The original queen of comedy: Moms Mabley

Mabley was the first woman comedian to perform at the Apollo

(E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Detroit Public Library)

Comedian Moms Mabley dressed the part of an elderly grandmother on stage, but when she opened her toothless mouth, her irreverent zingers made crowds roar: “Ain’t nothing an old man can do for me but bring me a message from a young one.”