By MARK JASON MURRAY (Comedian, Inc./Grindhouse Releasing; 2021)
Here’s something that’s been a long time coming: a fully authorized biography of the late African American actor/comedian/filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore (1927-2008), who was also known as Dolemite. Dolemite was Moore’s signature character, seen in the blaxsploitation classics DOLEMITE (1975) and THE HUMAN TORNADO (1976), in addition to numerous other films, music videos and personal appearances that more than anything else contributed to the legendary status Moore currently enjoys in and out of the black community.
THANK YOU FOR BEING MYSELF, a limited edition hardcover, was a two decade labor of love by author Mark Jason Murray (editor of SHOCKING IMAGES fanzine, where Murray’s interest in Moore originated). The finished product is a veritable object d’art, beautifully formatted with innumerable poster and album reproductions.
The cover is designed to resemble that of the retail version of EAT OUT MORE OFTEN, Moore’s breakthrough 1970 comedy album. Initially self-distributed while the Arkansas born Moore was employed at an LA record store, it was a massive success, peaking at #24 on the BILLBOARD magazine Soul Music charts, and turning the fortyish Moore into a prolific recording artist.
Moore’s spoken word performance style, and the character of Dolemite, were inspired by the black street poets he encountered. By reinterpreting their stories in his own inimitable manner Moore earned the titles “Godfather of Rap” and “King of the Party Records” while maintaining a robust schedule of stand-up comedy appearances, which he often concluded with the line that provides this book’s title.
And this “loser who refused to lose” (so said Eddie Murphy), who “wanted to be a star no matter what it cost or how long it took,” wasn’t done. He branched into filmmaking in the mid-1970s with DOLEMITE, which Moore produced, co-scripted, scored (with his street poetry inevitably finding its way in) and headlined. As played by Moore, Dolemite was a master fighter and suave ladies’ man despite the fact that his originator was unattractive, uncoordinated and gay. It was such incongruity, of course, that made DOLEMITE and its sequel—and Moore’s follow-up films PETEY WHEATSTRAW (1977) and DISCO GODFATHER (1979)—so much dumb fun.
Moore kept his business instincts well honed, which didn’t exactly make him rich—a complaint he apparently aired quite frequently in his later years—but did ensure a steady fan base that only expanded in the nineties and the oughts, when Moore’s films became readily available on VHS and DVD. Predictably, his greatest success arrived posthumously, with the Eddie Murphy headlined Netflix biopic DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (2019).
The last chapter consists, essentially, of an extended promo for that film, upon which Murray was employed as a research consultant. This may be questionable from a biographical standpoint (an impartial observer of DOLEMITE IS MY NAME’s making Murray wasn’t), but the author redeems himself in the book’s final portion, consisting of an insanely detailed listing of Moore’s records, films and memorabilia. It’s emblematic of the beyond-voluminous research undertaken by Mark Jason Murray, who can safely be crowned the world’s foremost expert on all things Rudy Ray Moore, while this book, as of 2023, stands as the foremost textual resource on the great man. I strongly doubt it will be bettered any time soon.