Lollypop Jones

Onnie "Lollypop" Jones (November 8, 1897 – August 22, 1954)[1] was an American vaudeville entertainer and comedian who performed for African-American audiences on stage and film in the 1940s.

Born in Madison, Georgia,[1][2] he worked as a singer, dancer and comedian in vaudeville. In 1927, he appeared in a traveling revue, Keep Movin'.[3] He also performed in nightclubs, including the Dew Drop Inn, in New Orleans.[4][5] He made commercials for Jax Beer, and took the starring role in several low budget 1946 films including Midnight Menace (also known as The Hidden Menace), Lucky Gamblers, and Chicago After Dark.[6][7] In Midnight Menace, Jones plays a version of himself in a 24-minute all-black musical comedy film.[8] These and many similar films were made on a low budget by the All-American News company in Chicago, and were shown almost exclusively in African-American movie theaters.[9]

Jones died in 1954, following a lengthy illness.[4]

Filmography

References
  1. Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941. Microfilm publication M1916, 134 rolls. ARC ID: 596118. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92. National Archives at Washington, D.C., Ancestry.com
  2. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, Ancestry.com
  3. Bernard L. Peterson Jr., A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African Americans, ABC-CLIO, 1993, p.207
  4. The Pittsburgh Courier, September 4, 1954, p.3
  5. Jeff Hannusch, "The South's Swankiest Night Spot: The Legend of the Dew Drop Inn", IkoIko.com Archived 2017-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 September 2015
  6. Lollypop Jones search results, eMovie.com
  7. The Hidden Menace, Norton Herrick Center for Motion Picture Studies, University of Miami
  8. "Midnight Menace", BlackHorrorMovies.com
  9. Chicago After Dark, SeparateCinema.com
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