Slappy White

American comedian and actor (1921–1995)

Melvin Edward "Slappy" White (September 27, 1921 – November 7, 1995) was an American comedian and actor. He worked with Redd Foxx on the Chitlin' Circuit of stand up comedy during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared on the television shows Sanford and Son, That's My Mama, Blossom, and Cybill and in the films Mr. Saturday Night and Amazon Women on the Moon.

White was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 27, 1921. White joined a traveling carnival and made a living as a tap dancer with the troupe. He was eventually picked up by police and returned to his family, but could not trade show business for school. He received his nickname from the manager of a local theater where he entered a talent contest with a friend; the manager billed them as "Slap and Happy".

He began his career as a dancer and did not turn to comedy until 1940 when he joined with a fellow hoofer in the "Two Zephyrs" to replace one of its members who had previously passed away. White and his partner, Clarence Schelle, had appeared on The Major Bowes Amateur Hour. The "Two Zephyrs" made the circuits together for over four years appearing with such notables as Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and many others. Some years before, White had met and married Pearl Bailey, when both of them were still relatively unknown professionally. Bailey's career was on the rise; she was performing in the better nightclubs with people like Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway while White was still struggling in lesser venues. The marriage was in trouble at the time White and Foxx first met. "Slappy's" solo career started in 1951 when Dinah Washington requested him to introduce her act at the Black Hawk in San Francisco. "Slappy" was such a hit with the patrons, she kept him on as her opening act. He was once also married to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and blues belter, LaVern Baker (1929–1997). White was a performer in Las Vegas for many years. In the 1950s while he was on the bill with Dinah Washington, White performed his routine which made the nightclub's manager the target of his jokes. While there was nothing offensive about the jokes White told, there was an unwritten rule about black comedians targeting whites in this manner. The manager fired White, but changed his mind about the comedian's employment when Dinah Washington indicated she would withdraw her entire act because of White's firing. He was also well known as a comedian who eschewed offensive material in his nightclub act. In 1969, he formed a new comedy team called Rossi and White with Steve Rossi, who formerly worked with Marty Allen. The pair entertained at the White House in May of the same year. Rossi and White also performed their act aboard a National Overseas Airlines flight from Chicago to Spain. The airline had hoped that providing live entertainment on their flights would boost ticket sales. Later in life, he performed under his given name on his friend Redd Foxx's TV show Sanford and Son as Fred's friend, also named Melvin, and had a million dollar contract to perform at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas in 1973. In 1986 Milton Berle planned to introduce a new situation comedy called Moscow & Vine, with White as his co star on the show. White's role was to be that of Berle's old vaudeville partner and as an employee in the music store owned by Berle's character. At one time, Berle hoped to syndicate the program. White was best known in later years for the Friars' Club roasts, where he routinely appeared along with other comedians, including Milton Berle, Jackie Vernon, Pat Buttram and Dick Shawn. White enjoyed a minor renaissance after his death owing to bootleg recordings of Friars' Club roasts that became available through comedy record outlets. His name was used on an episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Money", in which Seinfeld uses "Slappy White" as his own name.

White died of a heart attack at his home in Brigantine, New Jersey, just 38 days after the death of his long time friend George Kirby. At the time of his death, White was preparing to retire from acting and was in the process of moving from Los Angeles to New Jersey.