Therese Gardella as Aunt Jemima

An Italian woman in blackface playing as Aunt Jemima: “Therese Gardella (December 19, 1894 – January 3, 1950) was an Italian American performer on the stage and screen whose stage persona was “Aunt Jemima.”She performed on both stage and screen, usually in blackface. A native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Gardella came to New York City in 1918, singing in dances and nightclubs and also political rallies. She died of diabetes in Brooklyn, New York, on January 3, 1950. She was introduced to the vaudeville stage by Lew Leslie, who gave her the stage name of Aunt Jemima. She appeared at the Palace and the New York Hippodrome, and attracted very favorable reviews from Variety. For her final performance, she returned to vaudeville, playing the Palace once more in 1949” http://ow.ly/fv9v30i2tcY