Jay C. Flippen (March 6, 1899 â€" February 3, 1971) was an American
character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in
many films of the 1940s and 1950s.Born on March 6, 1899 in Little
Rock, Arkansas, Flippen was an established and respected vaudeville
singer and stage actor before his film career. He had been discovered
by famed African-American comedian Bert Williams in the 1920s, and was
Williams's Broadway understudy and tour replacement for the 1920
musical revue "Broadway Brevities." He called himself "The Ham What
Am," and his occasional blackface roles included those as Williams'
replacement. Flippen attained the most coveted booking in vaudeville,
headlining at the Palace Theatre in New York six times between March
1926 and February 1931. In 1928, he proclaimed he would no longer
perform in blackface.At one time, he was also a radio announcer for
New York Yankees games and was one of the first game-show announcers.
Between 1924 and 1929, Flippen recorded more than 30 songs for
Columbia, Perfect, and Brunswick.His first film, the 1928 Warner Bros.
short subject "The Ham What Am", captures his vaudeville performance,
with other shorts in the 1930s, but his film career started in earnest
in 1947. Some of Flippen's most noteworthy film work came in support
of James Stewart in five of the films the two made under the direction
of Anthony Mann during the 1950s. He gave notable supporting
performances in three John Wayne films: as a humorous, larcenous
Marine air-crew line chief in Flying Leathernecks (1951), as Wayne's
commanding general in Jet Pilot (1957), and as a wheelchair-bound
senior partner of Wayne's in Hellfighters (1968). He also made a
fourth film that co-starred John Wayne (How the West Was Won, 1962),
but played his only scene with Debbie Reynolds and Gregory Peck.
character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in
many films of the 1940s and 1950s.Born on March 6, 1899 in Little
Rock, Arkansas, Flippen was an established and respected vaudeville
singer and stage actor before his film career. He had been discovered
by famed African-American comedian Bert Williams in the 1920s, and was
Williams's Broadway understudy and tour replacement for the 1920
musical revue "Broadway Brevities." He called himself "The Ham What
Am," and his occasional blackface roles included those as Williams'
replacement. Flippen attained the most coveted booking in vaudeville,
headlining at the Palace Theatre in New York six times between March
1926 and February 1931. In 1928, he proclaimed he would no longer
perform in blackface.At one time, he was also a radio announcer for
New York Yankees games and was one of the first game-show announcers.
Between 1924 and 1929, Flippen recorded more than 30 songs for
Columbia, Perfect, and Brunswick.His first film, the 1928 Warner Bros.
short subject "The Ham What Am", captures his vaudeville performance,
with other shorts in the 1930s, but his film career started in earnest
in 1947. Some of Flippen's most noteworthy film work came in support
of James Stewart in five of the films the two made under the direction
of Anthony Mann during the 1950s. He gave notable supporting
performances in three John Wayne films: as a humorous, larcenous
Marine air-crew line chief in Flying Leathernecks (1951), as Wayne's
commanding general in Jet Pilot (1957), and as a wheelchair-bound
senior partner of Wayne's in Hellfighters (1968). He also made a
fourth film that co-starred John Wayne (How the West Was Won, 1962),
but played his only scene with Debbie Reynolds and Gregory Peck.
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