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born 1894

Moms Mabley had a rocky childhood. She lost both parents to tragic accidents; she dealt with sexual abuse and teen pregnancies. But she always knew she'd make it as a performer. And she did ~ becoming a towering comic success so well-loved as to be dubbed "The funniest woman in the world" by fans + so loving as to be nicknamed "Moms" by fellow performers.

Whether on stage or screen, in variety shows or hit albums, Moms always brought the house down as her dowdy + toothless, straight-talking alter ego. Her famous act offered hilarious challenges to accepted wisdom + manners ~ and, an inspiration to the next generation of fearless comedians.

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her quotes

all quotes by Moms Mabley (11)

"If Elizabeth can run England, I can run America. What has she got that I didn't use to have and where can I get it again?"

Behind the Laughter of Jackie (Moms) Mabley | august 1962

"There ain't nothin' an old man can do for me but bring me a message from a young one...I'd rather pay a young man's fare to California than tell an old man the distance."

Behind the Laughter of Jackie (Moms) Mabley | august 1962

"Love is like playing checkers. You have to know which man to move."

Behind the Laughter of Jackie (Moms) Mabley | august 1962

"Be careful, children—don't speed on the highway. Play with your wife, not your life!"

Now Hear This | 1965

"I don't want nothin' old but some old money. Buy me some young ideas, that's what I'm gonna do with it."

Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley | 1967

"Quit it if you can't do nothin' with it."

Jackie "Moms" Mabley performs live | 1969

"Never lose your head, not even for a minute—you need your head. Your brain's in it."

Live at the Greek Theater | 1971

"'Help me make it through the night'—if you can make it for half an hour, you're alright with me!"

presentation for the Year's Best Vocal Performance | 1974

"Without that basic foundation in showmanship, an act can’t remain at the top. Half of the children nowadays don’t even know how to take a bow."

Moms Mabley: She Finally Made the Movies | april 1974

"I'm colorblind. I don't know the difference. I only know you're a human being, and you're my children."

during filming of Amazing Grace | january 1975

"If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got."

popularly attributed saying of controversial origin | march 2014

quoteurs we recommend...

Tina Fey
comedian
Ella Fitzgerald
the queen of jazz
Rose O'Neill
feminist artist + Kewpie inventor

for further reading about Moms Mabley:

  • Quotabelle profile
  • Moms Mabley

curated with care by Alicia Williamson {september 2014}

Moms Mabley 1944

Moms swapped her typical floppy hat and house dress for pearls in this publicity shot from her New York management company. The Queen of Comedy took her hilarious + often raunchy act everywhere from Vaudeville theater shows to hit LPs to major motion pictures + primetime TV.

James Kriegsmann | Associated Booking Corporation | public domain

Moms Mabley | Her Young Thing

Moms comic alter-ego was famous for being a cougar. Her jokes about having a proclivity for young men poked fun at convention by flipping the typical script {the objectification of young women}. The act also drew attention to how women were often forced to marry older men for the sake of economic security. Moms' preference for young blood came from having to deal with her own woefully geriatric husbands. "I was married to one old man and he died ~ thank goodness," she joked in an 1969 show. But the next one's even older, so she tells him: "somebody's got to die 'cause I can't put up with this!"

Ricco Montevecchi | Mercury Records | Discogs

Moms Mabley on The Pearl Bailey Show 1971

Moms happily shared the stage and small screen with fellow former-Vaudeville-performer turned all-around actress, host and singer, Pearl Bailey.

The Pearl Bailey Show | public domain

Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley

Though famous during her lifetime, Moms Mabley is not well known today. Whoopi Goldberg has helped put Moms back in the spotlight where she belongs with a recent HBO documentary. The film features priceless footage from Moms' act along with testimonies from many of today's best-loved comedians ~ like Kathy Griffin, Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby + Whoopi herself ~ who were influenced by the trailblazing performer.

First Hand Films