My mother was a character who was both fascinating and frustrating. If there was a certain stereotype of what a Black mother in South Central Los Angeles should've been like, she broke through it. For a guy who became a classic film fan when he was in grade school, she was a great mother to have. She was a film fan, a theater fan and a book fan. She introduced me to the poetry of Robert Frost, the significance of Josephine Baker, the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, the comedy of Jackie "Moms" Mabley, Duke Ellington's music and the brilliance of actress Judy Holliday. If I wanted to know who a specific celebrity was or what kind of work made that celebrity famous, Mom could do an imitation of that celebrity. I loved her imitations of French singer Edith Piaf and Martha Raye.
One day, when I was in high school, I asked Mom "Before you decided to become a registered nurse, what did you want to be when you were a girl?" She immediately and joyfully answered "Eleanor Powell dancing with a turban on my head!"
In memory of my mother, here is Eleanor Powell dancing in the 1942 MGM musical comedy, SHIP AHOY. That's Buddy Rich on drums. Happy Mother's Day.
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