Few African-American performers were as ubiquitous as Scatman Crothers. Some proof of this assertion can be found in the number of his films and television appearances. He is credited for some 55 film or video titles, and 86 television titles. Add to this count his number of awards and you have a man who was as busy as he was versatile.
Born Benjamin Sherman Crothers on May 23, 1910, in Terre Haute, Indiana, he began his musical career as a teenager, having taught himself to play the guitar and drums. As a member of a band that performed in speakeasies, he perfected his style against a backdrop of noise and buzz. In the 1930s, he formed his own band and began performing throughout the Midwest, as well as frequently appearing on radio in Dayton, Ohio. It was during these weekly engagements that the station manager decided the budding star needed a catchier name, and suggested “Scatman,” given his proficiency at scat singing. Now the Scatman, he married Helen Sullivan in 1937, and by the 1940s they were living in California.
From his home base in Los Angeles, Scatman began extensive travel with performances in Las Vegas to as far away as the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He also embarked on a long list of recordings, including Capitol releases of singles such as “I’d Rather Be a Hummingbird,” “Blue-Eyed Sally,” and “Television Blues.” There was also his “Rock ‘N’ Roll With ‘Scat Man’ Crothers” for the High Fidelity label. When Bob Hope began his USO Tours, Scatman was usually aboard with his comedy and musical skits.
He was often a guest performer in a number of bands and orchestras, most memorably with the great guitarist Slim Gaillard, who probably had some fascinating duets between them. Scatman was also part of an ensemble that recorded “Freedom Sing” and in 1955, “The Death of Emmett Till,” released the same year the Chicago boy was brutally killed in Mississippi.
His film appearances began in the early 1950s and included 1953’s “Meet Me at the Fair.” An abbreviated list of his films includes roles in the musical “Hello, Dolly!” and “The Great White Hope.” His voice can be heard as Scat Cat in the animated film “The Aristocats” in 1970. He appeared in four films with Jack Nicholson: “The King of Marvin Gardens” (1972), “The Fortune” (1975), “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975), and “The Shining” (1980).
In the animated film “Coonskin,” he played the part of a fable-telling convict, a train porter in “Silver Streak,” a liveryman in “The Shootist,” Mingo in “Roots” (1977), Tinker the piano player in Neil Simon’s “The Cheap Detective” (1978), a ringmaster in “Bronco Billy” (1980), a baseball coach in “Zapped!” (1982), and angels in “Two of a Kind” (1983) and “Twilight Zone: The Movie” (1983).
When he wasn’t requested for films, producers sought him out for a variety of television stints, most notably on “Dixie Showboat,” a television show broadcast from L.A. making him the first Black person to appear regularly on a show from that city. There were also numerous assignments where his voice was requested, none more unforgettable as Meadowlark Lemon in the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon series and as the title character in “Hong Kong Phooey.”
For an extended period, he was Louie the garbage man on “Chico and the Man.” During an appearance on “Sanford and Son,” Scatman demonstrated his prowess on guitar, accompanying Redd Foxx as he sang “All of Me.” In 1966, in a special recording of an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “The New Alice in Wonderland,” he was the Cheshire Cat’s voice, replacing Sammy Davis, Jr.’s role in the original animated version.
There were a slew of guest shots on television “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” in 1958, “Dragnet” in 1967, “Bewitched” in 1971, “Adam-12” in 1972 (as “George Strothers”), “Kojak” and “Ironside” in 1973, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” in 1974 and “Sanford and Son” in 1975. In the 1980s, he provided the voice of the Autobot Jazz on the television series “The Transformers.” He was the star in three short-lived 1980s television series: “One of the Boys” (1982), “Casablanca” (1983), and “Morningstar/Eveningstar” (1986).
Among his awards is Best Supporting Actor in “The Shining” by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films. He was also the recipient of an NAACP Image Award in 1981. A star in his name adorns the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he was inducted posthumously into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1987. Scatman was 76 when he died in 1986, and he is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.