Representative Albums: "Greatest Hits," "Eat Out More Often," "The Dirty Dozens"
Biography
If Redd Foxx was the king of the party record during the '50s and '60s, then certainly Rudy Ray Moore upped the ante during the '70s with a succession of triple-X-rated platters that were so hot most stores could only sell them under the counter, even during the height of the sexual revolution. His best routines, usually spoken in rhyme, presaged the rap revolution in music by a good 20 years, while his lone acting role, starring in Dolemite, remains one of the great blaxploitation movies of that decade. Among his releases were 1970's Eat Out More Often, 1971's Dirty Dozens, and 1996's This Ain't No White Christmas. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: The Legend of Dolemite!, Petey Wheatstraw, Disco Godfather
First Major Screen Credit: Dolemite (1975)
Biography
Born March 17, 1937, in Fort Smith, AR, blaxploitation legend Rudy Ray Moore began his life as an entertainer after moving to Cleveland, OH, at the age of 15. Forging a music career under the stage name of "Prince Dumarr," Moore belted out gutbucket rhythm & blues while wearing a trademark turban, recording several singles and touring through various Midwestern cities. By 1959, he had moved to Los Angeles, dropped the pseudonym, and was focusing on a standup act. A trio of comedy albums released in the early '60s on Dooto Records didn't hit for him, so Moore worked part-time in a record store, where a local wino named Rico would often visit to beg for change. The panhandler recited bawdy "toasts" in exchange for food money, tall tales set to rhyme that have figured in African-American culture for years. One of these stories was "Dolemite," the tale of a mythical black superman who fights lions and can kill women with the power of his lovemaking. Moore began incorporating "Dolemite" and other toasts into his act, as well as expanding on the suggestive humor of Redd Foxx with explicit profanity and crude jokes about life on the ghetto streets. He self-financed the release of an album in this new style, and Eat Out More Often was a surprise hit in 1970, spending time on the Billboard soul charts despite the fact that record stores had to keep the album behind the counter. Moore followed with a number of X-rated comedy platters, all recorded in his own home with friends as the audience (which led them to be dubbed "party records").
By 1975, Moore decided to branch out into motion pictures, and again staked his own money to produce a film version of his most famous routine. Dolemite was a low-budget action-adventure-comedy shot in and around Moore's Los Angeles home. With Moore as the titular pimp-hero (wearing a dazzling array of funky outfits), a harem of kung fu-fighting prostitutes, corrupt white politicians, and plenty of excuses for Moore to perform snippets of his nightclub act, the film was an outlandish, ridiculous vehicle for the comedian that successfully brought his vision to the screen. It was popular enough to warrant a sequel, The Human Tornado (1976), as well as an adaptation of another of Moore's standup routines, The Devil's Son-In-Law (1977). After releasing the concert film Rudy Ray Moore: Rude in 1982, the comedian's movie appearances dried up, though he continued to make personal appearances and sporadic recordings.
Many rappers have named Moore as a major influence and samples from his records and films have turned up on releases by artists like Dr. Dre, Big Chief, and 2 Live Crew. While the rhythmic, profane delivery on his comedy albums accounts for his reputation in the hip-hop world, it can be argued that his films are responsible for keeping his legend alive today. Many of Moore's films are widely available in mainstream video outlets, while his X-rated records are often difficult to find. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
Moore, who was raised in his birthplace of Fort Smith, Arkansas, as well as Cleveland, Ohio, began his entertainment career as an R&B singer and continued singing through his comedy career. He developed an interest in comedy in the Army after expanding on a singing performance for other servicemen. Moore released many comedy records throughout the 1960s and 1970s, developing a rude and explicit style similar to Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. This kept him off of television and major films, but cultivated an enduring fan base.[1]
It should be noted that some of Moore's X-Rated comedy records were recorded at his home with personal friends in attendance, as the audience. This is where the term "party records" comes from, with Rudy Ray Moore creating the format.
In 2000, Moore starred in Big Money Hustlas, a movie created by and starring the Insane Clown Posse, in which he played Dolemite for the first time in over 20 years.
In 2008, Moore reprised the character Petey Wheatstraw for the song "I Live For The Funk" featuring Blowfly and Daniel Jordan. This marked the first time Blowfly and Rudy have collaborated on the same record together and the 30 year anniversary of the movie Petey Wheatstraw, and was also the final recording Rudy made before his death. [2]
On October 19, 2008, Moore died of complications from diabetes.[3]
