As you all know, I'm possibly the biggest fan of the grindhouse era of movies, save for maybe afew directors and actors in the movie business, with that said, I sit here with some sad news, recently, October 19th infact, Rudy Ray Moore, one of the most important figures in the 1970s Blaxploitation era passed away. Rudy was one of my favorites of all time, and I had to sit here and think of the best way to word my write up on his passing. For those of you who aren't aware of who Rudy Ray Moore is, well, shame on you, you aren't movie fans by any means, Rudy is better known as his jive walking, rhyme talking, kung fu hoe pimpin alter ego, Dolemote The Human Tornado, and to a lesser extent, his other well known characters, Petey Wheatstraw, the Devil's Son Inlaw and The Disco Godfather, honestly, one could argue the The Disco Godfather, though a hilarious movie, really should be left forgotten, but thats side point.
Now, you might roll your eyes and scoff at the idea of me being overly nostalgic about Rudy and his career, but if you are seriously unaware of the impact he had on american and world pop culture, you need not look any farther away then a television set, a sound system, or dvd player. See, Rudy's signature character, Dolemite, made such an impact that almost immediately, you saw his effects, most noted are Huggy Bear on Starski and Hutch, James "JJ" Evans Jr. from the tv series Good Times, as well as the style and personalities of many early rappers and the overall look of Afro Samurai.
You see, what made Dolemite stand out from earlier heroes of the Blaxploitation era, chracters like The Mack, Sweetback, John Shaft, Hammer and many others, was that at first glance, Dolemite looked to be a villain, most people wouldn't really connect a pimp with being a hero, they would just assume he's a womanizing abusive thug, but Dolemite was different, he gave back to those around him and he treated those who treated him well, with respect and kindness, though he makes no excuses for what he does for a living, he does however make it a point to be seen in a positive light. Now some might find it insane, to portray a pimp as a hero, but, well, in 1975 black america, everyone was getting their hustle on and giving back what they could to the people around them. Dolemite also cared for his hoes, unlike most pimps in movies, all of Dolemite's hoes, or "honeys" as he called them, were masters of various forms of kung fu, and they weren't reprimanded for using this against men if they acted up, they also would, when called to arms by their leader Queen Bee, assemble around their leader Dolemite and fight side by side with him for whatever cause he felt needed them. Infact in the second movie "The Human Tornado" Dolemite even goes to great length to save his "kung fu honeys" and Queen Bee from some mobsters.
It was the impact of Dolemite, along with Petey Wheatstraw and The Disco Godfather, that made Rudy so important to pop culture, he made so much money as these characters that he hardly had to do any other acting work for the rest of his life, mostly when he would appear, it would be playing one of the three characters, normally Dolemite and afew times Petey, and in one case all three at different points in a low budget movie spoofing the blaxploitation genre as a whole, with the obligatory jokes about how they all look the same, in the same film Pam Grier reprises all of her roles, with the same jokes about how they look alike.
Rudy also continued his famed characters in many of his comedy albums that would follow his acting career, he had a style of comedy much like his contemporaries Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx, foul mouthed skits and dirty jokes mixed with characters that would appear on each album. Many claim this is really where Rudy shined, more so then his acting.
So in the end, I'll miss Rudy, though he had fallen on hard times near the end and was sick with diabetes, and many had forgotten his name, but i never did. And I'll continue to laugh at characters created in his archetype, as I always have, and I'll still love to sit and watch Rudy's movies, even if I'm ahead of the respect curve on this, but then i always seem to be when it comes to entertainment.
Rest In Peace Dolemite, may you pimp them hoes in heaven as you did down here, with style, class and knowing how to bust some ass, human tornado style.
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Laz
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