Ernest Hogan

Biography

Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first Black American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show, The Oyster Man in 1907, (shows at the African Grove Theatre preceded it by generations) and helped to popularize the musical genre of ragtime. A native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Hogan worked in traveling minstrel shows as a dancer, musician, and comedian as a teenager. In 1895-1896 Hogan composed several popular songs, including "La Pas Ma La" and "All Coons Look Alike to Me." The success of the latter song created many derogatory imitations, known as "coon songs," because of their use of racist and stereotypical images of black people.

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