaudeville performers