TESS GARDELLA

Tess Gardella, she was a white performer who appeared as the character "Aunt Jemima" in the original Broadway production of "Show Boat", and she repeated that role in the first movie version, and also appeared in "Stand Up & Cheer" in 1934, and in "A Swing Opera" in 1939 as the same character; in the stage and film production of "Show Boat", she was the only white actress appearing in a black role, as all the other parts were played by actual black people! She passed away from diabetes at the age of 55 in 1950.