Had a career upsurge after Sammy Davis Jr. imitated his act on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967) and it sparked interest in "the original Judge". Markham appeared on "Laugh-In", and also issued a novelty record, "Here Come the Judge", with clips from his routines.
The street in Durham, NC, where his family lived became
known as Markham Street, and was later given the name officially--a
point of pride for the family.
Performed in blackface makeup (even though he was black, or "Negro" as
he preferred to be described) for most of his early career; it was the
expected thing at the time.
Left home to join a carnival that passed through town in his teens, and
"graduated" from there to vaudeville. His nickname "Pigmeat' came from a
comedy sketch where he declared himself "Sweet Poppa Pigmeat" onstage;
the name stuck.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume
One, 1981-1985, pages 547-549. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1998.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume
One, 1981-1985, pages 545-547. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1998.
Father: Adolphus D. Markham; Mother: Margaret Mitchell.