By Shelah Moody
Paul Mooney once called me an elf and told me to go back to the North Pole.
I’d gone with my friend Carmelita to Mooney’s annual New Year’s Eve comedy show at the Black Repertory Group in Berkeley.
That year, Mooney had told the media that he was henceforth removing the N-word from his stand-up act after a white comedian had used it indiscriminately in his act. Since the N-word seasoned most of Mooney’s jokes and stories, I bet Carmelita a dollar that Paul Mooney could not go a night without saying it.
After the show, as Mooney signed merchandise and greeted fans, Carmelita told Mooney I’d bet her a dollar that he wouldn't be able to get through a standup routine without saying the N-word. The godfather of black comedy, who’d written for the likes of Richard Pryor, Dave Chapelle and ushered in a new era of political correctness; gave me the side-eye.
“I see you brought your elf with you,” Mooney said to Carmelita. “Don’t they need you at the North Pole?”
I was mortified. So great was my humiliation that I returned the couture jacket I wore that night to Nordstrom’s; I wanted nothing that reminded me that I looked like an elf!
Years later, I laughed my ass about it. It was rather funny. I’d been capped on by one of the greatest comedic minds ever!
After all, we’re talking about the man who wrote for a prime time black sitcoms such as “Good Times,” Sanford and Son” and “In Living Color,” who most likely came up with barbs like “Buffalo Butt,” “Fish-Eyed Fool” and “Homey don’t play that.”
Paul Mooney; actor, writer, and comedian, created a safe and sacred space for black people in America. During his shows at the Black Rep, he would sit in his chair, drink his glass of liquor and talk like it was just him and us in his living room. Oh, how we laughed! And he laughed, too! ! Paul Mooney said the kinds of things that many of us are afraid to say.
A lot of Mooney’s material had to do with how black Americans were viewed as “other” through white lenses. Mooney reversed it, casting his black critical gaze on the dominant culture, taking away the sting of racism and daily indignities; at least for one night.
“N-word, N-Word, N-word, N-word,” Mooney would say. “I like saying it. It makes my teeth white.”
Mooney would often demystify Eurocentric standards of beauty by taking shots at the Queen of England: “The British are not pretty people. If that’s the Queen, I wanna know what the witch look like!”
In one of his routines, Mooney said he understood why Brad Pitt would turn in a thin lipped Jennifer Anniston for a juicy lipped Angelina Jolie. I cannot finish the joke because this is a family show.
After his family announced his passing on May 19, 2021, Mooney’s peers posted tributes on social media.
“I knew this day would come but I must admit, I’m not ready,” his longtime friend, Luenell posted on social media.
“I’m not ready 2 not hear that gruff voice anymore. Maybe that’s why I keep a cassette, yes I said cassette tape of him at the foot of my bed at all times so I can hear him whenever I want. I have learned more from Paul Mooney than any other comic I have ever known. He loved me. He confided in me. He trusted me. At times he relied on me and I will FOREVER love him. Both being from Oakland, CA, we had way more than comedy in common. As you swipe thru these pictures, these are only just a FEW of the memories we shared. He’s the first person to put me on stage in NYC when they wouldn’t even book me. He appreciated the woman I am and the brand of comedy that I do and told me to never change for ANYONE! We were a very dynamic duo. When my name was revealed the other day on the front of The Comedy Store wall, it was His face on the shirt I wore to pay homage to The Great One. Where ever they have his service I will be there but, he will live in my Heart FOREVER‼️As he used to say, “There are many stars, but only One Moon” RIP to MY FRIEND, the Great Paul Mooney.”
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