Mr. Rudy Ray Moore has shuffled off this mortal coil.
I haven’t looked at a Dolemite movie in a while. I recall one that was set, at least in the beginning, in Arkansas, and Moore’s character is hitchhiking, and there are palm trees lining the highway. Very nice.
My favorite quatrain from the character: “He think he bad/He ain’t got no class./Ah mo wrap this shotgun/up his mother-fuckin’ ass.”
“Disco Godfather” is a truly awful film, and yet, it’s wonderful in how awful it is. I remain uncertain, to this day, whether it was a satire or an attempt to cash in on three trends at once.
Glenn, do yourself a favor and give “Dolemite” and “Human Tornado” a look. You won’t regret it, to me they are some of the funniest (and most quotable) films ever made for a multitude of reasons. A few friends and I still to this day some 20-odd years after seeing the first “Dolemite” whip out the VHS watch it again and again, like a good party album. And like a good party album, you can reference it endlessly.
I am truly saddened by Rudy Ray’s passing. He brought me decades of enjoyment.
“If you see a ghost, cut the muthafucka!”
I feel it necessary to recommend the audio commentary on my favorite film of Rudy’s, “Petey Wheatstraw, the Devil’s Son-in-law”. Moore isn’t very talkative on the track, but everything he does say is hilarious and memorable. Highlights include:
“This is for all the DVD fans…rewind that!” and
“Watch…as I put my foot…up this muthafucka’s ass!”