The Scatman

February 6, 2011 by Editor
Filed under Retrospective

Scatman Crothers: A New World Vision

Written By: Matt Sanborn
Mondo Film & Video Guide Feature Contributor

“I’m a minstrel man, a cleanin’ man, I’m a poor man, I’m a shoe shine man, I’m a nigga man!”
“Nigger Man,” theme song for Coonskin

Thus sang Scatman Crothers, one of the most underappreciated, talented and misunderstood performers from the Twentieth Century; A driven, tireless worker who was perceived as a Step-n-Fetchit type individual, who was anything but.

Born Benjamin Sherman Crothers, May 23, 1910 in Terre Haute, Indiana the youngest of five children to a clothing store owner and an odd jobber, Crothers received his first instrument at an early age, a drum from his mother, and was a natural at music and performing, picking up guitar, some horns very early on; gigging as early as 15 years old at speakeasies in his home town. In an interview with the NY Times Crothers remembered his birthplace: “Oh, yeah, Terre Haute. They used to call it ‘Terrible Hut’ because it was so wide open. Gambling, red light district, speak-easies.” Segregation was rampant there, where blacks were second class citizens, and in high school he was not allowed on the football team. However, his easy going manner and personality gained him entrance into many white establishments in Terra Haute, as well as securing a position of “Yeller” for his high school football team, (before dropping out during his Sophomore Year to become a full-time musician). He seems to be the only individual there at the time accepted by both blacks and whites. “I did a lot of things blacks didn’t do in my hometown,” he would later remark.

Traveling around the east coast, he arrived in Dayton, Ohio to try out for a radio program on WMSK, (now WING). It is here, at age 22, he coined the moniker Scat Man, after being told by the show’s producer, “We need something snappier” than either Benjamin or Sherman. “Call me Scatman. Because I do quite a bit of scattin’.” He replied, and was billed as “Scatman, the man with a thousand tunes.”

The “scat” coming from the type of singing he did at the time, (and would later teach to college audiences). Years later, it would be Arthur Godfrey himself who crunched the name down to one word – Scatman.

In 1936, during his non-stop touring, he met a white waitress, Helen Sullivan, and the two fell quickly in love. The two tried to marry in Canton, Ohio, but a judgeblocked it due to Crothers being black. The couple went to Cleveland, where they would tie the knot, forming a union that would last a lifetime. Tension did arise within their families, and Scatman’s parents died without ever meeting his wife. Helen opted to stay at home, fearing her presence would cause racial tension amongst his band members, as the young musician began touring the country with his own outfit, Scat Man and his Band, which once played a show for the infamous gangster Al Capone. It was on these long cross country tours where he developed his chops and timing which would play so well in the movies and TV shows to which he would eventually find his way. A star was being born.

In 1949 Crothers found his way out to Las Vegas, discovering the segregation there as bad as in his home town. He refused to enter a night club there through the kitchen, left the area, and would never play that town. He also shattered another racial blockade that year when he was the first African American to win a full time spot on Paramount’s “Dixie Showboat” TV program in Los Angeles. This would give Crothers much clout against claims of being an “Uncle Tom,” which were leveled against him when he refused to openly participate in the Civil Rights movement.

These claims were wholly malicious and false, as Crothers refused to bow down to the inherent racism of America early in his career, and was lauded for his role as Mingo in ROOTS (1976). Louis Armstrong, whom Crothers met and jammed with in his travels, was publically denounced in similar fashion, (although few knew Pops was sending great sums of money to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to keep his freedom marches moving).

In 1950 Scatman made his first appearance on the big screen in the short subject “King Cole Trio and Benny Carter Orchestra,” followed the next year with “Yes Sir, Mr. Bones.” Nineteen more films and short subjects would follow until he hit the public consciousness Disney’s 1970 THE ARISTOCATS as the voice of the trumpet playing Scat Cat.

Bigger films followed in 1972 with LADY SINGS THE BLUES and then in the same year, he was in the first film with his good friend Jack Nicholson, the slow paced KING OF MARVIN GARDENS. Crothers stayed close to his roots, as he then went full force into the Blaxploitation genre with SLAUGHTER’S BIG RIP OFF (1973), DETROIT 9000 (1973), BLACK BELT JONES with Jim Kelly (1974). And of course, we can’t forget his role in the classic piece of non-sense in 1975’s LINDA LOVELACE FOR PRESIDENT.

Momentum built throughout the early 1970s, and 1975 was a breakout year for him with his dual role as an escaped convict and a voice over in “Coonskin,” (aka “Street Fight”) with the amazing Barry White. Then he steals the show as Mr. Turkel in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, where almost every line out of his mouth is a classic. During this period he created the Scatman Crothers Show, a touring revue which would perform live and on TV throughout the decade all over the country. But never in Las Vegas…

From then on it was role after role, on both big and small screens for this talented and dynamic performer. Crothers could do comedy, horror, drama, he had an amazing super-subtle self deprecating way about himself. He was a master of many instruments and a fantastic vocalist. But what might have been the most overlooked thing in his repertoire was his amazing timing – which made him so deadly in comedy. He was a far greater talent than Sammy Davis Jr., whose greatest talent was the company he kept. Scatman could do it all with aplomb.

