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Tess Gardella (1894–1950)

Actress | Soundtrack

Trivia:

Ms. Gardella was a white Italian-American stage performer, but her usual stage persona, and actual stage name, was "Aunt Jemima", which she performed in blackface. It was in this persona that she played Queenie, the African-American cook, and wife of Joe, the deckhand, in the original Broadway production of "Show Boat" in 1927... See more trivia »

Born:

in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Died:

(age 55) in Brooklyn, New York, USA
1 video | 16 news articles »

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Filmography

Hide HideActress (8 titles)
1947 Big Time Revue (short) (as Aunt Jemima)
 
1939 A Swing Opera (short)
The Gypsy Queen (as Tess 'Aunt Jemima' Gardella)
 
1936 Vitaphone Troupers (short)
Aunt Jemima (as Aunt Jemima)
 
1934 Stand Up and Cheer!
Aunt Jemima (as 'Aunt Jemima')
 
1932 Rambling 'Round Radio Row #3 (short)
Aunt Jemima (as Aunt Jemima)
 
1930 Honey
Aunt Jemima (uncredited)
 
1929 Show Boat
Queenie [prologue] (as Aunt Jemima)
 
1927 Aunt Jemima: The Original Fun Flour Maker (short)
Aunt Jemima (as Aunt Jemima)
 
Hide HideSoundtrack (6 titles)
1936 Vitaphone Troupers (short) (performer: "Clementine from New Orleans" - uncredited)
 
1934 Stand Up and Cheer! (performer: "I'm Laughin'" 1934 - uncredited)
 
1932 Rambling 'Round Radio Row #3 (short) (performer: "I Ain't Got Nobody Much and Nobody Cares for Me" - uncredited / as Aunt Jemima)
 
1930 Honey (performer: "Sing You Sinners")
 
1929 Show Boat (performer: "C'mon Folks" Queenie's Ballyhoo / 1927 - uncredited, "Hey, Feller!" 1927 - uncredited)
 
1927 Aunt Jemima: The Original Fun Flour Maker (short) (performer: "My Idea of Heaven" - uncredited, " That's the Reason I Wish I Was in Dixie" - uncredited, "One Sweet Letter from You" - uncredited, "Everybody Stomp" - uncredited, "I Was Born in Virginia" - uncredited)
 
Hide HideArchive Footage (3 titles)
2004 Broadway: The American Musical (TV series documentary)
 
1996 Biography (TV series documentary)
 
1989 The Show Boat Story (TV documentary)
Queenie (silent home movie footage from 1932 revival) (uncredited)
 

Related Videos

Biography: : -- Explores the life of legendary showman Florenz Ziegfeld, from his family's conservative Chicago Musical College to his lavish and scandalous Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920s.
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Personal Details

Alternate Names:

'Aunt Jemima' | Tess 'Aunt Jemima' Gardella | Aunt Jemima
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Did You Know?

Trivia:

Ms. Gardella was a white Italian-American stage performer, but her usual stage persona, and actual stage name, was "Aunt Jemima", which she performed in blackface. It was in this persona that she played Queenie, the African-American cook, and wife of Joe, the deckhand, in the original Broadway production of "Show Boat" in 1927... See more »

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