Wearing a baggy housedress, floppy shoes, a knit cap, and toothless smile, “Moms” Mabley simply had to walk onstage to get a laugh and when she went into her act it was clear why she was labeled “the funniest woman alive. “The matriarch of comedy for decades before her death in 1975, Mabley’s down-home brand of humor included jokes, stories, advice, philosophy, and her own special take on the social and political conditions of the day. Another constant theme was her disdain for old men and her almost fanatical appreciation of the younger sort. “There ain’t nothing an old man can do for me but bring me a message from a young one,” became one of her most famous lines.

Finding fame in Harlem in the 1920s, Mabley appeared at the hallowed Apollo Theater more than any other performer, but mainstream success with white America eluded her until the early sixties when she recorded a string of popular comedy albums. Her audience-”my children,” as she called them-continued to grow but Mabley didn’t make an appearance on television until a Harry Belafonte special in 1967 and her only major movie role was in 1974’s Amazing Grace, released less than a year before her death. Still, Mabley’s legacy as a pioneer in comedy is unwavering and she continues to be saluted in plays about her life and by young black comedians who cite her as an influence.