Sadly, Crothers suffered from the same fate as many of his contemporaries of the era, relegated to roles as janitors, night watchmen, and other menial laborers. One could say that brimming smile was a tow-line to the establishment, but look a little deeper. There was an edge, an anger, and a subtle dignity to his performances. He was so talented, and made the viewer feel so at ease, that many viewers overlook just how great he was. As Sammy Davis, Jr. rode the coat tails of greater celebs, conducting a dubious personal life, Crothers was out there doing it all by himself. On April 8, 1981 he finally received his due credit from the business when he received a star of the Hollywood Walk of fame for motion pictures. It is three tiles from the curb, facing east at 6710 Hollywood Blvd., (GPS location 34.101442, -118.336563).

Crothers was a smoker, and just like what will happen to the rest of you out there sucking on the tobacco stick, it caught up to him. He was diagnosed with an inoperable lung tumor in 1986, but still continued to perform. The cancer spread quickly into his esophagus, silencing one of the greatest and most recognizable voices of last century on November 22, 1986, at 76 years old, leaving behind a daughter, Donna, and his wife of 49 years, Helen Sullivan. He is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California.

A year later he would posthumously be inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. It is apparent by the way he lived his life that skin color meant almost nothing to Scatman Crothers. His wife was white, his daughter is both black and white, he worked with every type of performer there was in his day, and did it for the love of the show. His views on race were far ahead of its time, not behind – the person inside is all that matters: The total elimination of prejudice and hate; Judgment purely on character. “(I) don’t go in for all that flashy business,” he once said. “I tell other people you don’t go by what somebody drives or wears. You can be dressed the best and have a wicked heart.”

It is hard to pick his best role, so I will have to list a few:

HONG KONG PHOOEY – Crothers’ voice was so distinctive and fine that it was only a matter of time before he got a lot of voice work. He did the voice of Meadowlark Lemon in The Harlem Globetrotters, the Transformers and in Mr. Magoo, but he is best remembered for his work as the eponymous character in this beloved Saturday morning cartoon. Playing (sigh) a janitor, Hong Kong jumps into a filing cabinet, flying out kicking and singing the crazy theme song. Scatman had an edgy voice, yet one that kids could warm up to, and he is perfect here. The idea of making a movie of this without Crothers is absolutely criminal, but may well happed soon. (No doubt in 3D).

CHICO AND THE MAN – Not Scatman at his best, as he is relegated to playing a janitor in a show loaded with gross racial stereotypes. Nonetheless it was a big role for him, as he endured lame joke after lame joke about the brightness of his teeth (they’re all eyes and teeth, don’t you know?) and the shininess of his bald head. I never recommend this show, but still, it has Scatman – and he shows how to play a degrading role with dignity and style. It’s still a bit depressing to realize although a major, and probably well-paying role, this is what Crothers was given to portray – a frigging janitor.

SANFORD AND SON – Guest starring as “Bow Legs,” in the “The Stand Ins” episode, Crothers flat out rocks the roof off of this show when he does a (sadly truncated) version of his best-ever song “Do Somethin’.” He also does a sweet take of “All of Me,” and the best, and perhaps only great performance of the song “Nagasaki,” while Red Foxx does a wild dance in a grass skirt in time to the beat. The man really shows his ability to do comedy, light drama, sing and play guitar. But lookout! Bow Legs has to run for his life as it is discovered he introduced Fred to Aunt Esther!

THE SHINING - Playing grounds keeper (ugh) and fellow Shiner, he stars with good friend Jack Nicholson, and is best remembered for two things in this film. The first of course is his screaming death by axe at the hands of a mad man. The second is the scene of him sitting on his bed with the naked lady oil painting on black velvet bedecking his walls. Just freeze frame this shot and take in the awesomeness of it all. You won’t regret it. Crothers absolutely loved his cast mates, but found Stanley Kubrick’s style a bit tiring. “That movie was all right to make, but you know Stanley likes to do a lot of takes. It gets kind of boring, but when you take a job you do it,” he would later say. Crothers would be awarded the Best Supporting Actor award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films and an NAACP Image award for his role.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST – Scatman steals the show in 1975’s Best Picture of the Year. Crothers is a standout in a super memorable classic as night watchman Mr. Turkle who lets the inmates run the asylum for a piece of pussy and some booze. He has some amazing lines like “You slim motherfucker!” “A man gets lonely at night,” “Martini!” “Get outta here, this is my goddamn job!” and “Ain’t nobody beatin’ nothin’!” He shows great range, and although only on the screen for less than 15 minutes, puts in a performance for the ages.

ZAPPED! – Yeah that movie starring Chachi and Bible Man. This is a flat out 1980s sex comedy turd, but man are there two stand out performers, (and no not Heather Thomas’s tits). Scatman plays baseball coach Dexter Jones who is obsessed with eating chili dogs and salami. He opens a boiler where pot is burning, gets mad high, and trips over to the other side where Albert Einstein tries to teach him to relax by riding a bike and not eating such unhealthy foods. But O NO! here comes his wife played by LaWanda (Aunt Esther) Page, who chases him down with a bazooka, screaming at him “You ugly spasm!” Frigging brilliant.

COONSKIN (aka STREET FIGHT) – Crothers plays a double role playing an escaped older convict and a cartoon character. Along with the immortal Barry White, this live action/cartoon hybrid moves along fairly predictable lines, but seeing some of these legends work together is well worth searching the movie out. Crothers also sings a fantastic version of “Nigger Man” to open the film. When this film opened there was a lot of controversy around it from the language, to the theme song, to the title – leading it to be changed to Street Fight.